In total, approximately 2,460 people were registered to participate in the event which would offer four distances, namely the 1 km, the 5 km, the 10 km and the half marathon. The initial goal was around 2,300 registrations. “We are very satisfied with the participation,” says Ms. Lefebvre.
All departures, with the exception of the 1 kilometer, were made on the Jacques-Cartier Bridge.
Ambulance transport
About ten people had to be transported by ambulance, explained Judith Lefebvre a few hours after the end of the race. “We had hired Ambulances de l’Estrie this year. It’s normal that they were present on site, but yes, there were still a lot of fainting spells or drops in blood pressure. Yes, there were transports to the hospital.”
This element will be taken into consideration in the assessment that the organization of the race will draw up, she assures. “We don’t necessarily have all the hindsight. As for Ambulances de l’Estrie, the response time was satisfactory. Yes, there were many situations in which they had to travel, yes there were ambulance transports, but I do not believe that there were any gaps in the ambulance service offered. […] I also don’t think it was the situation of our organization that caused such a large number of cases.”
Hot, humid weather may have been a factor, she said.
Water points were scattered at various locations along the routes.
The organization of the RBC Sherbrooke Half Marathon also wanted to improve the management of water points compared to last year. “It was very humid and very hot today. We passed a lot of water. We had really planned more than the year and we almost made it through.”
Runners braved rain at times on Sunday. (Lilia Gaulin/La Tribune)
She estimates that the rescue team, located on the route, made about fifty interventions. In some cases, they were minor.
“There was a little rain, but it was still minor. Ultimately, it helped refresh the participants a little.”
Collection of bibs
For this second edition of the RBC Sherbrooke Half-Marathon, the bib recovery period has been extended. “This morning when the bibs were handed out, it went really well. We did not experience what we experienced last year. It was smooth and no one was rushed to get their bib.”
The Sherbrooke Police Department deployed a security service to supervise the race.
