On His Way To A PR, A Marathoner Collapsed At Mile 26

VAERS is not a "result". It is self reported survey. I wonder why the "doctor" doesn't mention that. When he sees people in the ER does he take their word for they haven't taken any drugs? What a joke

It's sad when people turn every thread into their anti-Vax agenda.

I hope this poor guy recovers OK. People have been dropping at Marathons since way before Covid.

First Pheidippides and now this guy. Articles like these are always a memento mori.

if you’re referring to the runner in a race back in the late 80s or early 90s I was several seconds behind this runner when he was going down. He was about 100 yards from the finish line. I remember looking up and seeing a young lady in distress with big wide open eyes. By the time I turned around race officials were tending to him. Turns out the girl young lady was his girlfriend. It was determined he died of an electrolyte imbalance.

Terrible story. Hope the best for him and his family.

And to be clear the comment above has nothing to do with the tragic case that is the subject of the original discussion. If you read the actual article you will find that this poor guy's episode has been attributed to rhabdomyolysis.

Yeah and what's crazy is that "rhabdomylosis" is apparently normal and is what causes these super stiff legs after a marathon. There for some reason the reaction went completely out of control and stopped his heart. Sounds like it could happen to anyone running a full-out race really...

Two examples - Will Caviness, who was at a sub 3:05 pace at the 2011 Chicago Marathon when he dropped dead from a heart attack at mile 26. Also, Paul Melby, who dropped dead just after crossing the finish line (and getting his first Boston qualifying time) at the 2011 Lake Wobegon Marathon. Both were 35 years old and in seemingly good athletic shape.

In 50 years of running, including many marathons, I have never heard "rhabdo" applied to marathoning. Crossfit, yes...it is kind of a badge of honor due to their heavy use of weights and the resulting muscle breakdown during competition. Marathoners dying or at least collapsing? Sure...hypnoatremia, hidden heart defects, dehydration/electrolyte issues, but never rhabdo. Maybe I have just missed something....

And how does someone look composed, running perfect goal pace right up to keeling over "from rhabdo"? I would think the wheels would really be coming off the last miles. Sounds much more like a pure heart attack to me, hopefully the rhabdo explanation isn't a smokescreen.

Something seems really "off" in this tragedy. Hopefully he comes to soon, not that I expect he would remember much.

Maybe you can share your "running rhabdo" experience with us, oh exalted master?

Apparently it is a bit more common in the ultra running niche:

"However, in those very rare instances where rhabdomyolysis leads to renal failure in ultramarathon runners, it appears that a “perfect storm” of factors seems to be present (extremes of hydration, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and analgesic use, heat stress, recent viral/bacterial infection, low fitness)."

https://ultrarunning.com/features/running-rhabdomyolosis-and-renal-failure-whos-at-risk/

I had (mild) rhabdo. I hadn't run for about six months. I turned up at the track and they were doing a session of sprint the straights, jog the bends. What I didn't realise was the sheer volume. It felt like we did hours of these sets. I think they were four lap sets. But I became ill afterwards, collapsed and it was truly frightening. It's not something to be messed with and people should learn the signs and seek medical treatment straight away if they recognise any of them. I was so unwell. This was about 10 years ago if not more.