Race Medical Directors and health professionals will have the opportunity to improve their knowledge and race-day management skills through WORLD ATHLETICS-IIRM Race Emergency Medicine Workshops.

WORLD ATHLETICS-IIRM Race Emergency Medicine Workshops, are one-day courses combining theory and practice, with the objective of providing participants with the ability to manage various health-related scenarios during endurance events. Workshops are organized in conjunction with major road races and World Athletics events, to give participants the opportunity to visit the medical set up and observe the work done by the hosting medical staff during the race.

Participation in workshops is limited to 60 people, as the practical part of the course will be delivered through small groups, and participants’ interaction is a fundamental part of the learning process.

Starting from January 1^st 2021, World Athletics will no longer accept Label applications submitted by road races whose Medical Director is unable to demonstrate participation to at least one WORLD ATHLETICS-IIRM Race Emergency Medicine Workshop (or other World Athletics-IIRM recognised educational activity) in 2019 or 2020.

Medical Directors of Label Road Races will be required to demonstrate participation to at least one Race Emergency Medicine Workshop (or other World Athletics-IIRM recognised educational activity) every 2 years, as part of their continuing medical education.

Race organizers will be required to include the name of the Medical Director who holds such participation certificate(s) when applying for a World Athletics Label.

Participation is free of charge for Race Medical Directors of all World Athletics label road races and will receive registration priority. All healthcare professionals, interested in medical care in endurance events, are welcome to register, and their participation will be confirmed upon availability of places and on a first come first served basis.

Following the conclusion of the course, the participant will be able to:

1. Predict individual risk factors for running related injury and illness using baseline data available at time of registration;
2. Adopt novel approaches to supplement and strengthen traditional epidemiological methods for collecting medical encounters;
3. Outline intervention strategies to potentially reduce risk of fatal and near fatal medical encounters during endurance events;
4. Explain the basic principles of mass casualty triage;
5. Manage medical care for individuals entering the medical tent at a road race;
6. Apply the use of medical algorithms for management of common injuries and events encountered during road races.
7. Outline a strategy to assess the differential diagnosis and provide appropriate treatment for runners who have collapsed during or after an endurance event;
8. Perform pre-hospital care of exertional heat stroke;
9. Explain the criteria for diagnosis of exertional hyponatremia and its role in administering appropriate treatment;
10. Implement steps for temperature monitoring and/or warming for hypothermic athletes.

The next workshops in 2020 will be:  

The Health & Science Department are working on the 2021 calendar and new dates will be available shortly

For any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us: healthandscience@worldathletics.org

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