Extra water to keep animals cool as Great Yorkshire Show prepares to open in heatwave

Organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show are putting extra provisions in place to keep animals safe as they prepare to open the gates in high temperatures tomorrow.

The forecast for Tuesday is for temperatures to rise to 23C, down on the highs of 29C set to be seen today.

The rest of the week looks slightly cooler, rising to just 20C on Thursday and Friday, though Wednesday could see 22C with long spells of unbroken sunshine.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society is putting extra measures in place to ensure animals being shown will be safe in the heat.

A Great Yorkshire Show spokesperson said:

“The welfare of people and animals is of paramount importance to us here at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

“For the animals, we have stewards working across the site, checking their areas and ensuring animals in their sections are well looked after.

“We have increased water provision and Vets are on site 24 hours a day all week to provide support. We encourage anyone experiencing any issues to notify a steward.”

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For visitors, there are some indoor areas to shelter from the sun, including the food hall and the new GYS Stage. The forestry area will also have more shade from the trees.

While there are several outdoor food courts offering refreshments, there are also indoor catering outlets, including the pavilion run by the North Yorkshire West Federation of Women’s Institutes, selling food and drink throughout the day.

The spokesperson added:

“There are extra Yorkshire Water drinking water refill stations across the showground this year and we encourage everyone to keep rehydrated and stay safe in the heat.”

While high temperatures cause extra work for exhibitors, they are unlikely to lead to significant problems for organisers, who have in the past had to deal with other severe weather.

In 2012, the show was closed after just one day because of heavy rain. It left much of the showground slick with mud and resulted in cars having to be towed from the car parks by tractors, leading organisers to call it off early over safety concerns.

It remains the only time the show has been called off because of severe weather in more than 160 years.

Harrogate woman condemns owner who left dog outside in heatwave

A Harrogate woman who found a dog tied up outside a supermarket during the heatwave today has condemned the owner.

Lizzie Meakes went to shop at Morrisons in Starbeck when she found the dog near the entrance at about 2pm.

The temperature at the time was close to 30 degrees centigrade on what is likely to be one of the hottest days of the year.

Worried about the dog’s panting, Ms Meakes asked staff at Morrisons to get water for him to drink and pat on his back to cool off.

She stayed with the dog for 30 minutes until she had to return to work, and the owner still did not return. Staff at Morrisons also helped to look after the dog.

Ms Meakes told the Stray Ferret:

“Bless him. He just look so distressed and couldn’t catch a breath without any water in sight. I held his paw which was wet through with sweat.

“I just felt so sorry for him, if I could have taken him home I would have.

“I do not understand what the owner needed so desperately from the shop to leave their dog out in this heat.”

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Lizzie with her dog Rosie.

Social media has been awash with posts by people concerned about the welfare of animals during the heatwave.

But they appear to have gone unheeded by the unidentified dog owner.

Ms Meakes put a post about her experience on the Facebook group Harrogate Host to spread the word, and more than a hundred people have so far commented.

How to keep running in a heatwave

The number of people I’ve seen out running in this current heatwave, both at the peak of the day and without a water bottle, is frankly more than a little alarming.

Running in near 30°C heat (feels like way more when you take into account irradiated ground heat) can be risky, especially when you are not used to it. It is easy to become dehydrated and overheated, which can lead to excessive sweating, headaches, nausea, tiredness, dizziness and muscle cramps.

You’ll likely stop running well, and may even find you are not able to run at the same pace or cover the same distance as you might run in milder temperatures.

My 22-year-old son is fit as a butcher’s dog (though as a vegetarian I don’t think he’ll much appreciate that comparison!) and ran the Virtual Virgin Money London Marathon around Harrogate alongside me in the autumn.

He returned from a late afternoon run last week with a severe headache and nausea and had to go and lie down in a darkened room for several hours. He still felt out of sorts the next morning. It’s likely he hadn’t modified his pace to allow for the heat and despite having a bottle of water with him, simply hadn’t rehydrated enough, even for a relatively short 7km run.

The rule of thumb is to steer clear of running in heat if you are a young child, pregnant or elderly as the risks are obviously greater. However, there are some potentially serious risks whatever your age or fitness, especially when doing endurance runs.

Serious consequences

Having witnessed healthy young people collapsing before the finish line whilst running races in the heat and humidity of Singapore, I’ve seen firsthand the toll pushing yourself regardless in extreme temperatures can have on the body, when running for a long time and not getting the right fluid intake balance.

In many cases these are runners who have most likely trained in different conditions. Whilst running London in April 2018, its hottest race on record, I witnessed many people collapsing because they weren’t used to training in such high temperatures.

The facts are simple; there can be serious health consequences to exercising in hot weather — regardless of activity, length of time or distance — such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

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I recall finishing my second London Marathon (not a particularly hot one) shortly after a young lad collapsed crossing the finish line. He was surrounded by medics. Sadly this young man died, apparently due to flooding his body with too much water after opting to not take onboard any energy drinks or packs during the race.

It’s a fine balance, but one you must follow if you are going to train for any kind of endurance run and stay safe. Be it heat or distance, or with some races, like those in the Sahara, a combination of both.

If you are going to run in extreme temperatures, and let’s face it we don’t get a whole lot of practice in North Yorkshire, listen to your body and take sensible precautions to avoid getting overheated, even if you are just going out for half an hour.

Takeaway message

✔ Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated, but don’t overdo it. Take small sips regularly.
✔ Avoid running in the heat of the day (between 11am and 3pm), dress light and ensure you wear breathable clothing to help regulate your body temperature.
✔ Slow down. Don’t try to run at your normal pace.

✔ Give yourself a chance to acclimatise to the temperature, usually a couple of weeks. Until then slow your pace!

REMEMBER… it really does come down to laziness where carrying a small bottle of water is concerned! Don’t be daft, be sensible, take a bottle and rehydrate as you run!

Sam Blakey is an international personal trainer working across the UK. She also has clients in the US, Singapore, Thailand and South Africa and ran a successful fitness company in Singapore before moving to Harrogate four years ago. She describes herself as a reluctant runner, who took up marathon running just before turning 40 to escape her five kids; she has since run eight marathons on three continents and completed several half marathons.