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Warmers next to the ice: Seattle's marathon medical crew

UW Medicine's volunteer crew works the Seattle Marathon finish with warmers and ice. It grew from 30 in 2007 to over 100 as the field neared 9,000.

$<h6>Seattle Fitness Magazine · 27 Sep 2026</h6><ul><li><strong>~30</strong>2007 volunteers</li><li><strong>100+</strong>2025 volunteers</li><li><strong>~9k</strong>2025 race field</li></ul><h2>Warmers next to the ice</h2> <p><b>The Seattle Marathon runs the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and the medical crew at the finish plans for both ends of the thermometer.</b></p><p>Ahead of the 2009 race, UW Medicine said its main tent, 20 yards from the finish, would stock electronic warmers for hypothermia and ice for overheating, because runners can overheat even in cold, wet weather. Dr. Mark Harrast took over as the race's medical director in 2007 and brought about 30 volunteers with him.</p><p>UW Medicine became the race's title sponsor in 2023 under a five-year deal, and it says its teams had staffed aid stations along the course for about 15 years before that. The name on the race is new. The people in the tent are not.</p> <h2>How the crew grew</h2> <p>For 2009, UW Medicine lined up more than 70 volunteers, three pairs of Medic One paramedics to roam the course on bikes, a new station with doctors and nurses at Mile 25 near Republican and Terry, and a booth in the Victory Recovery Area. Harrast's first race, in 2007, had tested the setup early: a runner collapsed in cardiac arrest 10 yards from the finish, and his team resuscitated him before sending him to Harborview.</p><p>For 2022, when the race started at Husky Stadium, UW Medicine planned for more than 100 volunteers to cover about 5,000 anticipated runners, with five medical stations on the 26.2-mile course and two more in the staging area. Some would float along the course in golf carts and on bikes. They came from UWMC Montlake, UWMC Northwest, Harborview, Valley Medical Center, Airlift Northwest and the university's schools.</p> <h2>The field grew faster than the crew</h2> <p>In 2024, about 120 UW Medicine volunteers worked the race and logged more than 300 patient contacts, which UW Medicine called almost double the year before. The cases included sprains, strains, blisters, cramps, dehydration and hypothermia. One young runner went into cardiac arrest on the course and was reached quickly by emergency responders.</p><p>In 2025 the field reached nearly 9,000 runners and walkers, and more than 100 volunteers logged about 375 runner contacts, mostly for cramps, sprains, blisters and dehydration, plus hypothermia and one ankle fracture. Set beside 2022's planning numbers, that is a crew still at roughly 100 working a field that went from about 5,000 expected runners to nearly 9,000.</p> <h2>Physical therapy at the finish line</h2> <p><b>In 2025, 12 of the volunteers were doctoral students in physical therapy.</b></p><p>They came as part of a 30-person group from UW's Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, alongside five faculty, four administrators and staff, two fellows, six residents and one visiting medical student.</p><p>Cramps, sprains and strains are the everyday business of sports physio, and at the Seattle Marathon they sit near the top of the caseload list. Harrast thanked that 2025 crew in UW Medicine's December recap: "A huge thank you to all for taking time out of your holiday weekend to brave the cold."</p> <h2>Pier 66 on November 29</h2> <p>The 2026 race starts at Seattle Center at 7am on Sunday, November 29, and finishes at Pier 66 on the waterfront, where the finish moved in 2025. UW Medicine's title deal runs through 2027. The medical crew works the finish on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, in late-November weather, staffed by people who give up a holiday weekend to be there.</p>$

Seattle Fitness Magazine · 27 Sep 2026

~302007 volunteers
100+2025 volunteers
~9k2025 race field

Warmers next to the ice

The Seattle Marathon runs the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and the medical crew at the finish plans for both ends of the thermometer.

Ahead of the 2009 race, UW Medicine said its main tent, 20 yards from the finish, would stock electronic warmers for hypothermia and ice for overheating, because runners can overheat even in cold, wet weather. Dr. Mark Harrast took over as the race's medical director in 2007 and brought about 30 volunteers with him.

UW Medicine became the race's title sponsor in 2023 under a five-year deal, and it says its teams had staffed aid stations along the course for about 15 years before that. The name on the race is new. The people in the tent are not.

How the crew grew

For 2009, UW Medicine lined up more than 70 volunteers, three pairs of Medic One paramedics to roam the course on bikes, a new station with doctors and nurses at Mile 25 near Republican and Terry, and a booth in the Victory Recovery Area. Harrast's first race, in 2007, had tested the setup early: a runner collapsed in cardiac arrest 10 yards from the finish, and his team resuscitated him before sending him to Harborview.

For 2022, when the race started at Husky Stadium, UW Medicine planned for more than 100 volunteers to cover about 5,000 anticipated runners, with five medical stations on the 26.2-mile course and two more in the staging area. Some would float along the course in golf carts and on bikes. They came from UWMC Montlake, UWMC Northwest, Harborview, Valley Medical Center, Airlift Northwest and the university's schools.

The field grew faster than the crew

In 2024, about 120 UW Medicine volunteers worked the race and logged more than 300 patient contacts, which UW Medicine called almost double the year before. The cases included sprains, strains, blisters, cramps, dehydration and hypothermia. One young runner went into cardiac arrest on the course and was reached quickly by emergency responders.

In 2025 the field reached nearly 9,000 runners and walkers, and more than 100 volunteers logged about 375 runner contacts, mostly for cramps, sprains, blisters and dehydration, plus hypothermia and one ankle fracture. Set beside 2022's planning numbers, that is a crew still at roughly 100 working a field that went from about 5,000 expected runners to nearly 9,000.

Physical therapy at the finish line

In 2025, 12 of the volunteers were doctoral students in physical therapy.

They came as part of a 30-person group from UW's Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, alongside five faculty, four administrators and staff, two fellows, six residents and one visiting medical student.

Cramps, sprains and strains are the everyday business of sports physio, and at the Seattle Marathon they sit near the top of the caseload list. Harrast thanked that 2025 crew in UW Medicine's December recap: "A huge thank you to all for taking time out of your holiday weekend to brave the cold."

Pier 66 on November 29

The 2026 race starts at Seattle Center at 7am on Sunday, November 29, and finishes at Pier 66 on the waterfront, where the finish moved in 2025. UW Medicine's title deal runs through 2027. The medical crew works the finish on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, in late-November weather, staffed by people who give up a holiday weekend to be there.