Unofficial translation. The Spanish version is the official one and prevails in case of discrepancy.
How many ambulances does a marathon need?
The SPMD does not measure safety by the number of ambulances but by the time to the defibrillator. At the Essential Minimum level, an urban marathon requires 2 medical posts, at least 1 advanced life support (ALS) unit with an agreement with 911, a physician on motorcycle and 5 motorcycles with AED.
What is the difference between Essential Minimum and Recommended?
The Essential Minimum is the SPMD mandatory floor: AED in 5 minutes or less at any point. The Recommended level is the optimal standard of the COPAMEDE/SBMEE position statement: AED in 3 minutes or less and ALS units at the start, finish and every 5 km.
How are the motorcycles calculated?
A unit at 40 km/h covers a 6.7 km segment with a 5-minute target and a 4 km segment with a 3-minute target. Divide the distance by the segment, round up and subtract the ALS unit and the physician on motorcycle. On courses longer than 5 km, at least one motorcycle.
Who drives the physician's motorcycle?
A nurse, firefighter or first responder. The post 2 physician rides as a passenger with the AED and returns to the post.
What should be done in a case of heat stroke?
Confirm with rectal temperature, cool on site with cold-water immersion to below 39 °C and only then transport.
What about events in mountains, on islands or in the open sea?
They are classified as remote or aquatic and planned at least at the high level: prolonged stabilization post, written evacuation plan, agreements with the institutions of the territory and communication without cell coverage.
Is this recommendation mandatory?
Currently it is a technical recommendation. The SPMD proposes working with the authorities to turn it into a national technical standard.
Can I use the document in another country?
Yes. It is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license and was designed for all of Latin America, with attribution to the SPMD.