Medical volunteer needs for mass participation endurance road races

This table summarizes the number of medical volunteers needed for mass participation endurance road races. These estimates are per 1000 entrants and are based on the author's experience with the Twin Cities in Motion races. The table may not reflect the minimum number needed for a race that has medical stations attached to each fluid station, in which case more volunteers are needed. Each medical aid station along a marathon or half marathon course is best staffed with five providers, assuming the number of entrants ranges from 1000 to 10,000 and weather conditions are ideal. If temperatures are higher than usual for the season, aid stations can require several additional providers to handle the medical case load. In general for a marathon, half the medical staff is located on the course and half at the finish area. For smaller race fields, staffing one to three mobile units (eg, vans) may be a more efficient use of personnel than fully staffing each aid station. After three to five years of experience with a given race, the staffing numbers needed become more clearly defined.