The heat was on at the 32nd Red Rose Run in Lancaster on Saturday, pushing athletes to their limits.
An unidentified runner receives attention from paramedics and other runners after collapsing at the en
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To the chagrin of the runners, the sun broke through the clouds, just about as Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray sounded the start of the race.
Although this wasn't the hottest RRR, two unidentified runners fell victim to the high temperatures and humidity, which are common to this event.
According to Lancaster Emergency Medical Services Association, LEMSA, paramedic, Paul Zook, two runners collapsed from "apparent heat exhaustion."
One runner completed the race before collapsing, while another went down one hundred yards before the finish line.
"Both were in good condition, but were treated with fluids and cooled down, then transported to the hospital," he said.
With humidity approaching 90% on Saturday, runners needed to hydrate.
"Water, sports' drinks and fruit should be part of the preparation for hot weather races," said Zook.
"They really need to get some electrolytes into their bodies," said Zook.
Emergency medical personnel were not only available at the finish line, but they bicycled the course, just in case someone needed assistance.
According to one of the local elite runners, Mark Amway, who was a past winner of the event, athletes need to consider the conditions when they set their pace for the five-miler.
"I was more conservative at the start of the race, knowing that the heat takes its toll on me," he said.
Amway added that the faster runners tend to not use the water station for taking in liquids at the race's halfway point, but "dump the water on themselves" to cool down.
Strasburg runner Doug Arndt, 50, who won his age group (50-59), said, "Spring was cool, so we really didn't get a chance to train in hotter weather, which made this race condition even tougher."
He added that the excitement of the race made most runners "not think about the humidity."
"At about the three mile mark, the heat really hits you going up the hill," he said.
Race winner Drew Nesbitt noted that his time was slower than he thought it would be, due to the weather conditions.
"It was much tougher running in these conditions, but we all had to experience it," he said, adding that he made a "conscious effort to drink Gatorade before the race."
Amway said that this wasn't the hottest of all RRRs.
"I remember years when the sun blazed down and the humidity seemed like a hundred," he noted.
Fortunately, over halfway through the race, clouds covered the sky and a breeze began to blow, but the clear lesson to be learned was to hydrate before and during summer races.
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