Detroit Marathon Deaths.

Saw this posted on another local forum. Seems kind of strange considering the cool temps today. :[[



"Three men died this morning during the 32nd Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon, police and race officials have confirmed.


The first man to collapse was Daniel Langdon, 36, of Laingsburg, at about 9:02 a.m., said Rich Harshbarger, vice president of consumer marketing for the Detroit Media Partnership. Langdon was on Michigan Avenue, between the 11- and 12-mile markers.

Rick Brown, 65, of Marietta, Ohio, collapsed at 9:17 a.m., near where Langdon went down.

And Jon Fenlon, 26, of Waterford collapsed at about 9:18 a.m., just after finishing the half-marathon in 1:53:37. Fenlon, whose Facebook page says that he worked at the Warren-based advertising firm Campbell-Ewald and graduated from Eastern Michigan University, had made headlines before, when in 2006 he caught a homerun ball hit by Magglio Ordoñez that sealed the Tigers’ sweep of the Oakland A’s -- sending the team to the World Series, said friend Jenny Wroblewski. "

http://www.freep.com/article/2009101...016/1001/rss01

Yesterday someone in Baltimore died in a marathon as well, I think I read he was 26. All of this is a little unsettling.

Is this the "sudden cardiac death" thing that has happpened to countless soccer players in Europe? Is there a good chance they had undetected heart issues?

It seems strange they all went down around the same time, and in the same vicinity, 11-12 miles in.

The head of cardiology at Providence Hospital was interviewed on Fox 2 just now, he said the cold weather was definitely a factor in the deaths, one's blood vessels constrict, and if there is already plaque present, trouble...

They should really have the marathon a month earlier...

There has to be some personal responsibility though too. ~You'd think the runner[[s) would stop if they weren't feeling right. ~There would have to be some signs of a problem before they actually passed out.

I feel really bad about this... I watched the bulk of the runners come by my house on Labrosse just before Michigan Ave... My wife turned to me at about 8:55 and said "man that guy does not look like he is doing that well." I am 99 percent sure that was
"The first man to collapse was Daniel Langdon, 36, of Laingsburg, at about 9:02 a.m., said Rich Harshbarger, vice president of consumer marketing for the Detroit Media Partnership. Langdon was on Michigan Avenue, between the 11- and 12-mile markers".
I wish there was something we could have done....

Anyone has stats on marathon deaths, in general?

It seems an event like this would cause a certain number of deaths in folks who where kind of "weekend athletes" and I suppose it would be somewhat common.

Chuck Hughes, a special teams player and wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, died of a heart attack during a game in 1971. Just fell over dead on the field. He was just 28.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Hughes

Photo: http://blogs.phillyburbs.com/news/bc...s/00hughes.jpg

From what the doctors are saying, the cold weather precipitates something that might have happened eventually ...that there was some cardiac issue or weakness present, and the exertion in such cold weather put these poor guys over the edge. This was the second coldest marathon ever, apparently...

One of the articles mentioned that these deaths are quite rare. Most people running a half-marathon aren't going to fall into the "weekend athlete" category. The distance will weed out most wanna-be runners before they get anywhere near that distance. We'll see what the autopsies say but you can bet there's likely pre-existing conditions involved.

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Originally Posted by pffft

The head of cardiology at Providence Hospital was interviewed on Fox 2 just now, he said the cold weather was definitely a factor in the deaths, one's blood vessels constrict, and if there is already plaque present, trouble...

They should really have the marathon a month earlier...

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Yeah, when there's risk for it being in the 70s/80s. I must have drank water all day Saturday and I was still dehydrated. I can't imagine what it would have felt like had the temperatures been 20-30 degrees warmer.

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Originally Posted by Meddle

There has to be some personal responsibility though too. ~You'd think the runner[[s) would stop if they weren't feeling right. ~There would have to be some signs of a problem before they actually passed out.

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You definitely don't run.

Being a runner and marathoner myself, it exemplifies the need for thorough physicals and cardio testing for everybody [[especially those of us with genetic and heredidtary predispositions).

While I tread lightly placing blame on these runners, it is tragic and I have a great deal of sympathy for their family. That being said, in my own experience, there were/are a lot of half and full marathoners who don't take the suggestions to see a Doctor and get a complete physical prior to the event, especially first timers. You'd be surprised the difference in exertion one endures in training and what exertion really is during the event.

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Originally Posted by Motown

You'd be surprised the difference in exertion one endures in training and what exertion really is during the event.

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And I suspect, therein lies the problem.

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Originally Posted by gazhekwe

It seems strange they all went down around the same time, and in the same vicinity, 11-12 miles in.

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I think that is because they were all running the half marathon, and that is the point where most runners really start to kick it- it is very close to the end so they might have been over-exerting themselves to try and finish with a good time. Most marathon deaths tend to happen right near the end of the course.

It is so sad- my sympathy goes out to their families.

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Originally Posted by NoHeartAnthony

Yeah, when there's risk for it being in the 70s/80s. I must have drank water all day Saturday and I was still dehydrated. I can't imagine what it would have felt like had the temperatures been 20-30 degrees warmer.

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You should treat yourself to a change of scenery and try the Honolulu marathon.

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Originally Posted by pffft

They should really have the marathon a month earlier...

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No way. This year it was abnormally cold -- the average temperature for yesterday was 60 degrees. That is absolutely perfect marathon weather. There's a reason why the Baltimore marathon just happened, Chicago is in October, etc.

I did the 2001 Detroit marathon, and the weather was as good as it could be [[like 50 degrees at race time).

My heart goes out to those families. It's so rare that one dies [[several places cite 1 in 50,000 that participate in a full marathon die), to have three die in a half-marathon is just mindboggling.

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Originally Posted by MikeM

You should treat yourself to a change of scenery and try the Honolulu marathon.

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The marathon in every state is definitely something that may be a goal in the future.

Has anyone thought that maybe there was a refreshment [[water)station just before these guy's collapsed? just a thought, but maybe the reason were waiting for the toxicology test is they found something in all three men that shouldn't be there? Maybe someone poisioned water along the route and these guy's were unfortunate enough to drink it? In this crazy world it woudn't surprise me if this turn's into a homicide investigation. What do you think?

I think you've been reading too much Stephen King.

Back in Ancient Greece while 300 Spartans were quite winning the battle against 300,000 Persians. The Spartan King sent a runner to a deliver a message to the King of Athens. The runner ran 26.2 miles without stopping for anything. After the runner made it Athens, he deliver a message to the king saying 'NIKE!' meaning victory and the runner died instantly. The Athenian king was so surprised that he proposed to send thousands to help the Spartans and defend Athens from the Persians. [[ Even though the Spartans are fighting a losing battle at Thermopolae.)

Running a marathon takes a lot a time and effort. You can't be too competitive or else you lose your energy and your heart and blood pressure rate rises to very dangerous levels. If you're healthy and strong and get a good physical check from your doctor then you can run the marathon. Lacking these requirements will cause your fate!

My sympathies to the families who lost their loved ones at the Detroit Free Press/ Flagstar Bank Marathon.