Norseman 2024 is finished. As the head of the medical and safety team, it was busy days as usual.
I have written reports from Norseman since my first time there, driven by the need to evaluate and learn, both for myself and the team. The year 2021 presented us with unique challenges for our race lead and our safety and medical crew. It was probably the toughest race to date. This prompted me to start creating public blog posts each year, in addition to my internal reports, to share our experiences and learnings. The response to the blog posts was overwhelming.
One of the key aspects of our preparation is the close monitoring of the water temperature in the days leading up to the race in Eidfjord. The temperature is constantly fluctuating, and my observations over the years have shown that it is normally about 2 degrees Celsius higher at the starting point than at the swim exit in Eidfjord. On race day, the water temperature at the swim exit was 16.6 degrees Celsius at 6:00 AM, a perfectly safe condition for the athletes.
This year’s cycling event and run didn’t face any significant medical and safety issues. That does not mean that there were no incidents, as there always are. However, there were no life-threatening incidents.
We have Red Cross volunteers from all the local communities throughout the race. They are vital for our safety and our success. We also have three teams of Doctors/paramedics in cars during cycling and on foot in the mountains.
So what really happens at Norseman regarding medical work?
As medical professionals, we will not reveal detailed information about individual patients. However, it is clear that most of our incidents are related to medical conditions rather than trauma. Cases of arrhythmias and other heart-related issues are relatively common. I can only speculate that this is due to the relatively high age of the average Norseman athlete.
Our success is due to our thorough preparation, dedicated team, and ongoing efforts to plan, evaluate, and improve the event year after year. Our accomplishments are not due to luck.
If you have any suggestions on how we can improve, please feel free to share them in the comments or via DM.
I am very happy to listen and adapt!
