Lythgoes Adrenalin Rush

In The Recovery Room

Rob / 01.06.2002

The busiest place by far since the race finished has been the Athlete’s House, a recovery and treatment centre to ease the aches and pains, the injuries and fatigue, and to calm the mind as the focus switches from racing to recovery. There has been a queue all day every day since the winners came in, with racers laying down on mats and beds, receiving massage, acupuncture, healing and herbal remedies, a whole range of holistic treatments.

The service is part of Red Bull’s support for the race and is run by Marilyn Godfrey who operates the MIGS Extreme Sports Injuries Unit. They’ve been to Adrenalin Rush and other adventure races before, and are used to working with athletes who go to extremes of all sorts, and the consequences they inflict on themselves. Marilyn was massaging Tom Gibbs of Team UK, who looked very relaxed, and elsewhere in the room racers were laid out, breathing calmly, or simply asleep. The atmosphere is as far from an ‘emergency ward’ as you can imagine.

�This year the main injury, maybe 80%, has been tendonitis from the kayaking,� Marilyn said, “and we treat it with TENS machines and acupuncture, but they’ll have to rest up for some time when they go home to allow recovery. Mind you, lots of them are coming with one specific problem and getting a lot more than they bargained for, like a whole mind and body work out – aren’t they Tom! Up you get new man!�

I’ve been using a treatment called neuro-linguistic programming on many patients. When they first come they often can’t even tell you what is wrong with them, but once we get past that stage it’s possible to take them back through the experiences which brought on the injury, so they learn from the experience and apply it the next time. So they can learn not to panic, or make the wrong decisions.�

The race doctor Eithna Synnott was in the room too, talking to Jue Panter, who like many had a bandaged wrist. “The best thing this year is the condition of everyone’s feet is so good, considering how wet it was, much better than last year. There have less serious injuries too, we’ve only sent a couple of racers to hospital, just for precautionary checks on fractures.� One of these was found lying on a couch at the local hospital fast asleep in his filthy race clothing before he ever got treatment. They just left him where he was to rest.

That’s what everyone needs right now, racers, volunteers and staff …… but only after tonight’s race party.