OPSMC Supporting Research at the 2010 Around the Bay in a Day

In October 2010 Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre proudly supported the Around the Bay in a Day Medical Research Project.

This project was developed and co-ordinated by Sports and Exercise Physician Dr Greg Harris, with help from a number of our other doctors and staff. The project was also supported by the Centre for Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne Pathology and Bicycle Victoria.

The HBA Around the Bay in a Day ride is Australia’s largest mass-participation event, with over 18000 riders completing distances from 50-250km.

The research involved assessing riders completing 210 or 250km for their hydration status after the ride, and in particular to detect whether any riders had over-hydrated. This decreases the salt concentration in the blood and can be potentially serious and even fatal if undetected. This condition is known as Exercise-Associated Hyponatraemia, or EAH.

Riders were surveyed at the end of their ride for their riding experience, fluid intake, ride speed and weight before and after the ride. Riders had blood samples taken after completing the ride to test for the salt concentration.

Ninety riders were tested, representing just less than 1% of all eligible riders. Of these riders, 4 were found to have EAH. None were unwell and all had returned to normal blood tests by the following day. This suggests that up to 4.5% of riders (about 400) may be at risk of developing EAH during the Around the Bay in a Day ride. This will be further investigated in future years, along with rider education and other strategies to decrease this risk.

If you are a keen cyclist, and have had concerns about your hydration or other issues with your riding, Dr Harris is available for consultations at our Olympic Park - AAMI Stadium campus.