CINCINNATI — The winner of the women's Flying Pig Marathon had a body temperature of nearly 108 degrees after she collapsed at the finish line. Olivia Anger told WCPO 9 News she was treated for heat stroke. We found out she wasn't the only one as weather was once again a challenge for the event.
"It took everything in me to get to that finish line," Anger said. "I was worried. I didn't know if I was going to finish — I had to really dig deep."
Medical teams brought Anger a wheelchair and she spent one hour in the medical tent after the finish.
"They literally saved lives yesterday," said Iris Bush, president and CEO of the Flying Pig Marathon. "There were people finishing with temperatures the highest I heard was 109 degrees."
Bush said even with the changing weather this past weekend, their 350 medical volunteers were ready to treat hundreds of people for various injuries and illnesses.
"We had lots of challenges — a much larger than usual number of medical runs, but the medical team seemed to respond to that we are aware of," Bush said.
The course is heating up and the runners are setting the finish swine on fire! @wcpo pic.twitter.com/Y1rbYn11gb
— Krizia Williams (@krizia_williams) May 5, 2024
We don't know how many were treated for heat stroke and dehydration, but Bush says 20-25 participants were taken to a hospital.
Participants also got a text message around 8:30 a.m. letting them know the course was red-flagged, meaning there was a high risk of heat injury or serious weather conditions. This was about two hours into the race. Some runners, though, don't race with their phones. It's something Bush acknowledged as a challenge.
"We do display them on the course, but you're out there running, you're focused on your body, your time, so a lot of people don't notice it," Bush said. "We can only do so much to try to let you know what's going on."
We asked Anger what she felt could be improved.
"Maybe just improve communications was the only way they could've been better, but overall I think this race is amazingly organized," said Anger.
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