Upcoming Senior Athletic Training Student Maddy Macklin Tells About Her Experience in Boston

On Monday April 18^th, 2012 I volunteered as an athletic training student for one of the biggest events in Boston, Marathon Monday.  Four of the students in the class a year ahead of me volunteered for the 2011 Boston Marathon and told me stories as well as prepared me on what to expect. One student told me to make sure to bring a scarf because it gets cold and windy in Boston. Well on this Marathon Monday that was not the case. The temperature was a high of 88 degrees and running 26.2 miles in hot temperatures predisposes a runner to heat illness that if not treated appropriately can lead to fatality. In order to prevent death from occurring one of the greatest medical teams in the world was formed and I was lucky enough to be a part of it. 

The day before the marathon, there was a 5K that my peers and I volunteered for. Volunteering for the 5K was great idea because it we thought it would give us a glimpse as to what we could expect on marathon Monday. I am glad we volunteered; however, nothing about the 5K event could begin to be compared to the magnitude of the actual race day.

There were three medical tents, A, B, and auxiliary, as well as teams scattered throughout the finish line and beyond the course. The day before the marathon, my peers and I set up the huge medical tents with over 800 cots. I was a part of the finish line sweep team and was given a wheel chair and some medical supplies. My job was to be alert for any runners that needed my help and to make sure that whoever was in my wheelchair got the help that they needed. 

I could not believe my eyes when I saw the elite runners coming into the stretch to cross the finish line in under 2 ½ hours. After one of the first elite runners crossed the finish line, he was looking fine and was walking around with a water bottle, and when he saw me, poised with my wheelchair, asked “is that for me?” I was so surprised by his joking remark, that I took it seriously, and started running it over to him saying, “of course.”  He started laughing and waved me off, and I realized he was just having fun. And then the real work began.

I assisted many runners, in varying conditions, but there were a few runners whose circumstance really struck me. I had one man in his 60’s, who at the completion of the race, seemed to be weaving. I sat him down in my wheelchair and I began to ask him some basic questions, like his name, what had he eaten, and how was he feeling. He responded, however he was not making sense and his speech was slurred. I tried to get him to continue to speak with me as I rushed him to the medical tent, as I could see was deteriorating as we moved through the crowd. When we got to the tent, the doctor at the door asked him a question, however he could no longer even speak, and we rushed him to the critical care area of the tent. I could only stay with him for a minute, because there were so many people who needed help, and he was in good hands, but I felt bad leaving him, even though there was nothing more that I could do to help him.

The experience was truly something special and for me and it made me feel as though what I had learned over the past three years really came together on this one day. I learned how to make decisions on my own, I felt the feeling of confidence, and I learned the true importance of why I am in the medical profession; to help people. 

I was truly in awe of the greatness of this event and will someday work it again when I become a certified athletic trainer.