MEDICAL OPERATION & PARTICIPANT SAFETY 

MEDICAL OPERATIONS

Our team is there for you in case you have an incident with which you require assistance. The team will shadow the progress of the Challenge each day in vehicles; before establishing a medicle centre each afternoon at our accommodation. Whilst the medics are there for ‘what ifs,’ they are also a great source of preventative advice; so please do use them to ask questions and check best practice, particularly in suspected foot injury or issues such as blisters. We will also have medical staff on foot with you on the trekking stages. 

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MEDICAL PRE- SCREENING 

At this stage we are inviting you to have a medical screening process, which can be completed via the link below. Please complete this as soon as possible – and certainly please, no later than 12th Oct. If you do have any condition that you feel we should know about, however small you feel it may be, please do share this with our Medics. Experience has shown that early pre-screening can assist both us and you greatly in enabling the care you need pre and during the trip. If you do not share information on conditions which are likely to affect your participation or decide to share them very late in the process, we are all under pressure and we will always reserve the right to cancel your participation if we feel there is a medical issue that may affect yours, or others’ safety. So please, do share anything and everything you feel our team should know about, at the earliest opportunity.  

IMPORTANT NOTE ON SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS AND MEDICAL INFORMATION:

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We are very fortunate to have an excellent Medical Director providing oversight, planning and screening on all of our international trips, who in turn engages seriously professional and qualified staff to join you on the trip. Rat Race also conforms and has been audited to the rigorous BS8848 standard of expedition management. This means our approach to all things safety and medical is extremely thorough and it is designed throughout with your best interest at heart.

Your medical screening details will be sent direct to our medical team and under medical confidentiality rules, this will only be shared with our medics and no-one else. If they decide this is info that is in the best interests of everyone for us as organisers to be privy to, they will seek and gain your consent before doing so. It is therefore important you complete the link to the medical survey only which can be found HERE; do not send Rat Race medical information direct. If you have any queries at all on the medical side of things in relation to this event, you can email our Medical Director, Dr Patrick Musto confidentially on office@trailmed.com and he and his team will assist.

TRAVEL MEDICINE ADVICE

As well as being a practising NHS Emergency Care Doctor and Expedition Medicine Specialist, Dr Musto is also a qualified travel medicine practitioner.  Please view the Travel Medicine Advice PDF HERE.

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BLISTER KIT

We have split the blister kit list into mandatory and recommended - you can view this and the full kit list here.  

PERSONAL MED KIT

We have split the medical kit into mandatory and recommended - you can also view this and the full kit list here.

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ALTITUDE 

Altitude sickness, also known as mountain sickness, is a medical condition that can occur when your body doesn't have enough time to adjust to the lower oxygen levels at high altitudes. Altitude sickness usually occurs at levels above 2,500 meters. The body's process of adjusting to lower oxygen levels is called acclimatization, and it usually takes about 3 to 5 days. 

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The cause of altitude sickness is the rapid ascent to higher elevation where the air pressure is lower at higher altitudes, which means there's less oxygen available for your body to breathe. 

Medex have created a booklet called ‘travel at high altitude’, it explains altitude, altitude sickness, symptoms and preventions. You should read this document before departing for Guatemala HERE.

We have structured the event to create the lowest risk altitude profile. Using the first few days to acclimatise on Acatenango, before descending back to sea level where we will continue to slowly reach our highest point on the event 5 days later.   

INSURANCE FOR YOU AND YOUR EQUIPMENT

We have asked that you have in place Travel Insurance cover and specified Evacuation cover to last for a minimum period of the event duration for the days you are with us on the published itinerary. Evacuation and medical expenses cover should total no less than $500 000. A copy of this cover/covers (if separate policies) is required to be received by us by 12th October.  We recommend that participants have insurance to cover damage, loss, theft, injury and non-attendance. Rat Race cannot accept any responsibility for the loss of, theft, or damage to any Participant property or the circumstances of Participant non-attendance.

