Medical teams set for Comrades Marathon Race Day

KWAZULU-NATAL - With just hours to go before thousands of runners from around the world line up at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on Sunday, 8 June, for the 98th edition of the Comrades Marathon, they can rest assured that any medical need that may arise will be well taken care of.

Whether it’s a plaster for a blister from a friendly nurse, a massage for tired muscles administered by a trained physiotherapist, or the critical care services of highly skilled advanced life support paramedics and doctors for a more serious eventuality, Comrades Marathon runners will have a team of some 585 medical staff available over their journey to the finish line in Durban.

Mande Toubkin, Netcare’s general manager of emergency, trauma, transplant and corporate social investment, says Netcare and Netcare 911 are proud to partner with the Comrades Marathon Association for the 24th year to provide emergency medical care for the runners.

“The event is so big in terms of its medical support needed that staff from Netcare travel from hospitals all over KwaZulu-Natal to assist along the route in the medical stations and at the Comrades Finish Medical Tent.”

Participating hospitals include Netcare Alberlito, Netcare Kingsway, Netcare Margate, Netcare Parklands, Netcare St Annes, Netcare St Augustine’s, Netcare The Bay, Netcare Umhlanga Hospitals, and Netcare Diagnostics Point of Care pathology testing technology will be used. “After the race, all our emergency departments across the province also care for runners, highlighting the widespread support from emergency medicine and specialists for this much-anticipated event.

“It’s always an inspiration for us to see the sheer strength of the human spirit embodied in the participants. We want to assure them that our skilled medical staff, across many disciplines, are there to lend a helping hand for any medical issues they may have on the road,” she says.