In what kind of athletic event do they expect that only one third of all who start will finish?  Many of the finishers are in such bad condition that they will need medical attention.  Two tents have been rigged as some kind of field hospitals for that purpose.  Nurses and doctors are busy.  Bottles for IV-transfusions are hanging over the stretchers, moaning and groaning from people with muscle cramp and other kinds of discomforts are sometimes heard, as well as teeth that are rattling because of shivering, in spite of the heat.
This is about running, and the event is called Spartathlon, a 246 kilometer long race between Athens and Sparta in Greece.