Validation of a Mobile Application Water Planning Tool for Road Race Event Organizers

Water planning is an important risk management concern for road race event organizers. Purpose To compare water and cup prediction outputs from a mobile application (app) planning tool against: 1) measured group sweat losses, 2) documented event water and cup usage, and 3) traditional mathematical planning solutions. Methods Group mean sweating rates (L·h−1) from 12 published outdoor running studies were each compared to 12 composite averages using the Road Race Water Planner© (RRWP) app. Estimated water (gallons) and cup (number) needs were also compared with documented usage at a large marathon event and to traditional mathematical solutions. Results Thirteen group mean sweating rates from 286 runners were compared to composite RRWP estimates. Predicted sweating rate accuracy was 92% for RRWP and ranged from 0% to 69% for traditional mathematical solutions. The 2017 Boston marathon included 27,222 runners on a day averaging 21.5°C. Water and cup usage was 31,740 gallons and 1,036,003 cups, respectively. The RRWP estimates were 33,505 gallons and 1,072,160 cups, respectively. The difference in gallons expressed as liters was 0.236 L per person. For an approximately 4-h marathon, the difference per person as a rate was
Source: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: APPLIED SCIENCES Source Type: research