Exertion-induced heat exhaustion and other medical aspects of the City-to-Surf fun runs, 1978-1984.

During the years 1978 to 1984, only 197 (0.14%) of 144 950 starters in a 14-km road race had suffered from heat exhaustion; of these, only three (1.5%) required admission to hospital. The effectiveness of treatment in medical centres was indicated by the fact that the mean time taken for the body temperature to fall to 38 degrees C was 31 +/- 12 minutes in all heat-exhaustion casualties, and 49 +/- 14 minutes in 41 subjects who had rectal temperatures of 42 degrees C and higher. When disaster teams from metropolitan hospitals were introduced in 1983, it became apparent that skilled staff members, despite their lack of experience in the resuscitation of combative heat casualties, could carry out the established procedures and protocols effectively and efficiently.