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If you are bringing your own bike, we ask that you have a policy in place to cover it for damage, loss or theft. It is up to you what level you cover it for (and of course several overarching policies will provide coverage for loss or damage of sports equipment) but we would advise that you place cover for the replacement value of the bike, if you can do so.

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You should  submit copies of your insurance via the Event Details Form. Alongside this, we ask that medical screening is completed, plus an online waiver. Please see the actions list at the bottom of this document for details.

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Some suggested providers are as follows:

For UK and Channel Island residents Rat Race’s own insurer brokers have a brand-new product: 

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https://www.mannbroadbent.co.uk/sports-travel-insurance/.

Note: This is Rat Race’s UK-based insurance broker, specialising in the leisure insurance market. This is a specialist sports travel cover product; however Rat Race is neither an insurance broker or underwriter. We can recommend Mann Broadbent wholeheartedly as good people to deal with, but please remember that this is not a ‘Rat Race product’ and we have no say whatsoever on claims decisions made by the insurers, in the event that you raise such a claim via one of these policies.
 

Other Providers:

www.battleface.com

www.bigcattravelinsurance.com

www.internationalsos.com

Note: We have no relationship with any of these providers, but previous customers have found them reasonable to deal with regarding some of our similar Bucket List challenges.

Note: For all insurance, please remember that cover is offered based on several factors, (the nature of the event disciplines being one of them), but your own insurance profile, age, health and other details form a big part of this. As such, we are always happy to provide details to insurers in support of cover requests from customers, but we cannot influence their decisions as to whether to offer cover to individuals.

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POOR WEATHER CONTINGENCY

Guatemala is known for being hot and humid, however the temperatures dramatically decrease at altitude. Please be prepared for the multiple weather conditions and temperatures ranging from hot to cold. The terrain and altitudes along the route will influence the temperature.  

The event will proceed in many conditions, but if it is deemed unsafe to continue due to weather conditions, the event will be halted at the current accommodation location. If required, we will await more favourable conditions to re-commence. This may result in some stages being cut short or cancelled in their entirety to achieve forward progress within the time available.   
 
In all cases, the decision of the Event team is final in these matters. We will monitor weather and general course conditions throughout, and rest assured that any decision we do make in this regard is only ever made with the safety of event participants at its core.  
 
But please do understand that the very nature of such an undertaking in such an environment requires us to plan (and deploy) contingencies and we cannot therefore guarantee that the exact itinerary as laid out on the website and in this document will be achieved. Such is the essence of adventure!  

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COURSE CUT OFFS & WITHDRAWALS

This event is not about cut-offs. But, having a ‘cut-off’ and a ‘sweeping’ structure is an important part of our Event Management Plan and Risk Assessment processes. Cut off times are independent of any other factors that occur earlier in the course such as start time, injury, going the wrong way, time taken at Pit Stops, head winds; and whether it is your fault or not. We understand that missing cut offs can be tough to take but please remember this is not the crew member’s fault that breaks the news to you, should it happen to you. Please also remember that if this does happen to you, the Event team’s decision is final.  

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If you are cut off, there will be no option to re-start from where you were cut off the next day. (The event only ever moves forwards). You may however re-start the next day from the official re-start location, subject to the discretion of the event team.  

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There are a number of reasons why you may be cut-off or withdrawn from the event. These could be medical, pace, kit, personal or other factors. However, if you are moving forward and your safety/health is not at risk you will be able to continue until the sun goes down.  
 
It is OK to retire and to be taken forward to the overnight stop. We’d rather you re-started the next day vs suffers meaninglessly and spoil it for yourself. We call this being ‘boosted.’  

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As far as the time available goes to avoid a cut-off, there is no ‘set’ cut off time each day. (ie. Time limit or published time). Instead, we require all participants to be at the finish location before nightfall. If this is looking unlikely you will be ‘swept’ forward. That is the cut-off.  

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Above all else, please remember, this event is not about cut-offs. It is about getting the most out of this magical environment. We will not cut you off and sweep you forward unless we really must. And if we do, it is for your own safety. 

