A half-marathoner and two other runners died while competing in the Detroit marathon on Sunday, organizers said.
Daniel Langdon, 36, of Laingsburg, collapsed at about 9:02am between the 17km and 19km markers, said Rich Harshbarger, vice president of consumer marketing for the Detroit Media Partnership.
Rick Brown, 65, of Marietta, Ohio, collapsed at 9:17am near where Langdon went down, and 26-year-old Jon Fenlon of Waterford collapsed at about 9:18am, just after finishing the half-marathon in 1:53:37, Harshbarger said.
It was unclear whether Brown and Langdon were participating in the 21km half marathon or the full race.
Harshbarger told the Free Press there were at least six medical stations on the course and that emergency personnel were on the scene within seconds.
Every runner must sign a medical release form and they are encouraged to talk to their doctors before they run the race, Harshbarger said.
“On a day when so many people bring such energy and challenge themselves to do their utmost, this news is very difficult to hear,” Free Press editor and publisher Paul Anger said. “Our deepest sympathies are with the families.”
The temperature was about minus 2ºC when the race started and had risen to 5ºC by 10am.
Running coach Keith Hanson said he doubted that the weather had to do with the deaths.
“The wind never kicked up,” Hanson said. “In my mind, the conditions were perfect.” Deaths at marathons are relatively rare. The last death at the Detroit event was in 1994 when a 42-year-old man died of a heart attack after running more than 32km.
More than 19,000 people were registered to participate in the Marathon on Sunday.
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