Hobbling home is sometimes possible, but it’s best to carry a phone just in case
Irecently discovered a frankly sensational ‘Best Effort’ record in my Strava stats. It had been logged when I was in distress, digging deep, trying not to let the pain show – as a kindly builder drove me home after finding me, bashed, bloodied and full of gravel, on the pavement after an encounter with a loop of packing plastic.
In the shock of the fall, I’d forgotten to stop my watch.
Something else I’d forgotten, I realised with shame as I contemplated some newly exposed areas of my knees, hands and elbows, was how to treat my wounds. Abasic tenet of adulting, knowing first aid is also really useful – and even lifesaving – for runners. Whether it’s a sprained ankle or a grazed shin, a tumble into a fence or a bitey dog, the more we run, the more likely we are to need first aid for ourselves or someone else. And getting sorted and back on the road to recovery is always preferable, sooner rather than later.
Former GP and Women’s Running health expert Juliet McGrattan says that, although there’s lots you can do at home to treat superficial injuries, there are also times when they need proper medical attention.
Surface injuries “When it’s cuts and grazing,” Juliet says, “you only need to get seen if it’s really bleeding very heavily, if it’s deep or very large, or if it’s got dirt and stuff stuck in it.” If this is the case, the A&E or minor injuries team will be able to deploy a local anaesthetic if your wound needs a really good clean or a couple of stitches if it’s gaping.
Race day
FIRSTAID
If you need first aid during a big city race, the chances are that St John Ambulance will be there to provide it.They assist runners at the London Marathon, Great North Run, Brighton Marathon and Vitality 10K, among others. From the most serious collapses to those critical Vaseline stops, Regional Clinical Manager Deirdre Barr has seen it all – and while St John Ambulance will always help runners who need it, she says there are things we can do to help ourselves before we even cross the start line.The big one is not to skip filling in your personal information on the back of your race bib.“If somebody comes in in a collapsed state, the back of the number immediately tells us a contact number for next of kin and if they have any medical conditions. But so many runners don’t complete it and it adds that extra degree of complexity to the situation.” She also advises against runners with niggles pre-dosing with ibuprofen to kill the pain.“It can cause problems with kidney function,” she says. Paracetamol is a better choice.
Thankfully, the bulk of problems the teams see are minor, like blisters, chafing and cramp. New shoes and socks are a major culprit for blisters, despite the warnings against wearing new kit on race day. And poor preparation tends to catch half-marathoners out, says Deirdre. “Training is critical. People seem to prepare more for a marathon than a half. I think they think ‘It’s not that far, I can do that’ and that means more people end up collapsing.”
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