30-year-old runner dies at Brooklyn Half Marathon, 16 hospitalized

Very sad. I hope this discussion can incorporate some of the physiologic effects of training as well as preventative measures to identify those individuals who are at increased risk of sudden cardiac death related to exercise (eg. those individuals with unrecognized [congenital] hypertrophic cardiomyopathy).

Another report says 5 runners were in serious condition. Why so many? Is this normal for a race to have people in "serious condition"?

So sad, hopefully everyone is okay. Sad to hear the 37 year old guy died.

"FDNY said five runners were in serious condition and eight were in non-life-threatening condition."

Brooklyn Half Marathon runner dies, more than a dozen hospitalized (msn.com)

I'd bet the heat/humidity are playing a role. Its been a cool spring so far, so people likely just aren't ready for it.

Unfortunately running is not good for people. This is a tough lesson.

Real sorry to see this, heartbreaking. Condolences to his/her family. Just ran a half marathon today on the East Coast. The conditions were absolutely brutal. The winner of the race is very close to qualifying for the trials and he was 19 minutes slower. I hung on for dear life begging for the finish line. If you were looking for a PR; today was not the day.

Sympathies to all involved. I’m shocked that this could happen at a half marathon. I guess it’s a long distance for slower runners, and it sounds like they were completely exposed to the sun for long periods. I’m not sure how this could have been prevented. Just really sad.

The distance is the same for all runners. It is a long distance for fast runners too.

Your lies need to stop.

True! I meant time spent running the course. Slower runners will have been exposed to the sun longer and will have been out on the course later in the day when the temperature will have been higher.

What time was the start?

True dat.

Anytime you get 22k people together statistically someone is going to have a heart attack. Happens at most baseball games.

Someone had posted video of the finish line and presumably the person who died. They went down and out and was motionless. There was no urgency to treat this guy, get the defib, etc. Took like 5 minutes to scoop him up on a gurney and get them out. I didn't see anyone trying to save him at all. Why?

My guess is cardiac arrest due to arrhythmia from dehydration. Temp started at 70F and 83% humidity. A number of years ago, I ran a 15k in PA, same conditions, was holding second and dropped out at 5k as I just wasn't feeling well. Glad I did, too, as would have been trashed by the end and the finishers did not look too good either.

How do you know he needed to be defibrillated, he could have been in asystole? Contrary to just about every television show ever made that attempts to depict the process of defibrillation, you cannot defibrillate what is not fibrillating. You don't "shock" someone to start the heart, you "shock" them to stop the current, irregular rhythm; V-fib, pulseless V-tach, etc. No electrical activity = dead, the heart isn't a car battery, you cannot jump start it.