Medical adventure race returns to South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Wilderness enthusiasts, healthcare professionals, first responders, outdoor educators, and medical students are encouraged to put their emergency medical knowledge to the test and sign up for the second annual Tahoe MedWAR Challenge on Saturday, September 9.

MedWAR, which stands for Medical Wilderness Adventure Race, is a day-long adventure race that combines physical challenges and wilderness medicine. In teams of four, Tahoe participants navigate, trek, mountain bike, and kayak on an adventure course in the national forest of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. Along the way near Fallen Leaf Lake and Emerald Bay, teams encounter “victims” in mock wilderness medicine scenarios. Before moving on, teams must work together to assess, stabilize, and - as appropriate - treat their victims.

“Any person who spends time in the outdoors can benefit from participating in MedWAR, says Dr. Terry Orr. “Participants put their knowledge and creativity to the test to address medical issues and obstacles they may encounter in the wilderness. It’s designed to be fun, rewarding, and challenging.”

This is Dr. Orr’s second year as the Tahoe MedWAR event director. Dr. Orr, along with Dr. Steve Bannar and Khristy Gavigan, RN, create the course and organize the event. The race is designed for participants with or without a medical background. For last year’s Tahoe Challenge, participants came from four states and varied from military personnel to podiatrists.

Teams and volunteers can register online. The challenge costs $350 for a team of four people and includes a pre-event lecture, kayak rental, gift bag, team shirt, and a post-race dinner. Space is limited to 20 teams.

The Tahoe MedWAR Challenge is hosted by Barton Health, Tahoe Center for Orthopedics, and Tahoe Emergency Physicians. Permits are provided by the United States Forest Service and Emerald Bay State Park. More information about the race can be found at bartonhealth.org/medwar.