Date of Completion

12-15-2016

Embargo Period

12-15-2016

Major Advisor

Douglas J. Casa

Associate Advisor

Lawrence E. Armstrong

Associate Advisor

Craig R. Denegar

Associate Advisor

Elaine C. Lee

Associate Advisor

Rebecca L. Stearns

Field of Study

Kinesiology

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Open Access

Open Access

Abstract

Many intrinsic and extrinsic factors may contribute to exertional heat stroke (EHS) susceptibility. Despite many plausible risk factors for EHS in runners, much remains unknown about how risk factors contribute to EHS risk and how education to modify behavior may reduce EHS risk. Therefore, this study investigated: (1) the differences between runners’ planned and actual hours of sleep, hydration strategies, and intake of medication and supplements at the 2016 Falmouth Road Race (FRR) and their current knowledge on heat safety and hydration, (2) effectiveness of educational video intervention in improving runner’s knowledge on heat safety and hydration, (3) effectiveness in detecting internal body temperature and heart rate responses observed during an outdoor road race from a laboratory based modified heat tolerance test (mHTT), and (4) prevalence of EHS risk factors among runners who completed the FRR. Survey results revealed that 90.5% of respondents trained for the FRR and demonstrated 64.3% in their pre race knowledge test [KT] on heat safety and hydration. The educational video resulted in a 15% improvement in KT score, however, effectiveness of the educational video in optimizing runner’s behavior is inconclusive. A mHTT was able to track markers of thermal strain independent from anthropometric variables of tested subjects in a controlled-laboratory setting. However, there was a lack of association between laboratory and field observations of internal body temperature and heart rate response. Nonetheless, the current protocol provided future direction in creating a laboratory heat tolerance test that assess runner’s ability to exercise in the heat. Lastly, observations of EHS risk factors at FRR were not unique to those who were admitted to the medial tent but were also observed in runners who experienced exercise-induced hyperthermia and runners who did not warrant medical attention at the race. While I found that reported number of risk factors per runner was highest in EHS, more EHS cases are needed to determine if a greater number of risk factors is a unique characteristic among EHS runners. In conclusion, runners exhibited various intrinsic and extrinsic EHS risk factors but presence of these factors did not demonstrate high specificity or sensitivity in identifying EHS runners.

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