Hull, UK-based charity, The Matthew Good Foundation, in collaboration with the medical division of World Athletics, has launched a new app, Race Ready, designed to safeguard the health of millions of runners.
The foundation was established in memory of Matthew Good, who tragically passed away in 2011 while raising money for charity by running the Humber Half Marathon.
Launched with a mission to improve runner safety and reduce medical emergencies during endurance running events, the app has been designed to provide information spanning medical, performance, hydration and nutrition guidance and resources.
Tim Good, Matthew’s brother and Chairman at The Matthew Good Foundation, said “Today is a proud day to be launching the Race Ready app as the culmination of years of work to improve race medicine, inspired by the sudden death of my brother.”
The charity and the app are highlighting the risks even healthy runners face in the build-up and during endurance events where runners can encounter medical issues when training and racing.
A study published by the National Library of Medicine (USA) found that in a typical 10km race, around 6 in 1,000 runners require medical attention. Some face serious, potentially life-threatening conditions such as heatstroke and hyponatremia (low blood sodium).
With thousands of mass participation running events held worldwide each year, tragic losses of amateur runners and athletes still occur, and so the app has been developed collaboratively by a panel of leading experts in race medicine. These include:
- Dr Paulo Emilio Adami, Head of Medical Operations at World Athletics;
- Professor Courtney Kipps, Vice Medical Director of the London Marathon;
- Professor Rob Galloway, former Medical Director of the Brighton Marathon; and
- Dr Amy Boalch, Medical Doctor, London Marathon Medicine Conference Committee Member and a UK Athletics Accredited Coach.
The ambition is to reach as many of the millions of runners who take part in mass participation running events globally each year as possible through the Race Ready app.
Dr Amy Boalch explained “All content within the app is strictly evidence-based, curated and vetted by our World Athletics affiliated team of experts.
“Now, the challenge is to get the information directly into the hands of runners, to address a crucial gap in the running community whereby at present knowledge is lacking relative to medical issues.”
Boalch added “Integration of the app should be a no-brainer for race organisers globally – it’s an easy way to significantly improve raceday care, reducing the number of fatalities and the number of people presenting at medical tents at events up and down the country.”
The Race Ready app is available to download now on both iOS and Android via the App Store and Google Play. All features and content is free.