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BEDDING DOWN INTO THE COURSE

It is probable that when you set off on the Challenge on day 1, the first hours of the first day may be a bit hit n’ miss. Pace, temperature regulation, kit selection, footwear or glove niggles. All to be expected. Embrace that ‘bedding down into it’ phase and listen to your body and to your kit. Expect some unexpected phenomena (not UFOs, just unusual kit or bike issues that you may not have quite been expecting). Use this time to just get used to the environment, the gear and the temperature. Go with it and relax. By Pit Stop 1 or 2, you’ll have worked out enough to be comfortable…  

SUN & HEAT   

Please carefully review our Sun & Heat safety guidance issued by our medical partner Trail Med.

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EVACUATION PLANNING

You have already been made aware that this is a serious undertaking in very remote terrain. For the bike stages, we have vehicles in support. On the trek stages, there are some locations to which we can get a vehicle but in general, these are far less accessible. Whilst helicopter evacuation is possible for the most serious of matters, it is not always a-given that a helicopter can fly (night, weather, wind, lack of landing spot or winch capability). You need to be fully aware therefore that an evacuation from the event where vehicle access is not possible is an extremely serious undertaking. If such an undertaking is deemed to be required, it may be that YOU become part of the safety system. We will always reserve the right to call upon members of the Event, alongside crew, to assist in any evacuation activity whatsoever required in order to remedy the situation as quickly and decisively as possible. This may involve diverting off the route, assisting with casualty-bearing and load-carrying, or other duties.  

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You should also know that, if a helicopter cannot access a casualty’s location, the evacuation time at certain parts of the course could be considerable. It is important that we state unequivocally that we cannot remove all risk from such an undertaking, nor would we state such. You are entering an area where the remoteness of the undertaking and the slowness of possible evacuation could result in Death.  

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Mitigation of such scenarios is our number one priority. Your ability to reduce the risk posed by trauma is key: Taking your time, particularly on bikes, descending rough ground in a carefully controlled manner is all part of this mitigation against injury. Your use of trekking poles for example will also help on the trekking sections. You must take your time, acclimatise as best as possible, undertake each event phase very much with a clear understanding of the environment you are in and come to the table with a team mentality on this one. That way, we will stay safe, and we will mitigate and reduce the risks outlined above. 

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GENERAL SAFETY AROUND VEHICLES 

This event takes place on public roads and tracks there will be vehicles around, sometimes it will be extremely quiet with only our vehicles present, at other times it will feel like the traffic is heavy. You must courteously give way to other users whilst on the route. Vigilance must be taken at all times.  

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LITTER  

We want to show that this event has exemplary control of littering. Please help us achieve that. Pack your litter into your pack, pockets or nearby bin bag (trash sack) at a vehicle. No exceptions. Our absolute commitment is to not have an impact of the Guatemalan countryside and if possible leave it better than we found it.

EMERGENCY PROTOCOL  

In the event of a true emergency or serious incident you will be notified of protocols at the orientation at registration. If you are with an injured party whilst on the route, stay with the casualty and await assistance. In the event of a non-emergency incident but for which action is requested from the organisers, then you should place a call (we will give you numbers) or if no phone reception, you should send a message forward to the next Pit Stop with another participant if possible and/or await an event crew member approaching via vehicle from behind. This might be medical, logistical or kit/ equipment breakdown as examples. We politely ask that you stop and help someone that is in difficulty – you will be the first person to find them – remember to take note of time, place (number of km, or minutes/ hours from last Pit Stop) and participant number/ name at the incident site. Remember we are all in it together and we are in effect one big team. 

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MUSIC PLAYERS  

While these are allowed, please control their volume according to your environment. Use your judgment at all times when listening to music or audiobooks. Please also be aware that if you cannot hear general voice levels you might miss instructions or warnings from crew, other participants or approaching vehicles. We suggest that you run the leads behind you so that persons or vehicles approaching from behind might be able to see that you are wired for sound.