Competitors at the Ottawa Tamarack Race weekend in late May reportedly did not get water in some areas of the 21.1-kilometre and 42.2-kilometre courses. Participants agreed to tell QMI about their experience, criticizing the logistics surrounding hydration during the race.
“When I got to the water station, the cups were almost empty, [soit] “There's no more water at the station,” said Joel Fitzgerald, a Gatineau resident who completed the Ottawa Marathon on May 26.
The 30-year-old was participating in the fourth marathon of his life, and the second in Ottawa.
“After thirty.”H He explained that this is the problem.
Marathon runners believe the problem stems from the fact that participants in the half marathon and those in the marathon intersected at one point of the course.
This may have been a time when there was a shortage of water or manpower. He added: “This is my impression, because of the influx of more runners.”
He realized the situation after his race.
“Did I get to the wrong place at the wrong time? Because I did it two years ago, in 2022, and that wasn't the case.”
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Five participants contacted by QMI confirmed this information.
The riders decided to speak out about the situation about two weeks after the event, after becoming aware of the problem after the fact.
“During the race, you're in your bubble, but then I realize,” the marathon runner says.
One of them, who did not wish to be identified, reportedly had a similar experience on May 26.
According to him, the problem near kilometers 33 and 37 comes from the fact that “half marathon runners running between 45 and 2:30, and those in the marathon running between 3:30 and 4:15 found themselves on the same course,” he said. Saying it. he added.
The story of young Juliet goes in the same vein. For her part, she participated in the half marathon by following the pace of the rabbit to complete it in two and a half hours.
Photo courtesy of Mahi Loren
“We had to stop to wait for our water. My mother, I think it was [sa dixième course]Mahi Loren explained that this is the first time she has seen so little water on the course.
Because of this experience, you will be wearing a hydration vest the next time you compete, to avoid running out of water, just like hydration gels.
For its part, the race organization confirms that it has not faced any logistical problems at this level.
“According to our team and water station captains, water was available at every station even after 2 p.m. “We had 13,000 attendees that day, and none of them complained to us directly,” Lisa George, marketing director for Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, said via email.
MI George invites participants to send their comments via email.
25 calls to paramedics
According to Marc-Antoine Deschamps, a spokesman for the Ottawa Paramedic Service, paramedics received 25 calls during the event, the same number as last year.
Eight people were hospitalized this year, compared to just one person in 2023.
But Mr. Deschamps confirms that this cannot be linked to the lack of water that the contestants suffer from.
Transport to a hospital center is necessary when a patient's condition cannot be treated at the race emergency clinic located at the finish line.
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