--- title: "Marathons and endurance events | Nexus Observatory" description: "Endurance races send thousands of athletes along courses that cross shade and sun, hills and water, often in summer. Heat stress…" url: https://observatory.global/industries/events/endurance-events/ publisher: Nexus Observatory Inc. updated: 2026-11-02 --- [Nexus Observatory](https://observatory.global/) / [Events](https://observatory.global/industries/events/) / [Specialized fields](https://observatory.global/industries/events/fields/) / **Marathons and endurance events** # Every kilometre of the course, measured. Endurance races send thousands of athletes along courses that cross shade and sun, hills and water, often in summer. Heat stress, air quality and weather measured along the course tell medical teams where athletes will struggle and give race directors the evidence to adjust or stop a race. [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) How it works [Station Builder](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) **Industry**: Events **Measurements**: 4 **Sources cited**: 3 1. Events · Marathons and endurance events Thousands of athletes, one course Endurance races send thousands of athletes along courses that cross shade and sun, hills and water, often in summer heat. Exertional heat illness is the greatest risk on hot days, and medical teams need to know where conditions are worst along the course. 2. What is measured Heat along the course Stations every few kilometres measure the heat stress index, sensors on urban sections measure air quality, and stations at exposed sections and transitions measure wind, rain and temperature. Medical posts log incidents by location. Each reading carries its time and its quality flags. InstrumentsHeat stress stations · Air quality sensors · Weather stations 3. The base node Flags from the medical plan The node computes the heat stress index at each station, sets flag levels from the medical plan, forecasts the next hours from the weather service and shows where along the course conditions are worst, so water and cooling go there. 4. Radio and links Kilometres of course Stations along kilometres of course reach gateways on high points over a long-range, low-power link. Gateways and race control use cellular, with priority arrangements on race day. Each link is chosen for the place, not from a catalogue. When one path fails, the other carries the data. LinksLoRaWAN · Public cellular 5. How it works From a rising flag to a cooler finish By mid-morning the heat stress index on the last exposed stretch crosses into the red flag. Race control moves extra cooling and medical teams there and slows the back of the field; incidents stay low, and the finish is moved earlier next year. 6. From order to operation · Order Scope with the race director The scope reads the course, race date and times, medical plan, flag levels and past conditions. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the station plan, flag integration and a price per event. Every assumption in the scope is written down and priced. [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) 7. From order to operation · Survey Survey the course Crews survey the course for exposed sections, shade, hills, water and urban stretches, station and gateway sites, and medical posts. Findings are mapped. Every finding is kept with the site record for the crews who follow. Findings shape the kit for each site before anything is built. 8. From order to operation · Permits Permits The city and road authorities approve stations on street furniture for race day, and data sharing with medical teams is agreed. Every approval is kept with the event record. Approvals are tracked site by site, so nothing waits unseen. No crew goes to site before its approvals are in place. 9. From order to operation · Build Build race kits Stations are calibrated, radios paired, gateways and the node configured with the medical plan's flag levels and enrolled with their identities. Test results travel with the kit to the site. Nothing ships until the whole kit has passed its tests together. [Open the Station Builder](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) 10. From order to operation · Install Set up the night before Crews mount stations along the course and gateways at high points, and set up the node at race control, the night before the race. Every station is mapped. The site record is updated before the crew leaves. Crews follow the site safety plan throughout the work. 11. From order to operation · Commission Commission at dawn Each node proves its identity, readings are checked against a reference station, gateways are tested along the whole course, and flags are confirmed with the medical director before the start. Results are signed and kept with the site record. Acceptance is recorded with the owner before handover. 12. From order to operation · Operate Race with eyes on the course Race control and medical teams see heat stress, air and weather along the course. Flags change as conditions change, water and cooling are moved to hot sections, and race directors adjust when limits are reached. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record. 