Participants may have prepared for the heat, but staying hydrated during the race was most important.
HANNIBAL, MO. -- It could have been one of the hottest race days in Hannibal Cannibal history, but that didn't stop runners and walkers from finishing a 10k run.
"I made sure I got a lot of liquids and fluids before the race started," Jim Humphreys, a Hannibal Cannibal runner said.
"I've been practicing with my friend a couple of times in this heat, it's extreme, it's really hot," Linda Ansell, a first time Hannibal Cannibal walker said.
Participants may have prepared for the heat, but staying hydrated during the race was most important.
"It can be very dangerous, they can get over heated very easily, heat exhaustion or heat stroke," Joni Morris, a Hannibal Regional Hospital nurse volunteering at the race said.
Organizers for the race worked hard to try and keep that situation from happening.
"There's a few things we do, we start at seven in the morning, we close the roads so they can spread out and run, we have different water stations through out the course and then we have volunteers throughout the course cheering them on and they also have wet rags to hand out and let them cool off," Wendy Harrington, a race organizer from the Hannibal Regional Hospital Foundation said.
The race went through two thousand pounds of ice and used over 60 tubs of water. Staying hydrated sometimes isn't enough when taking on the heat, that's why a first-aid station was set up near the finish line.
"So what we do is we bring them into the first aid tent and we get them cooled down with ice rags and ice packs and we lay them down to rest and the we have cold showers for them to cool off as well," Morris said. "It's very important to immediately try to get them cooled down and get them water to drink."
Between the first-aid tent and water stations, all the preparation that went into the race didn't go unnoticed.
"They were fabulous they gave us these clothes full of ice, they sprayed you down with hoses, they gave you water," Ansell said.
"When you get done there's people there to make sure you're okay, they get you some fluids and take good care of you so they've done a great job," Humphreys said.
There were no serious injuries reported at the race but at least eight people were treated at the first aid station.
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