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2 Collapse at R-N-R Raleigh. other races also. General Discussion... (Read 419 times)

amn77


    I live in the Raleigh area, work in one of the buildings right by the finish line of the race, and have a friend who worked with one of the deceased. So, yes it has an effect. Like the OP, I know when it's my time it's my time, and this is not a "I will never do endurance running again" type of post. But when it hits closer to home than normal, you do think about "what if" more often. These people were close to my age, doing something I also love to do, right in a spot I walk by 5 days a week and have run many races. Same when I hear of any tragedy that involves something I could be doing at any given minute: flying, driving a car, walking across a street.

    Allyson
    bap


      I wonder if death strikes most of these unfortunate runners suddenly and without any warning?  Or do they have some early warning symptoms, which they try to run through?   I guess another way of asking is:  How often are heart attacks successfully dealt with when runners withdraw from the race and seek help after experiencing the first symptoms?

       

      I think all runners ignore warning symptoms of this, or that, or the other, usually injury. It's part of the addiction.

      Certified Running Coach
      Crocked since 2013

      BeeRunB


        The oversoul of Socrates just astral-mailed these questions to post here:

        Are all deaths tragic?

        Or just a particular kind or person's?

        Do we need to share something in common for it to hit the level of tragedy?

           

          I think all runners ignore warning symptoms of this, or that, or the other, usually injury. It's part of the addiction.

           

          Change "all" to "a significant percentage of" and I agree with you.

           

          Concerning ignoring warning symptoms, In the R-n-R Virginia beach race where the runner went down at mile 1, his father had a history of heart attacks, and he had previously suffered at least 2 heart attacks already himself, so I suppose he knew the risks he was taking in his case...

          The Plan '15 →   ///    "Run Hard, Live Easy."   ∞

          NHLA


            Kl  sorry about your experiences.  Seeing someone die is awful.  I am glad you posted because it means you are working thru this.

            I was running in a 5k in asheville NC. After the start we ran by Carrier Park and 1000 people gasp. There was a girl hanging from a tree dead. They ruled it a suicide but no one really knew. Shock is the only word I can use to discribe it. Then denial. That could not have really happened.

            RunpowerMax


              The problem is that sometimes there is no update on the cause of death. I know that on one recent occassion the young girl had taken pills with a stimulant in it. That caused her death, The pill was banned after that since it was an OTC tablet taken by many obviously. Don't forget that even recreational runners sometimes take things that can dangerously increase HR during activity with all possible outcomes!

              In younger people often a hereditary problem is the cause of problems. 

               

              And last but not least: in a mass event it is statistically 'normal' that 1 person dies or get a heart attack.

               

              But it is not nice to see paramedics working on another runner during a race :-( It always makes you wonder and think twice about it all.

               

              That said, I NEVER go outside my limits. I simply don't reach that stage of puking or near collapsing. I have so many 'built in' alarm bells that my body simply says no before I can even think about it :-)

               

              Healthy running all!

                Just noticed some research and stats on this:

                 

                ""While runners' deaths at races receive widespread attention, they are relatively rare.  A study released in 2012 by the New England Journal of Medicine found that of almost 11 Million participants in marathons between 2000 and 2011, there were 59 cardiac arrests, 42 of them fatal.""

                 

                ""Over 85% of the cardiac arrests occurred in men.  In the 23 deaths for which researchers could get detailed information, 15 were found to have abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, and 9 had additional cardiac abnormalities.""

                 

                ----42 fatal events over a 10 year period and out of a huge pool of 11 million participants, from that perspective, these events look rare.  (Although, the death rate seems high of those that do have heart attacks?  42 out of 59?)    So I guess it is just bad coincidence that I have run past 3 of these in the last 3 races.

                 

                Bad things go in 3's right, in the clear now perhaps.    But....  For the person that asked "Please give me a list of upcoming races you are planning to do!", it is in my signature line. :-)   Next large half or full marathon length race I am doing is the NYC Marathon in November.  ---- Stay away if you are at all superstitious 

                .

                The Plan '15 →   ///    "Run Hard, Live Easy."   ∞

                  A guy collapsed in the infield after his race at a local all-comers mile a couple years ago. I was close by and right there were a doctor a couple of nurses, also waiting for their races, so they were working on him within a minute. He was out and they were giving CPR for 15 or 20 minutes before the EMTs arrived. I didn't think he was going to make it, and it took two or three times with the paddles to get him going. He was talking by the next day and home a few days after that. He's now a local running celebrity and does all sorts of races.

                   

                  My dad died from sudden cardiac arrest. He was younger than I am now. He had gone out for a 14 mile run one day, did a 15 mile high altitude hike the next, and died a day after that. I have had rigorous stress tests and caradiac imaging (calcium test) since turning 50. All seems good, but who knows.

                    To your original post, it has an impact on anybody that sees this.   You just happened to see this while running.  For instance, I've witnessed this happen three times myself in life (none while running fortunately), however, it certainly had am impact on me.   Now, if it happened at races each time, I too would probably think about it even more.  Bottom line, seeing somebody just suddenly pass away totally unexpextedly is a pretty traumatic thing to witness.   When it happens like this out of the blue I think it has a greater affect on a person since they naturally think, "whoa, that could just has easily have been me".   Again, you had to make the connection with them racing which probably even hits home a little harder, however, the last one I witnessed was when we were just sitting watching a hockey game last November and the guy near us just keeled over instantly with a massive heart attack.  Disturbing to say the least, especially when you have your three young kids with you at the game.

                      Didja grab his sausage and pepper grinder before he hit the ground.

