The record-breaking FAST run starts in a week
Twenty-eight teams from ten South Moravian schools. That equates to 84 children participating in the third year of the FAST run. Not only will the runners have to finish the race, they will also have to demonstrate proper resuscitation, talk to an emergency services operator, and respond to stroke symptoms. The FAST run is organized by the educational project HoBiT (Hour of Biology for Life) at St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno under the motto “Join in and become a rescuer for the day!”.
This year, the run will take place on 28 May in the Anthropos Park in Brno, and there will be a track with several checkpoints waiting for the runners, where they will have to deal with life-threatening situations. Of course, everything will be just a simulation, but the participants will still have to perform all the tasks correctly and quickly. The name ‘FAST’ refers not only to speed, but also to an acronym, or a mnemonic device to recognize stroke symptoms: F – Face, paralyzed face, A – Arm, paralyzed arm, S – Speech, confused speech, and T – Time, call 155 immediately. A new partner is the Moravian Museum, so one of the checkpoints will be in the Anthropos pavilion, and interesting prizes will be prepared for the participants.
“The race is unique in that pupils will be able try to manage situations they learn at schools only theoretically. From past years, our experience shows that even the most self-prepared racers are taken aback at first, when a person with a heart attack is collapsed in front of them or when they have to describe to the rescuers what has happened. Prevention and public awareness are very important, so the FAST run is one of the many events we are preparing for the public,” says the organizer of the race, Hana Pokorná. Thus, the race provides pupils with a unique set of basic tools that will help them to save human lives.
“Stroke, along with myocardial infarction, is the world’s leading cause of death worldwide. Fatal events can be prevented by timely assistance being given to the victim. That is why we try to educate school children in a long-term and systematic way on how to react to save a person,” said Prof. Robert Mikulík, Head of the Complex Cerebrovascular Center at St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno and the cerebrovascular research program of FNUSA-ICRC.
Apart from the race itself, a rich accompanying program will be prepared for the participants, and passers-by can also participate. Contestants who are not on the track can have fun on rope obstacles, try shooting and bow and arrow or bodyzorbing, which will be prepared for them by Milanovy Aktivity. At the checkpoints of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno “Cardiovision Brno 2030” and “HOBIT – Hour of Biology for Life”, the participants will encounter quizzes, competitions as well as an interactive part, during which they will be able to experience the difficulties faced by a patient after suffering a stroke. The event will also present the Emergency Medical Service of the South Moravian Region, which will showcase its equipment and the app Záchranka.
“We have been organizing the FAST run since 2016 and I am glad that there is such interest in it as well as other educational activities of the HOBIT program not only among adults, but especially among children and the youth,” says Martin Pavlík, FNUSA Director.
The race will start on Tuesday 28 May 2019 at 10 am, in the ANTHROPOS Park in Brno and will be attended by a total of 28 teams from South Moravian schools. The FAST run is organized under support from the City of Brno and the Office of the project entitled “Brno – a Healthy City OZ MMB”.
