OA Centers for Orthopaedics today announced that U.S.A. Triathlon has selected Dr. Scott Marr to accompany the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Duathlon Teams at the ITU Long Distance World Championship in Geel, Belgium on August 10, 2008. More than 300 duathletes from around the globe will compete in this sanctioned world championship event. While in Belgium, Dr. Marr will be responsible for the medical care and treatment of elite and age group athletes participating from the United States.
Dr. Marr is the current medical director for the Tri-Maine Series of triathlons and duathlons. This year Dr. Marr became an official team physician with U.S.A. Triathlon. U.S.A. Triathlon is a member of the International Triathlon Union (ITU), the world governing body for both triathlon and duathlon. In 2004, Dr. Marr worked with U.S.A. Triathlon as a physician at the Lake Placid Ironman competition in July, and this year he was selected to accompany U.S. athletes in Geel, Belgium for the prestigious world championship event.
“Long distance duathlon is a grueling test of endurance,” says OA’s Marr. “The Long Distance World Championship consists of an 18-kilometer run, a 74-kilometer bike race and a 9-kilometer foot race before crossing the finish line.” Top athletes will complete the course in just over three hours.
While in Belgium, Dr. Marr will run a medical clinic for U.S. athletes before, during and after the event. Dr. Marr brings a full medical kit to treat athletes with gastrointestinal problems, sinus infections, muscle and joint problems, among other potential ailments and injuries afflicting endurance athletes.
On race day Dr. Marr will be on the lookout for both dehydration and hyponatremia, a condition characterized by low blood sodium. “I encountered such a situation in Lake Placid,” relates Dr. Marr. “Athletes suffering from hyponatremia often present with symptoms similar to dehydration, but are treated differently as they are essentially fluid overloaded as opposed to dehydrated.”
At OA, Dr. Marr is an orthopaedic sports medicine specialist with a special interest in endurance athletics including performance physiology and injury prevention. He is a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine and currently serves as the Team Physician for the University of New England and Windham High School, as well as U.S.A. Triathlon. An avid cyclist and triathlete himself, Dr. Marr will compete in the USA Triathlon National Age Group Championship in Portland Oregon on September 20, 2008, having qualified with 2nd in his age group and 6th overall at the Mooseman Triathlon at Newfound Lake, New Hampshire this past June.
Comments