13. From order to operation · Maintain Recover and review Stations are recovered after the race, data are compiled with medical incidents for the post-race review, and flag levels and station positions are adjusted for the next edition. Spares and procedures travel with the crews. Maintenance history stays with each site for its whole life. [Book field services](https://observatory.global/contact/field-service/) 14. Data products For medical teams and race directors Medical teams and race control receive flag levels along the course; race directors receive heat and air maps; organisers and medical directors receive post-race reviews; athletes and spectators receive course conditions, each tied to station and time. Each product carries its site, time and quality flags. [See the data products](https://observatory.global/data-products/) 15. Evidence Flags on the standard Heat stress uses the international index many event medical teams use, air quality is set against the health guidelines and weather is measured to the WMO guide. Every reading and flag change is kept with the medical incidents for review. Drawn againstISO 7243 · WHO global air quality guidelines · WMO-No. 8 16. What you get Deployable connectivity and sensing kits A cell on wheels with satellite backhaul, mesh telemetry and environment nodes for incident bases and events. Delivered as rental and managed service, for emergency agencies, humanitarian logistics, event operators. Scale: Pre-positioned fleets. Service levels are written as numbers you can measure on your own dashboard. [Talk to sales](https://observatory.global/contact/sales-enquiry/) 17. Next step Plan marathons and endurance events with us Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for marathons and endurance events. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace. [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) [Open the Station Builder](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) [Open the Studio](https://observatory.global/studio/) **01** The place and its hazards ## Where it runs, and what can go wrong. Operating contextHeat stress is assessed with the international index used by many event medical teams, air quality is set against the health guidelines, and weather is measured to the WMO guide. Race directors and medical teams set flag levels and contingency plans before the event. Hazards - Exertional heat illness on hot days - Poor air quality on urban courses - Wind and rain affecting cycling and swimming legs - Medical teams in the wrong place - Decisions to shorten or stop races made without data **02** What must be measured ## What, where, how often, and under which rules. Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below. | Measurement | Where | Cadence | Sources | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Heat stress index | Stations along the course | Every minute | 1 | | Air quality | Sensors on urban sections | Every minute | 2 | | Wind, rain and temperature | Stations at exposed sections and transitions | Every minute | 3 | | Medical incidents by location | Medical posts along the course | Each incident | 1 | **03** The observation stack ## From one base unit to a network. The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol. 1. **01** Base unit A course station: heat stress, weather or air sensors on a low-power radio. [Build a station →](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) 2. **02** Site A course: stations every few kilometres, gateways and a node at race control. [Plan a site →](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) 3. **03** Fleet An organiser's races using the same kits and flag levels. [Managed offers →](https://observatory.global/industries/events/solutions/) 4. **04** Network Organisers share course conditions with medical teams and authorities. [The open protocol →](https://observatory.global/protocol/) - **01** Compact weather station - **02** Air quality monitor - **03** LPWAN endpoint - **04** LoRaWAN gateway - **05** Micro node (Nano) - **06** Cellular modem/router - **07** Battery case Radio and links ### LoRaWAN Stations along kilometres of course reach gateways over a long-range, low-power link. Radio and links ### Public cellular Gateways and race control use cellular, with priority arrangements on race day. Edge computeThe node computes the heat stress index at each station, sets flag levels from the medical plan, forecasts the next hours from the weather service and shows where along the course conditions are worst. PowerStations run on batteries for the event; gateways and the node on battery cases at race control. **04** How it works ## From the instrument to the product. One observation's path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks. Marathons and endurance events: data path – of 08 01 Instruments Measurement with sensor identity andcalibration 02 Field radio 03 Gateway 04 Node – Wrap in an observation envelope with timequality– Measure quality and uncertainty, attachquality flags– Buffer locally (store-and-forward when thelink drops) 05 Backhaul Commit with transactional outbox andpublish, delivered at least once 06 Site Consumer inbox deduplicates and applieseach record once into governed data 07 Data store Governed product through API, map orexport, correction-aware 08 Products MQTTOGC SensorThings APICAP 1.2 09 Power and structure Supplies 12 V DC to the field equipment 01 