Ambulances were called out fifty times on Sunday for participants of the Dam tot Damloop who had become unwell, deputy director René Wit of organizer Le Champion announced on Monday. That is above average for the running event, according to Wit. Due to the pressure on the emergency services, the last groups of runners could not start, because medical care was not guaranteed for them. There were no capacity problems at the first aid posts or volunteers of the Red Cross, Wit reports.
The people who had to go to the hospital were responsive and no one was seriously injured, Wit said. Le Champion is still assessing to what extent the riders who became unwell had prepared themselves for the warm weather, for example, or had not trained for the 10-mile (16.1-kilometer) run.
Inform
Wit finds it difficult to say how well the Dam tot Dam runners were prepared in general. “At every running event, you have trained and untrained runners. That is not exclusive to the Dam tot Damloop, or a race in September or a 10-mile race. We did everything we could to inform people well; we announced at the start and on the route, and also provided information on LED screens. We can adjust things technically, but it is mainly about raising awareness among the participants.”
About 4,500 of the total of 46,000 runners could not start. Le Champion is still looking at how they can be compensated, for example with a starting ticket for next year. More information will be announced in the course of the week. (ANP)
