Climate change raises runners’ risk of heatstroke that can cause organ damage, even death

Heatstroke occurs when the body temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius, and climate change increases the risk of that for distance runners

Reading Time:5 minutes

A volunteer holds out a cup of water for runners in the Falmouth Road Race in the US state of Massachusetts. Heatstroke among runners is becoming more of a risk as climate change increases the number of hot days. Photo: AP

Published: 3:15am, 6 Sep 2024Updated: 4:12am, 6 Sep 2024

Carolyn Baker, clad in a neon pink top and matching sunglasses, smiled as she ran the Falmouth Road Race on the shore of Cape Cod, in the US state of Massachusetts, looking around for friends as she neared the end of a race she had completed more than a dozen times before.

Suddenly, Baker collapsed from overheating. As medical volunteers rushed to her aid by plunging her into a tub filled with iced water, they measured her temperature at 41.6 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit).

For family members, the first sign of trouble was when their tracking app showed Baker moving backwards on the course – as she was taken to the medical tent. Her husband, catching up with friends after finishing earlier, blurted “Oh my god”, after his daughter called to alert him, then rushed to the tent.

Heatstroke that felled Baker last year is a deadly illness associated with extreme heat, and climate change is increasing the risk. In the continental United States, the frequency of dangerously hot days is expected to grow by roughly one-third by mid-century.

Carolyn Baker, who collapsed from heatstroke at the Falmouth Road Race in 2023, prepares for the 2024 race in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Photo: AP

Exertional heatstroke happens during exercise when the body cannot properly cool, rising above 40 degrees Celsius and triggering a central nervous system problem such as fainting or blacking out.

It can be effectively treated by rapidly cooling a victim, but lots of races lack the resources or expertise to do it. And many runners, in a culture that esteems grit and suffering, may ignore conditions that put them at risk.