                      Larry T


                      Lean Running Machine

                        I wonder if death strikes most of these unfortunate runners suddenly and without any warning?  Or do they have some early warning symptoms, which they try to run through?   I guess another way of asking is:  How often are heart attacks successfully dealt with when runners withdraw from the race and seek help after experiencing the first symptoms?

                         

                        In way that is what happened to me. In 2011 I was trying to get back in shape after many years off. I went for a run and got chest tightness which made me go back home. I ignored it and tried again but it kept coming back again. Got so bad that it happened when raking leaves and just sitting at a computer a work. I was told if I ran through it I would have gotten a heart attack.

                        When I finally told the doctor he did some tests and then sent me to a hospital to have a heart catheterization. I was 95% blocked and needed a stent. Now they want me to run but to listen to my body.

                        "If you never have a 'bad' day, you're probably doing something wrong; if you never have a 'good' day, you're definitely doing something wrong."

                        Alberto Salazar

                        bap


                          First, let me begin by saying this post is about deaths occurring at races, just a general discussion.  I don't fear death and do not at all mind talking about related subjects, but advising any folks who would rather not even discuss the issue not to read on if it is uncomfortable to them.

                           

                          I know this subject has come up in the past, but I have passed paramedics doing CPR on a person the last 3 major races I have run.

                           

                          September 2013, ran the R-N-R  Virginia Beach Half.   An ambulance had already blocked part of the running path at about mile 1,

                          someone in the faster corrals had gone down and they were doing chest compressions.  He did not survive.

                          (Story Link:  http://wtvr.com/2013/09/04/glen-allen-man-dies-during-va-beach-rock-n-roll-half-marathon/

                           

                          March 2014:  Ran the Shamrock Marathon.  A 16-year old girl finished the half, then laid down after the finish and never got up again.  She did not survive.  If you google simply the words "Shamrock Marathon" looking perhaps to register in the event or something,  several of the top hits are the story of her death...

                          (Story Link:  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/virginia-teen-16-dies-moments-finishing-marathon-article-1.1725562

                           

                          April 2014:   Ran the R-N-R Raleigh Inaugural Half.    I was just thinking "no ambulances this time", when I turned into mile 12, and an ambulance was blocking the course and runners diverted to the sidewalk.  Another runner had gone down, saw them doing chest compressions, he did not survive.  Apparently at a different time, another runner also went down and did not survive either.

                          (Story Link:    http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/04/13/3781657/two-runners-in-sundays-rock-n.html

                           

                          Again, I am not trying to put the blame on races for these deaths at all, just noting them and if anyone wants to discuss them at all.  --- The last 3 major races I have run I have passed someone in this situation each race.   Anyone who is 'making the rounds' of the bigger local races like I have has seen these same things, and I wonder how it affects them when they are running a race and pass paramedics and someone in this situation who is fighting for their life...  (My 17 yr old son and the wife were driving in to pick me up post race, and were passed by the ambulance as it left the scene.   I had to explain to them the situation.  They knew of the 2 deaths in the last 2 races and when we got back to the hotel, they looked it up and had discovered the Deaths that occurred at the Raleigh race.)

                           

                          Enough jabbering on from me, anyone else run any of these races, or have comments about when running a race and you come across such situations and how it affects you or family?

                           

                          You're an albatross. Stop running races immediately!

                           

                          I've run 134 races, including 6 marathons and 16 halves, in the last 9 years and only seen 2 people getting medical treatment on the course. One was a friend 2.5 miles in to a 4 mile race. He'd been hammered the night before and was seriously dehydrated. The other was a girl in her twenties at about 2 miles in to a 5 mile race on an impossibly hot day.

                          Certified Running Coach
                          Crocked since 2013

                             

                            You're an albatross. Stop running races immediately!

                             

                            I've run 134 races, including 6 marathons and 16 halves, in the last 9 years and only seen 2 people getting medical treatment on the course. One was a friend 2.5 miles in to a 4 mile race. He'd been hammered the night before and was seriously dehydrated. The other was a girl in her twenties at about 2 miles in to a 5 mile race on an impossibly hot day.

                             

                            ---  Addendum:  I did not mention the 24 hour race in Hampton, VA as one of my 'major' upcoming races because it is a field of only 200 that participate.  On this race, it was a cool day/eve, and since this is a 24-hour, most folks do more walking than running.    About half-way through the race, I am coming back to the completion of another 4(ish) mile loop on the trail, and here comes an ambulance blazing down this walking path of a trail.  A little ahead, there is a runner down, and other EMT's are already there giving a guy CPR/chest compressions.  First thing in my head was "not again".    It looked just like the previous 3 races...

                             

                            Don't worry though, this time the worst did not happen.  No "Reapers bell" sounding this time, turns out it was a person with a history of seizures who somehow assumed the stresses of a 24-hour would not prompt a seizure event.  Incorrect.     But... He was conscious and talking later on at the hospital + made a full recovery.     Does this end this "Final Destination" type string of events for me?  I hope so. Glad to hear the last guy made full recovery.  (But I do want to ask him "What were you thinking"?!)  Can't think it good if a person with a history of seizures participates in an event that stresses the body and often puts electrolytes out of whack..

                            The Plan '15 →   ///    "Run Hard, Live Easy."   ∞

                            bap


                              Maybe I don't see runners getting medical treatment because I'm always at the front. 

                              Certified Running Coach
                              Crocked since 2013

                                Maybe I don't see runners getting medical treatment because I'm always at the front. 

                                 

                                --- You hopped a ride on the sag wagon bus + they drove you up to the finish line?     

                                The Plan '15 →   ///    "Run Hard, Live Easy."   ∞

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