The 'Grand Raid de la Reunion' is one of the hardest ultra trails in the world (5,350 competitors in 2012). This one stage race takes place in Reunion Island, a French overseas department in the Indian Ocean. Ultra trails and ultra marathons are intense long-distance running races pushing back human physical abilities' limits. In general terms, studies about these races highlight different severity levels' injuries, from asymptomatic to critical condition [1-4]. No study has yet used syndromic surveillance to study the impact of such sporting events on ED visits. Using a syndromic surveillance approach to monitor sport-related visits could allow an early public health response.

Objective

To estimate the health impact of the 'Grand Raid de la Reunion' (GRR) ultra trail in 2012 on the emergency departments (ED) of Reunion Island.