Good practice Conference for Healthcare professionals working on endurance events in austere environments.
EVENT
MEDICINE
WHAT
A conference combining theory and practical sessions for healthcare professionals working on endurance events in remote and austere environments.
WHEN
09:00 to 16:30 on Sunday 24th November, 2024
WHERE
The Castle Green Hotel, Kendal, Cumbria.
WHO
Healthcare professionals of any grade who are looking to increase their knowledge of common injuries and illnesses seen at endurance events with a view to becoming effective event medics. Also, recommended for progressive event organisers with a responsibility for the provision of medical services at their events.
SHARE THE ADVENTURE
Make a weekend of it. In partnership with the Kendal Mountain Festival. Come to Kendal for the UK ‘s biggest adventure festival on the 21st to 24th November.
Tickets
Your conference ticket includes breakfast baps, tea, coffee, snacks throughout the day, and a good-quality lunch. Tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis and are limited by the venue's size. The conference is organized on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of the community of participants.
Meet the conference team
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Dr Nikki Sommers
Medical Director, Ourea Events
Consultant in Emergency Medicine
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Dr Rich Griffiths
Medical Director, Ourea Events
Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team.
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Dr Natalya Kennedy
Medical Director, Ourea Events
General Practitioner and Derby Mountain Rescue Team.
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Dr Abbi Forsyth
Race Control Manager, Ourea Events
Specialty Doctor in Anaesthetics and Critical Care and Derby Mountain Rescue Team.
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Morag Bowie
Chartered Physiotherapist
Specialising in Sports Injuries and ex-Team GB Olympic Physio.
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Robyn Cassidy
Research Physiotherapist
Specialising in sports injury and UK military rehabilitation.
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Shane Ohly
Event Director and Kendal Mountain Rescue Team.
What we have to sharE
Ourea Events has organised extremely challenging mountain running events in the UK since 2012. Over many years, and in partnership with expert healthcare professionals, we have developed an in-house multidisciplinary team of medics who provide medical services at our events in either a professional or volunteer capacity.
During this time, we have recorded and categorised every medical intervention at our events and have a unique dataset of endurance sports illness and injury rates comprised of thousands of participants. To give you an impression, at the busiest day of the Dragon’s Back Race® in 2023, 56% of participants sought medical help and by the end of the event the medical team had recorded 556 consultations in just 6 days.
What we have to share is not just anecdotal experience, important as that can be, but evidence-based medicine that helps participants finish their event.
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09:00 - 09:30
REGISTRATION
Registration, coffee, tea and and breakfast baps and a chance for informal conversation and networking.
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09:30-09:40
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
Shane Ohly will welcome the delegates and provide an overview of endurance events and the unique challenges participants and event medics face.
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09:40 - 10:00
DRAGON’S BACK MEDICAL DATA
Dr Nick Marriage will discuss his MSc dissertation, which involved a clinical audit of 2023 Dragon’s Back Race medical data, highlighting the common, rare, and race-ending presentations.
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10:00-10:30
PRE-EVENT MEDICINE
Dr. Rich Griffiths will discuss crucial questions and practicalities that need to be addressed long before you arrive at the event, including indemnity, educational supervisors, equipment and drugs, welfare, patient records, and more.
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10:30-11:00
THEORY OF FEET
Dr Nikki Sommers will discuss the principles and theory of foot care. This topic is critical because approximately 50% of ultra-endurance race participants require assistance for their blisters.
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11:00-11:30
COFFEE BREAK
Coffee, tea, pastries, biscuits and refreshments and a chance for informal conversation and networking.
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11:30-12:00
THEORY OF MSK CONDITIONS
Morag Bowie and Robyn Cassidy will discuss the pathology of common musculoskeletal injuries that present at endurance events.
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12:00-12:30
THEORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AND ELECTROLYTE DISTURBANCES
Dr Natalya Kenney discusses hypothermia, hyperthermia, and electrolyte disturbances that can be expected at endurance event.
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12:00-12:45
LUNCH
The Greenhouse Restaurant serves a two-course buffet lunch. Enjoy the spectacular views over Kendal and mingle and network with other delegates. The lunch menu is TBC.
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13:45-13:30
GROUP EXERCISE
Organised into small groups for the remainder of the day, you’ll start the afternoon with a facilitated tabletop exercise screening event participants for their suitability for an ultra-endurance race and selecting a medical team to provide the event medical cover.
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13:30 - 14:10
PRACTICAL FEET
Staying in small groups, you’ll get training on blister management combined with demonstrations and plenty of practical experience in taping feet.
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14:10 - 14:50
PRACTICAL MSK
This is another practical session on the dark art of taping and how kinesiology tape has saved many runners' races.
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14:50 - 15:20
COFFEE BREAK
Coffee, tea, pastries, biscuits and refreshments and a chance for informal conversation and networking.
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15:20 - 16:00
PRACTICAL MANAGEMENT OF HYPOTHERMIA AND HYPERTHERMIA
Practical skills for assessing and managing heat and cold illness in an austere environment.
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16:00 - 16:30
ROUND UP AND Q&A
This is the chance for the conference to gather, reflect on the day’s topics, and have an open floor Q&A discussion.
Not for profit.
This conference is being run on a not-for-profit basis. Your attendance fee covers ticketing, the conferencing facilities, drinks and food, and any expenses for the speakers. Any excess fees will be rolled into hosting future conferences.