PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphians are spending the weekend doing their best to cope with temperatures in the 90s and heat indexes reaching triple digits. Those who love to run, however, found ways to work around it.
Like many other parts of the U.S, residents of the tri-state area have had to cope with the heat this week. A heat health emergency has been in effect since Thursday in Philadelphia, but on the last day of the emergency, runners on Kelly Drive found a way to work out and train in these high temperatures.
Still, Bryn, who grew up in Georgia, says the signs of heat exhaustion may not be as clear as you think.
“I'm really familiar with, like, what does heat exhaustion look like, what does heat stroke look like,” she told KYW Newsradio, “but I don’t know if that’s something everyone’s familiar with, because if you’re feeling fine and it’s really hot out and you’re not sweating, you’re actually in a really bad place.”
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Symptoms of heat exhaustion or heat stroke include nausea and vomiting, muscle cramps, a weak pulse, and dizziness. If you experience any of these, find a cooler area, take breaks, and hydrate more.
Bryn said despite growing up in a warmer climate, she found this heat wave overwhelming. “You can only be out for an hour or so and you just have to stop otherwise.”
Marsha Flowers said the heat made her scale back her workout. “I got about four miles in, but I had to quit my last mile, I just couldn’t. I couldn’t handle the heat,” she admitted.
Distance runner Ian Doreian was out training for the Erie Marathon and the Philadelphia Distance Run. He said with proper preparation, your body can adjust to any condition, as you don’t know what marathon day will look like.
“Summer training’s good because it forces your body to get used to any single type of either heat or humidity,” he said. “No matter how hard, it’s gonna be that much harder on race day.”
Doreian had some advice for people outside in the heat. “You have to know your body. Some people take on a lot of extra water, some people extra nutrition, but you have to make sure you’re preparing yourself the night before,” he urged. “Always make sure you hydrate before the run, during the run, and after the run.”
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