This last weekend was the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon and three runners collapsed and died during the run. I first off do not know how people even survive the first 10 miles let alone a 26.2 mile race. I wonder why you don’t hear of more people collapsing and dying during these things especially when you consider the age of some of these people. In fact the oldest marathon runner just ran a marathon in Toronto on September 25, 2009 and his age you wonder….98 YEARS OLD!!! I really can’t even put my mind around that one. How on earth is that even possible? Most 98 year olds can barely walk or even do much by themselves let alone run a 26.2 mile little jaunt down the road! That’s crazy.
The three runners that collapsed this last weekend in Detroit were the ages of 65, 36 and 26. Daniel Langdon was 36 years old and collapsed between the 11 and 12 mile markers. Rick Brown, 65, collapsed almost in the same spot as Daniel Langdon had went down only 15 minutes after him. What is it about that particular spot? I don’t know but I sure would have been a skeptic and maybe a little superstitious when I ran by there and not only saw one person collapsed and getting medical attention but two people getting medical attention. 26 year old Jon Fenlon collapsed shortly after finishing the 13.1 mile half marathon.
What I am wondering is how could they have passed away so quickly with 6 medical stations and emergency personnel standing by. They got medical attention within seconds but it was still too late. Some wonder if it was the 28 degree weather they started running in the morning and only got up to 41 degrees that morning while most runners where well into completing the race. That’s freezing cold if you ask me to just run miles and miles and miles in.
I think that the hosts of this race will have to work on their publicity for this race for the next year because some may be scared away in the fact that 3 runners passed away the year before. There hadn’t been a death in this race since 1994. They could add to their already existing Facebook groups and make them stronger because they only have 3,068 fans and 19,000 runners, and tweet more about when deadlines are due for registration and other events going on, post YouTube videos of past contestants talking about how the race was. They really need to spread the good word out there about the race. They had 19,000 runners this year and that number could go up by a couple thousand if they really work on their use of social networking. Dedicated runners will travel all over the country to run in different regions of the country and experience all types of weather. You don’t consider Detroit, Michigan has a vacation getaway and having one event bring in thousands already would be great for the city if they could bring in even more. They could add other events leading up to the race and have events for families to partake in as a whole. They really could turn a weekend of just a 26.2 mile race into something more like a family getaway or a relaxing weekend…I guess if you think running is relaxing…and some do that is why they endure this great race.
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The fact that a 98 year old was running in a marathon boggles my mind. It also surprises me that three people could die in a race. If they are going to attempt it, they should already be in excellent shape and you mentioned the fact that there was medical attention not far away. The cold temperatures could have had an impact, but it shouldn't have been deadly. The Public Relations Department for this marathon definitely has some work to do before their next race.
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