Local health professional wants runners to prepare for upcoming marathon run

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — Runners on your mark, and get ready to go for this year’s 22nd Annual Fargo Marathon.

“Start hydration today, don’t wait till tomorrow morning. Most people that are going to be running tomorrow are well prepared and have been training for a long time, so they know their bodies. So listen to your body while on the course. If you’re experiencing unusual exhaustion, definitely if you’re feeling severe pain or you’re feeling confused, you should stop and you should get medical attention,” said Dr. Joshua Honeyman, Emergency Medicine Physician at Essentia.

Last year, about 50 runners were treated for things like heat exhaustion, sprains, cramps, and other injuries. And with last year’s turnout and heat, Honeyman said they are expecting to double those numbers this year.

“We’re definitely concerned for having more participants with having heat exhaustion and in need of treatment, hence why we’ve doubled our kind of space at the finish line and the medical tent and added some extra cooling measures in the tent, and around the course, there’s going to be misters for people to take the opportunity to cool down,” said Honeyman.

Alongside the main tent, runners will also be able to receive treatment at many of the various locations across the course. Aid stations will be approximately every two miles, with stations including Gatorade and energy gels.

“We have more space, so we can take care of more people at once. We have lots of volunteers, we’re going to have air conditioning in the tent, along with all our other standard cooling measures with ice and water and cool towels,” said Honeyman.

While staff finished their preparations for the race, Honeyman said he wants to make sure runners also have fun and enjoy the race.

The marathon kicks off tomorrow at 7 am