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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 9, 2006 Respiratory therapist Scott Higinbotham and Dr. Jon Van Valkenburg gather medical supplies for a runner who fell in Saturday�s 5K run. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven extra mile Medical staff help Pear Blossom athletes get back on their feet By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune A crew of volunteers eyed each Pear Blossom runner crossing the finish line — they weren’t seeking someone they knew, just looking for runners in trouble. "They start to kind of weave," said respiratory therapist Scott Higinbotham, adding that he can sometimes spot distressed runners before they cross the finish line and be there to steady them, if not check their vital signs. Higinbotham was one of a team of 16 nurse practitioners, nurses and medical assistants from the Medford Medical Clinic operating three first-aid stations along the Pear Blossom run route on Saturday. The team is headed by Dr. Jon Van Valkenburg, 41, a family practice physician. Van Valkenburg took over as medical director for the Pear Blossom Run six years ago from Drs. Tom Glatte and John Forsythe, who headed up the first-aid stations for 25 years. Advertisement Van Valkenburg’s tending to runners was interrupted when he had to step away to run the 10-mile race, which he finished in little more than an hour (1:05:20 to be exact) but he was soon back at work, giving oxygen to a runner who staggered over to the tent saying she couldn’t breathe. This was his eighth Pear Blossom run. The first-aid tent was equipped with cots, blankets and water, as well as medical supplies such as inhalers for asthmatics, antihistamines for bee sting reactions, supplies for diabetic testing, a defibrillator, an oxygen tank, plus Mercy Flights paramedics standing by with an ambulance. "It’s kind of like a mini-emergency room, so you never know what you’re going to get," said Van Valkenburg. In addition to the first-aid tent at the finish line, there were others set up at Oak Grove School and Hanley Road. Races included the 5-kilometer, the 1-mile, the 10-mile and the 2-mile, all starting at different times Saturday morning in front of Medford City Hall. The races are part of the annual Pear Blossom Festival, an all-day event in downtown Medford featuring dozens of booths in and around Alba Park as well as the Pear Blossom Parade, in its 53rd year. The medical crew asked Dewane Pinkerton, 64, of Medford to lie down on a cot after he tripped and fell as he finished the 5K run. After he was up and around he said the volunteers just wanted to check his blood pressure. "Everything was OK," he said. And the fall didn’t diminish his athletic ambition. "I think I’d go for the 10-mile next year," he said. Van Valkenburg said many of the injuries he sees could be prevented if runners adequately warm up before the race and then work gradually into an appropriate pace. He said the common health problems he’s seen are sprains, muscle pulls and dehydration. But those were not the most common needs Saturday. "We got a puker!" Higinbotham called out, waving a volunteer holding a plastic bag over to an incoming runner. Several runners relinquished their stomach contents as they completed the events, especially following the 5K race, and the crews handed out numerous plastic bags. Higinbotham said the vomiting doesn’t always mean someone ate too big of a breakfast. "They run in the cold air, they start to get a little cough going, and it triggers the gag reflex," he said. Nancy Keeley, nurse practitioner, said sometimes runners push themselves too hard, and their blood supply switches to essential organs like the brain and away from less essential organs like the stomach. Then, if there’s anything in the stomach, it’ll come up. She said the reason the 5K race saw more vomiting than the 10-mile race is because the longer race tends to attract runners who are more experienced with pacing themselves. Van Valkenburg said fortunately it’s not usually life-threatening situations at the stations, but they’re prepared in case it is, as they’ve seen in the past. "There was a person who had a heart attack," he said, adding that the man crossed the finish line, the heart trouble began, and the crew responded immediately. "They got him to a hospital and he did well." Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail EXTRA MILE ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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