Heat, humidity and Bix

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By Ann McGlynn | Friday, July 28, 2006 5:02 PM CDT | () comments

(John Schultz/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Jeff Power, cornet player with the Australian jazz band New Wolverines, belts out the notes on a cornet once owned by Bix Beiderbecke during a performance Thursday at the Putnam Museum to kick off the Bix weekend of events.

The words “Bix” and “heat” bring a flood of statistics to Jerry Williams’ mind:

16 — The number of ambulances Medic EMS will have positioned along the Quad-City Times Bix 7 race course Saturday morning. Six medics riding bicycles will be on patrol, too.

90 — Of the people Medic assists on a typical race day, 90 percent are runners, 10 percent are spectators.

76 — The most people transported by Medic to area hospitals for treatment of heat problems. It was in 1997, the hottest race on record, with a morning temperature of 83 degrees and stifling 80 percent humidity.

Saturday’s race is shaping up to be the second-hottest on record with a forecast of 80 degrees and 77 percent humidity at the 8 a.m. starting time, according to the National Weather Service.

“We’re just praying for a blast of cold air, but I don’t think we’re going to get it,” said Williams, who is the community relations and fleet manager for Medic. “We’re gearing up for a bad one.”

Runners with heat exhaustion act as though they are drunk, he said. They often stumble or weave. Light-headedness and incoherency also are signs. And if a person stops sweating, “that means they are really in trouble,” he added.

Medic is one of the entities that will be providing help to runners and spectators impacted by the heat. Genesis Medical Center sponsors a medical tent near the finish line.

The 200 volunteers who staff the tent will have plenty of towels drenched in cold water and ice available, said Karen LeMaster, who has worked in the tent for two decades.

“If runners do overheat, we do what we can to get them cooled down as quickly as possible,” she said. For the first time this year, the tent will have what she called an “ambient cooling machine” available, courtesy of the Davenport Fire Department. The machine is a huge fan that blows mist cooled by dry ice into the air.

The busiest year for the medical tent was the same as Medic’s: 1997. A record 222 people were treated and a record 11 were admitted to the hospital for at least one night, Genesis officials said. Since 1997, there have been only three hospital admissions combined: two in 2001 and one in 2002.

Last year, 84 people were treated. Five had body temperatures of 106 degrees and two had a temperature of 108 or more.

The addition of the two-mile Quick Bix in 1999, LeMaster said, has really cut down on the number of people seen for medical reasons. A shorter race means less chance of runners overheating.

“I’m hoping that people take it easy,” she said. “I think that message is getting out there really loud and clear.”

Paul Schmidt, president of Cornbelt Running Club and a Bix 7 veteran, said participants can take common-sense measures to avoid heat problems.

“Go a little bit slower. This probably won’t be your best year. Take in fluids when you get to the water stations. Hydrate well before the race. Avoid alcohol. Wear your cool clothes.”

Heat-related problems are more common in the second half of the race, specifically the long upward slope along Kirkwood Avenue, Medic’s Williams said.

If a runner or spectator needs help, he suggested sitting down and asking someone to seek medical assistance.

“If you start feeling any issues — getting weak, dizzy, light-headed — stop, cool off, get some fluids. Ask for help. We’ll be there.”

Ann McGlynn can be contacted at (563) 383-2336 or amcglynn@qctimes.com.

BIX 7 by the numbers

Chilliest — 61 degrees in 2004

Hottest — 83 degrees in 1997

Least muggy — 65 percent humidity in 2000

Wettest — 1.8 inches of rain and 100 percent humidity in 1992

Source: National Weather Service, Davenport