EMSA Staff Preparing For OKC Memorial Marathon

EMSA has been busy preparing for the 2023 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon since the end of 2022, with 15 first aid stations spread out throughout the entire marathon course.

The marathon, beginning at the Oklahoma City Memorial and Museum and ending at Scissortail Park, will have EMSA staff and paramedics on bikes throughout the course making sure runners are safe and hydrated.

Runners and spectators will see trucks and advanced life support paramedics staged around the course as well.

EMSA said they will provide each medical station durable medical equipment such as stretchers, heart monitors and blood pressure cups.

In 2022, EMSA said they responded to 300 medical calls during the event including 15 athletes who had to be transported from the race.

“EMSA will keep an eye on spectators and runners, if we start seeing an athlete showing signs of fatigue we will step in and check on them, but we do not want to pull someone out of the race if we don’ have to," EMSA medic Zakia Yazdanipour said.

Staffing for the marathon is volunteer-based, with many people come down from Tulsa to help.