For the run of it: Nurse Regina Reed makes her mark

For recreational runners in the Falmouth Road Race, the goal is to go the distance. Seven miles from the start in Woods Hole to the finish in Falmouth Heights.

Regina Reed has never run the annual summer spectacle, but the Falmouth Hospital nurse has definitely gone the distance – and then some. And the finish line is in sight.

A registered nurse in the Yawkey Emergency Center at Falmouth Hospital for 38 years, Reed has been a key volunteer on the race’s medical team since 1987. She worked her final race last August and retired in May.

The Falmouth Road Race, which attracts 10,000 runners, including many of the best in the world, honored Reed with its 2023 Medical Volunteer of the Year award, presented in memory of Dr. Evan Weinstein, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 45. Reed worked alongside Dr. Weinstein for many years in the Falmouth Hospital Emergency Center and also at the race, where he was a volunteer.

“He was a fabulous guy and we got along famously, in the ER and at the race” said Reed. “The award was so unexpected, but very meaningful and humbling.”

The “Face of Mariner’s Point”

Reed was first recruited to help at the race in 1987 by fellow Falmouth Hospital nurse Virginia “Ginny” Brodeur, another longtime volunteer. Reed was assigned to the medical tent at the Mariner’s Point Resort, located at the 6½-mile mark at the base of the daunting, final hill leading to the finish.

“Ginny made it sound interesting so I jumped in … and I never left,” Reed said. 

Over the many years at her post, Reed became a team captain and the “Face of Mariner’s Point.” On race day she supervises 10-20 nurses, physicians, emergency medical technicians, physical therapists and other volunteers. They arrive before 7 a.m. to set up, organize supplies and review protocols. The busiest part of the day, said Reed, is usually from 10 a.m. to noon when the large field of runners are heading toward the finish.

Race Medical Issues

Most of the medical issues Reed and her tent team face are exertional heat illnesses (EHI), especially life-threatening heat stroke.

Heat stroke is essentially the body’s inability to cool itself and can be fatal. The internal temperature rises to at least 104 degrees and can lead to brain damage, organ failure and shock. Timing and rapid recognition is the key and it’s imperative the patient be treated quickly in an immersion ice bath.

Heat exhaustion and dehydration are other heat-related concerns and often can be treated successfully with fluids, resting and shade from the sun.

“Right around 9 o'clock in the morning, it always seems to heat up,” said Reed. “It’s the combination of the humidity and summertime temperatures. And where we are on the course, near the finish, runners are pushing hard and some of them are struggling, so we have the tubs and ice baths ready.”

Reed said the spotters on the course watch for runners who might need assistance.

‘Into the tub they go’

“If you’re having a heat-related emergency, you’re usually legless, wobbling and incoherent,” said Reed. “Body temperatures can range anywhere from 107 to 112 degrees, and at that point some of these runners don't know who they are, who they’re married to or their kids’ names. It’s a serious situation and life-threatening.

“We immediately check their vitals, especially body temperature, and if it’s 104 or higher, into the tub they go,” said Reed. “We ice them down and closely monitor them. The first 10 minutes or so are dicey, but most respond quickly. Once we get their temperature down to 102 they’re OK. We’ve even had some who want to get back on the road. They’re bound and determined to finish the race.”

The medical team, in conjunction with the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI), has been at the forefront of developing protocols to treat heat exertion. KSI was founded after pro football player Korey Stringer died of heat stroke in 2001 during training camp with the Minnesota Vikings.

“We’ve been a leader in this treatment of immersion ice baths,” said Reed. “Without the care we provide, people would have died.”

This August, when the 52nd renewal of the road race unfolds, Reed and her distinctive red medical volunteer T-shirt, doesn’t expect to be anywhere near the action.

“I might take off for the weekend, who knows,” she smiled. “But the race is in capable hands. I feel like I’ve done my thing and made my contributions. I’m looking forward to retirement and spending time with my husband, maybe do some traveling, and enjoying our grandchild (and a second expected in March).

“I’ll miss the camaraderie,” said Reed. “We don’t do this work alone. It’s very much a collaborative effort and the whole group is fabulous. Being able to say you helped save lives, that’s the most rewarding part of it all.”