Endurance races are operationally and clinically complex environments. Clinicians arriving at these events are stepping into systems shaped by governance, delegated responsibility, race rules, medical plans and escalation pathways that they did not design, but must still understand and work within safely.

At the same time, they are managing athletes at the edge of physiological tolerance: hypothermic, hyperthermic, confused, dehydrated, hyponatraemic, injured, exhausted, or determined to continue despite clear risk. Decisions are rarely made in ideal conditions.

They are made in remote terrain, at night, in bad weather, with limited kit, finite personnel, difficult communications, delayed evacuation options, and the constant tension between athlete ambition, event momentum and clinical judgement. This course prepares you to enter that reality as a safe, effective member of the medical team. 

This Endurance Medicine course explores the medical, environmental, operational, and human factors challenges of supporting athletes in endurance events and extreme sporting environments.

Content includes:

• The endurance event landscape and medical team structures
• Roles and responsibilities within event medical teams
• Risk assessment and event planning
• Training, sleep, recovery, and fatigue management
• Athlete psychology and the DNF conversation
• Legal considerations, indemnity, and operational governance
• Nutrition and hydration strategies
• Women’s health in endurance sport
• Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)
• Environmental medicine: heat, cold, altitude, and water exposure
• Exercise-associated hyponatraemia
• Exercise-associated collapse
• Rhabdomyolysis
• Gastrointestinal dysfunction in endurance athletes
• Lower limb assessment and injury management
• Upper limb and spinal assessment
• Taping techniques for common endurance injuries
• Blister prevention and management
• Wound care in field environments
• Cardiac health in endurance athletes
• ECG interpretation and cardiac screening
• Sudden cardiac death in sport
• Exercise-induced bronchospasm
• Pregnancy and endurance sport
• Supporting female athletes in the field
• Medical kit and formulary planning
• Pharmacology considerations in endurance medicine
• Anti-doping awareness
• Special populations in endurance events
• Communication and decision-making under uncertainty
• Dynamic risk management in the field
• Clinical assessment of unknown or deteriorating athletes
• Environmental emergency management
• Medical evacuation planning
• Multi-casualty endurance event response
• Professional development pathways in endurance medicine

Teaching is delivered through a mix of lectures, practical workshops, case discussions, simulations, and scenario-based learning.

By the end of the week, you will be able to: 

• Define your boundaries of care before, during and after an event — and know what to ask before you sign anything 

• Navigate the legal, indemnity and operational realities of working as an event clinician, including treating international participants 

• Recognise and manage the common disorders that present at endurance events — RED-S, exercise-associated hyponatraemia, rhabdomyolysis, exercise-associated collapse, EIB, stress fractures 

• Handle the environmental medicine that defines mountain, cold and altitude events — hypothermia, NFCI/FCI, AMS/HACE/HAPE, exertional heat illness 

• Assess and manage a contestant in realistic conditions — confused, agitated, no shared language, dark and wet — using a structured framework and clear escalation 

• Run a musculoskeletal and skin assessment in the field, including taping and blister/wound management 

• Apply the specific considerations of women’s health, cardiac screening, special populations, and pharmacology in endurance athletes 

• Communicate, document and hand over in a way that protects the contestant and protects you 

Our courses are built on the assumption that you already understand the fundamentals of your own profession. If you’re a medical professional, first responder or event medical team member who has worked (or wants to work) at endurance events (and you’ve ever stood at a checkpoint wondering whether what you’re about to do is within your scope, your indemnity, or your skill) then this course is built for you. 

Not sure if you’re a good fit? Talk with our team!

No. The course is designed for mixed experience levels. If you’re newer to event medicine, it gives you a clear framework for working safely and confidently.

If you’re already experienced, the value comes from sharpening higher-level judgement: refining your approach to legal and indemnity risk, pressure-testing your decision-making in complex simulations, comparing practice with an expert faculty, and strengthening the operational thinking that sits behind safe, effective race medicine. 

You don’t need to be an ultra-runner. You should be comfortable on your feet for full teaching days and able to participate in outdoor scenarios in variable Alpine June weather. Afternoons are yours — many participants use them for trail running, climbing or cycling. 

The nearest train station is Les Pèlerins, a 10-minute walk from the venue. Chamonix is well-connected by train from Geneva, with onward connections from major European hubs. Geneva airport is approximately 1 hour by road. From Chamonix Sud, take Bus #2 towards “Les Bossons” and alight at “Auberge de Jeunesse.” Free parking is available onsite. We recommend arriving the day before the course starts. 

Reception is open 7:30 AM–11 AM and 4–8 PM. Late arrivals are possible with prior notice — let us know your ETA and we’ll make sure you’re looked after. 

Accommodation is included in your course fee at the Auberge de Jeunesse de Chamonix (the Chamonix youth hostel). Rooms are shared dormitory-style — the same model used by most expedition and wilderness medicine courses. It’s clean, comfortable, well-located, and reflects the practical, collegiate nature of the course. If you’ve stayed in alpine huts, mountain refuges or expedition base camps, you’ll feel right at home. 

The hostel has: 

• A lounge with Wi-Fi and games, open 7 AM until bar closing 

• A bar open 5 PM–11 PM 

• Coin laundry and luggage storage 

• Free onsite parking 

A few practical things worth knowing: most rooms have one power outlet, and there are no in-room lockers — luggage storage is provided separately, and a small padlock is a sensible thing to pack. 

All meals are included throughout the course. 

• Breakfast is served at the venue 

• Packed lunches (salad, bread, cheese, fruit, cake) are picked up at breakfast 

• Dinner is a fixed three-course menu (starter, main, dessert) served at 7:45 PM 

There is no shared kitchen or self-catering facility onsite. 

Vegetarian meals and allergy-friendly options can be accommodated with at least 10 days’ notice before the course start date. Unfortunately we cannot provide vegan meals or allergy-free meals at short notice or on arrival — please plan ahead and contact us early if you have specific requirements. 

Yes. Comprehensive travel and medical insurance is mandatory for all non-French attendees, including cover for any outdoor activities you may undertake in your free time. 

Yes — a certificate of attendance is issued on completion.  

Ahead of the course, you’ll receive access to a WhatsApp group where you can ask questions, share travel plans, and connect with fellow participants and faculty. Joining instructions and optional pre-course resources are also provided.

If you wish to learn more or have any additional questions, we invite you to book a 20-minute discovery call with our team.

→ Click here to book a discovery call.

The call will be with the team who organise our courses and work closely with our medical teaching faculty. They’re best placed to explain what our attendees really get out of attending a course with us.

You can choose between a video or voice call — whatever suits you best.

Register for a time that works for you, and we look forward to speaking with you soon.

Prefer email? Then feel free to contact us.

The comprehensive curriculum and field scenarios are carefully designed to push your limits while mitigating risks.

We take every precaution to keep participants safe by:

• Rigorous gear checks before all expedition days
• Mandatory evacuation insurance policies
• Close coordination with local emergency responders