Compact weather station SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 02 Air quality monitor SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 03 LPWAN endpoint Analogue I/O · SDI-12 · RS-485 04 LoRaWAN gateway Ethernet · RF · GNSS antenna 05 Micro node (Nano) Ethernet · USB · Analogue I/O ·RS-485 · CAN 06 Cellular modem/router Ethernet · USB · RS-232 Site MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B Governed data store Versioned, correction-aware Flag levels along the course Heat and air maps Post-race reviews Athlete information 07 Battery case USB SDI-12 SDI-12 LoRaWAN Ethernet Ethernet LTE/NR From the instrument to the published product: each band is a tier, each connector names its interface, and the numbers match the bill of materials. Hover or focus a block to trace its path; scroll or step to follow one observation. | Item | Equipment | Data ports | Protocols | Power in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 01 | **Compact weather station** All-in-one or compact station for temperature, humidity, pressure, wind and rain at a site. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC | | 02 | **Air quality monitor** Particulate and gas monitor (PM, NO2, O3, CO, SO2) for outdoor or indoor air. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC | | 03 | **LPWAN endpoint** Battery-powered endpoint on LoRaWAN, NB-IoT or LTE-M that carries one or more sensors. | Analogue I/OSDI-12RS-485 | LoRaWAN, OMA LwM2M, CoAP | Internal battery, Energy harvesting | | 04 | **LoRaWAN gateway** Multi-channel LoRaWAN gateway that forwards uplinks to a network server and schedules downlinks within duty limits. | EthernetRFGNSS antenna | LoRaWAN, MQTT 5 | PoE, 12 V DC | | 05 | **Micro node (Nano)** Single-board or module-class node for sensor sites, gateways and low-power deployments. | EthernetUSBAnalogue I/ORS-485CAN | MQTT 5, OMA LwM2M, CoAP | PoE, 12 V DC, USB PD | | 06 | **Cellular modem/router** LTE or NR modem or router that uses a public carrier or private network as backhaul. | EthernetUSBRS-232 | 3GPP E-UTRA air interface, 3GPP NR air interface, OMA LwM2M | 12 V DC, PoE | | 07 | **Battery case** Portable battery pack with DC outputs for field kits. | USB | Modbus | AC mains, HV DC, USB PD | How it scales 01 Instruments Arbitrary qualified sensors and instruments whosemeasurements are ingested with calibration, units,geometry, time, custody and uncertainty. ×n 02 Node The minimum useful deployable unit: server, ruggedappliance, radio node, sensor gateway, satelliteterminal, AI, scientific, vehicle or virtual node. Node Node agent 03 Site The minimum independently operable localgovernance and failure domain: one or more nodesplus local network, identity, policy, evidence,storage, products and operator surfaces. SITE Node Node Node ×n 04 Cluster An optional scale or specialisation domain forscheduling, shared storage, accelerators or datalocality. CLUSTER ×n 05 Fleet Coordinates plans, acknowledgements,convergence evidence, update campaigns andcorrection propagation across nodes and sites. FLEET Fleet controller ×n 06 Federation An exchange of products, capabilities, events orwork across approved, independently administeredtrust domains, using explicit trust, policy,data-locality, version and correction contracts. TRUST DOMAIN TRUST DOMAIN TRUST DOMAIN ×n Verifier Applications Data in the field Telemetry Control Data upstream Control Data upstream Control Exchange Evidence Events Exchange The smallest deployable unit is one node; the same unit is replicated to meet the demand. Nodes form a site, sites may form a cluster, sites and clusters are coordinated as a fleet, and fleets exchange across independently administered trust domains. Each plane is a separate channel with its own open binding. **Data in the field**: MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B; connectors for LoRaWAN, OPC UA and instrument buses. **Telemetry**: OpenTelemetry OTLP. **Control**: TLS 1.3 with mutual authentication; protobuf messages over gRPC or HTTP/2. **Data upstream**: At-least-once publication with repeat-safe keys over the control channel or NATS JetStream; QUIC MAY be used on lossy links. **Evidence**: DSSE-signed in-toto statements; SLSA provenance; SCITT transparency receipts. **Events**: Event envelopes mapped to CloudEvents 1.0; channels described in AsyncAPI 3. **Exchange**: OpenAPI 3.1; the OGC API family; SensorThings; STAC; WIS 2.0. **05** From order to operation ## Every step, from the first call to a running site. The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance. 1. 01 Order Scope with the race director The scope reads the course, race date and times, medical plan, flag levels and past conditions. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the station plan, flag integration and a price per event. Every assumption in the scope is written down and priced. 1 2. 02 Survey Survey the course Crews survey the course for exposed sections, shade, hills, water and urban stretches, station and gateway sites, and medical posts. Findings are mapped. Every finding is kept with the site record for the crews who follow. Findings shape the kit for each site before anything is built. 3 3. 