Training in Extreme Heat
by Steve McGill
For those athletes who have yet to end their season — those preparing for national meets and/or summer track programs, the months of June and July do not represent a break from the school season, but a ratcheting up of intensity. For those who are in their off-season and are beginning their training for next year, the same basic fact holds true: training in the heat presents challenges that have to be acknowledged and dealt with intelligently, and sometimes cautiously. This article will take a look at some of those factors and provide some suggestions based on personal experience and observation.
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To put it bluntly, training in extreme heat is dangerous. The first sobering cautionary tale I remember hearing in regard to this topic was the tragic death of NFL offensive lineman Korey Stringer of the Minnesota Vikings on August 1, 2001. Stringer, a Pro Bowler, was only 27 years old. According to a 2021 ESPN.com article that looked back upon Stringer’s death twenty years after the fact, Stringer was healthy, fit, in the prime of his career, when he suffered “exertional heatstroke” — a rise in body temperature brought on by physical exertion in extreme heat — “an avoidable and easily treated condition that sports medicine largely ignored at the time.” He had vomited twice during practice two days before, and at least once during practice the following day, and other players were also showing signs of heat exhaustion. Korey’s body temperature, according to the article, rose to about 108 degrees, leading to organ failure. The article goes on to explain that the NFL has gone on to add new policies regarding limiting training camp practice hours in the heat, and has ramped up its knowledge of heat-related illness, especially when it comes to noticing symptoms and acting quickly when symptoms are recognized by training staff.
Obviously, a track athlete will not ever be wearing full pads and a helmet during a training session, but the point is clear: work smarter not harder. It’s easy to assume that because races in the summer are run in extreme heat a lot of the time, that athletes should train in the heat as well so they can prepare for race conditions. While that logic makes sense on paper, it doesn’t make sense once you step outside and start to bake. That’s why one of my suggestions would be to train only in the early morning or in the evening throughout the summer months. If morning, I’d say practice should begin no later than 9 am; if evening, I’d say practice should begin no earlier than 6:30 pm. I generally start practice at 7 pm with athletes in my private coaching; we’ll go earlier if the temperatures are relatively mild (in the low-mid 80’s) or if the sky is overcast. This way, you can ensure that the athletes will most likely have access to shade, as the sun won’t be all the way up yet (morning) or will be on its way down (evening). Starting practice sessions anywhere in the range or 10:00-6:00 is risky at best, foolish at worst.
Training mid-day can be okay when doing workouts that allow for long breaks between reps. A block-start workout, for example. Even when training in the morning or evening, I would argue that common rules of recovery times between reps should be tossed away for all summer workouts. Unless it’s an unseasonably cool day, athletes should be allowed to take as much rest as necessary to make a full recovery before going again. Coaches must also be ready to reduce the number of reps if athletes seem to be wilting in the heat.
Also, it’s important to identify where the shade is, and to do all warming up in or near the area where the shade is. If there is a building nearby or trees, that area should be practice headquarters. Between reps, head for the shade. Don’t rest in the sun if doing so is avoidable.
It goes without saying that hydration is key during the summer months. One of the kids I’m coaching this summer brings two half-gallon water bottles to practice every time we meet. Another carries a gallon jug with him. In extreme heat, a regular Aquafina bottle won’t do. When it comes to water, it’s definitely better to have more than you need than to not bring enough and need more.
Another simple safety measure would include wearing sunglasses to practice. Sunglasses reduce glare, and the glare is what can lead to disorientation, dizziness, and fainting spells. I started wearing sunglasses when I was about 27, on a day when I was doing some 200-meter sprints with a few of my athletes one summer weekend. After we finished practice, we were sitting in the shade under a tent one of the kids had brought, and I started getting dizzy. I lay down for a few minutes and felt better, but it scared me. That’s when (and why) I started wearing sunglasses whenever I go out in the heat, even when I’m driving in my air-conditioned car. The glare ain’t no joke. The dizzy spells have occurred off and on since that first episode. Back in my 40’s, when I used to go on distance runs every morning, I always made it a point to wake up early and beat the heat during the summer, or else I could forget about running that day.
When it comes to meets in the summer, oh man, the meets ain’t no joke. The main reason I don’t coach for a club anymore is because I couldn’t take those hot-ass all-day or 2-day or 3-day or even 4-day meets in the sun all weekend long. I’m talking about the AAU and USATF youth meets, obviously. For meets, you need to prepare like you’re heading out for a weeklong camping trip. And if you’ve been to such meets, you know that people do. You need tents, tarps, lawn chairs, fruit, energy bars, water in coolers, Gatorade in coolers. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do to survive. Umbrellas (but not black ones, because they absorb heat), are also useful, as well as bucket hats and the like.
Overall, safe is always better than sorry. Like I always say, there are no heroes in track and field, and that applies to the heat as well. Be safe, be smart.
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