Erratum: Injury and Illness Rates during Ultratrail Running (Int J Sports Med (2016) 37:07 (565–569) DOI: 10.1055/s-0035-1569347)

The authors regret error in the published paper: in Table 2 (page 566), the column entitled “Rate per 1000 h (90% CI)” reports rates for the actual exposure time at risk without taking into consideration the number of cases. It should therefore read: (Table Presented). Accordingly, the injuries/illness represented an overall injury/ illness rate of 187.9 per 1000 h running and not 13.1 per 1000 h running as reported on page 565 in the abstract and page 567 in the results. The authors would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.

This study aimed to describe injury/illness rates in ultratrail runners competing in a 65-km race to build a foundation for injury prevention and help race organizers to plan medical provision for these events. Prospectively transcribed medical records were analysed for 77 athletes at the end of the race. Number of injuries/illnesses per 1000 runners and per 1000-h run, overall injury/illness rate and 90% confidence intervals and rates for major and minor illnesses, musculoskeletal injuries, and skin disorders were analysed. A total of 132 injuries/illnesses were encountered during the race. The overall injuries/illnesses were 1.9 per runner and 13.1 per 1000-h run. Medical illnesses were the most prominent medical diagnoses encountered (50.3%), followed by musculoskeletal injuries (32.8%), and skin-related disorders (16.9%). Despite the ultra-long nature of the race, the majority of injuries/illnesses were minor in nature. Medical staff and runners should prepare to treat all types of injuries and illnesses, especially the fatigue arising throughout the course of an ultratrail run and injuries to the lower limbs. Future studies should attempt to systematically identify injury locations and mechanisms in order to better direct injury prevention strategies and plan more accurate medical care.