03 Permits Permits The city and road authorities approve stations on street furniture for race day, and data sharing with medical teams is agreed. Every approval is kept with the event record. Approvals are tracked site by site, so nothing waits unseen. No crew goes to site before its approvals are in place. 4. 04 Build Build race kits Stations are calibrated, radios paired, gateways and the node configured with the medical plan's flag levels and enrolled with their identities. Test results travel with the kit to the site. Nothing ships until the whole kit has passed its tests together. 5. 05 Install Set up the night before Crews mount stations along the course and gateways at high points, and set up the node at race control, the night before the race. Every station is mapped. The site record is updated before the crew leaves. Crews follow the site safety plan throughout the work. 6. 06 Commission Commission at dawn Each node proves its identity, readings are checked against a reference station, gateways are tested along the whole course, and flags are confirmed with the medical director before the start. Results are signed and kept with the site record. Acceptance is recorded with the owner before handover. 1 7. 07 Operate Race with eyes on the course Race control and medical teams see heat stress, air and weather along the course. Flags change as conditions change, water and cooling are moved to hot sections, and race directors adjust when limits are reached. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record. 12 8. 08 Maintain Recover and review Stations are recovered after the race, data are compiled with medical incidents for the post-race review, and flag levels and station positions are adjusted for the next edition. Spares and procedures travel with the crews. Maintenance history stays with each site for its whole life. **06** Data products and integration ## What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems. Data products - **Flag levels along the course** Medical teams and race control - **Heat and air maps** Race directors - **Post-race reviews** Organisers and medical directors - **Athlete information** Athletes and spectators Integration - **Race control** Flags and maps reach race control screens. - **Medical teams** Alerts reach medical posts. - **Athlete apps** Conditions are shared with athletes. Exchanged through MQTT, OGC SensorThings API, CAP 1.2. **07** Questions buyers ask ## Before you scope it. Who decides to stop a race? The race director, with the medical team, using the data. Can athletes see conditions? Yes, through the organiser's channels. How many stations? Enough to cover exposed and urban sections. Can it be reused? Yes, kits serve every edition. **08** Resources ## The sources behind this page. Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does. 1. **1** [ISO 7243: Ergonomics of the thermal environment, assessment of heat stress using the WBGT index](https://www.iso.org/) International Organization for Standardization · 2017 2. **2** [WHO global air quality guidelines](https://www.who.int/) World Health Organization · 2021 3. **3** [WMO-No. 8: Guide to Instruments and Methods of Observation](https://library.wmo.int/) World Meteorological Organization **09** Related ## Use cases and solutions. [Use case Hybrid air-quality observatoryA few reference analysers and many low-cost nodes, with co-location calibration and an open-data feed.The full use case →](https://observatory.global/use-cases/hybrid-air-quality/) [Solution Deployable connectivity and sensing kitsA cell on wheels with satellite backhaul, mesh telemetry and environment nodes for incident bases and events.Solutions for events →](https://observatory.global/industries/events/solutions/#deployable-kits) [Solution Sensing as a ServiceObservation networks designed, installed, operated and maintained for a monthly fee: weather, hydromet, air, seismic and environmental stations, with data delivered under a licence.Solutions for events →](https://observatory.global/industries/events/solutions/#sensing-service) [Solution Environmental exposure monitoring for health programmesHeat, air and water exposure measurements around facilities and communities; no diagnosis or treatment.Solutions for events →](https://observatory.global/industries/events/solutions/#exposure-monitoring) **10** Events: specialized fields ## Other fields of this industry. [Specialized field Stadiums and arenasCrowd density, entry flow, weather and lightning at stadiums and arenas, joined in the control room so safety officers manage crowds and weather before they become incidents.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/events/stadiums-arenas/) [Specialized field Outdoor festivalsWeather, lightning, wind on structures, noise at the neighbours and connectivity for festivals, deployed for the event and taken away after.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/events/outdoor-festivals/) [Specialized field Venue connectivityPrivate 5G and Wi-Fi at venues for broadcast, operations, payments and fans, with an edge server for video and safety, built so the network holds when the venue is full.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/events/venue-connectivity/) ### Bring us the site. Plan a deployment, configure a station, model it in the Studio or talk to sales. The form names who receives your details. 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