List of marathon fatalities

Below is a sortable list of individuals who died as a result of running a marathon.

Defibrillator training kit

Causes of death during the marathon

The most frequent causes are:

  1. sudden cardiac death, triggered by a congenital or acquired heart disorder;
  2. exercise-associated hyponatremia or other electrolyte imbalance;
  3. exertional heat stroke or severe hyperthermia.

The age distribution ranges widely, from the teens through the sixties.

In 2016, a systematic medical review found that the risk of sudden cardiac death during or immediately after a marathon was between 0.6 and 1.9 deaths per 100,000 participants, varying across the specific studies and the methods used, and not controlling for age or gender. This translates to a few published marathon deaths worldwide in a typical year, although the authors lamented the lack of a central registry for the information.[1]

The second major risk arises from imbalanced fluid or electrolyte levels, particularly hyponatremia (sodium deficiency, overhydration, or water intoxication). As a marathon medical director described the counter-intuitive and under-publicized risk in 2005: "There are no reported cases of dehydration causing death in the history of world running, but there are plenty of cases of people dying of hyponatremia."[2]

Heat stroke is an emergency condition in which thermoregulation fails and the body temperature rises above 104 °F (40 °C). It becomes a greater risk in warm and humid weather.[3]

List
OriginName [ref.] Age Marathon date Event Location Cause / Notes
 POR Francisco Lázaro[4] 24 15 July 1912 Olympic Marathon Stockholm, Sweden Electrolyte imbalance
 FRA Jacques Bussereau[5] 48 28 October 1984 New York City Marathon New York City, US Heart attack
 GBR Duncan Kerr[6] 28 22 September 1985 Glasgow Marathon Glasgow, UK Pneumonia
 USA Martin A. Wurst, Jr.[7] 32 2 November 1986 Marine Corps Marathon Washington, D.C., US Coronary artery disease
 USA Edwin Brown[8] 47 14 December 1986 Dallas Marathon Dallas, US Heart attack
 USA Thomas Becker[9] 40 8 October 1989 Twin Cities Marathon Minneapolis, US Heart attack
 USA William McKinney[10] 59 4 March 1990 Los Angeles Marathon Los Angeles, US Heart attack
 USA Lisa B. Christensen[11] 19 4 November 1990 Marine Corps Marathon Washington, D.C., US Coronary artery abnormality
 USA Julius Becza[12] 58 24 October 1993 Marine Corps Marathon Washington, D.C., US Heart attack
 USA Samuel Grafton[13] 42 16 October 1994 Detroit Marathon Detroit, US Heart attack
  SWI Pierre Marguet[14] 27 6 November 1994 New York City Marathon New York City, US Heart attack; also for an unnamed second fatality
 SWE Humphrey Siesage[15] 61 15 April 1996 Boston Marathon Boston, US Heart attack
 GBR Anna Loyley[16][17] 26 8 March 1998 Bath Half Marathon London, UK Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome
 USA Kelly Barrett[18] 43 11 October 1998 Chicago Marathon Chicago, US Hyponatremia
 GBR Don Scott[19] 48 26 September 1999 Robin Hood Marathon Nottingham, UK Heart attack
 USA Danny Towns[18] 45 22 October 2000 Chicago Marathon Chicago, US Heart attack
 USA Luke Roach[18] 22 7 October 2001 Chicago Marathon Chicago, US Heat stroke
 USA Laura M. Clancy[20] 29 20 October 2001 Baltimore Marathon Baltimore, US Brain aneurysm
 ECU Cynthia Lucero[21] 28 15 April 2002 Boston Marathon Boston, US Hyponatremia
 USA Hilary Bellamy[21] 35 27 October 2002 Marine Corps Marathon Washington, D.C., US Hyponatremia
 GBR Craig Johanson[19] 28 14 September 2003 Robin Hood Marathon Nottingham, UK Cardiac arrhythmia
 USA Rachael Townsend[22] 29 12 October 2003 Chicago Marathon Chicago, US Mitral valve prolapse
 USA James Leone[10] 60 19 March 2006 Los Angeles Marathon Los Angeles, US Heart attack
 USA Raul Reyna[10] 53 19 March 2006 Los Angeles Marathon Los Angeles, US Heart attack
 USA William Goggins[23] 43 30 July 2006 San Francisco Marathon San Francisco, US Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
 USA George Spears, Sr.[24] 49 1 October 2006 Twin Cities Marathon Minneapolis, US Heart attack
 USA Earl Seyford[25] 56 29 October 2006 Marine Corps Marathon Washington, D.C., US Heart attack
 USA Marc Witkes[26] 40 10 December 2006 Tucson Marathon Tucson, US Congenital heart abnormalities
United Kingdom David Rogers[27] 22 22 April 2007 London Marathon London, UK Hyponatremia
 USA Chad Schieber[28] 35 7 October 2007 Chicago Marathon Chicago, US Mitral valve prolapse
 USA Ryan Shay[29] 28 3 November 2007 USA Marathon Championships New York City, US Cardiac arrhythmia
 USA Adam Nickel[30] 27 2 March 2008 Little Rock Marathon Little Rock, US Coronary artery abnormality;
electrolyte imbalance
 BRA Carlos Jose Gomes[31] 58 2 November 2008 New York City Marathon New York City, US Heart attack
 USA Joseph Marotta[31] 66 2 November 2008 New York City Marathon New York City, US Heart attack
 USA Fred Costa[31] 41 2 November 2008 New York City Marathon New York City, US Heart attack
 USA Erin Lahr[32] 29 14 December 2008 Dallas Marathon Dallas, US Cardiac arrhythmia
 IRE Colin Dunne[33] 27 1 March 2009 Barcelona Marathon Barcelona, Spain Heart attack
 USA Peter Curtin[34] 23 10 October 2009 Baltimore Marathon Baltimore, US Undetermined, possible heat stroke;
body temperature 107 °F (42 °C)
 USA William Caviness 35 9 October 2011 Chicago Marathon Chicago, US Heart attack
 USA Ulysses Thomas[35] 58 5 November 2011 Savannah Marathon Savannah, US
 GBR Claire Squires[36] 30 22 April 2012 London Marathon London, UK Heart attack, DMAA supplement
 ESP Xavier Jiménez[37] 45 17 March 2013 Barcelona Marathon Barcelona, Spain Heart attack
 GBR Sam Harper Brighouse[38] 23 14 April 2013 Brighton Marathon Brighton, UK Ischemic colitis
 USA R. Jacob Zeman[39] 35 9 November 2013 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Savannah, US "Unsuspected heart condition"
 GBR Robert Berry[40] 42 13 April 2014 London Marathon London, UK Heat stroke
 PHI Manases Alfon Jr.[41] 38 7 February 2016 Condura Skyway Marathon Philippines
 PHI Arnold Lubang[42] 40 7 February 2016 Condura Skyway Marathon Philippines Cardiac arrest
 GBR Mike Freeman[43] 55 28 February 2016 Vodafone Malta Marathon Sliema, Malta "Natural causes"
United Kingdom David Seath[44] 31 24 April 2016 London Marathon London, UK Heart attack
 NED Rob Bremer[45] 50 26 November 2017 Curacao KLM Marathon Curacao Cardiac arrest
 GBR Matt Campbell[46] 29 22 April 2018 London Marathon London, UK Cardiac arrest
 GBR Juan Camilo Arboleda Alzate[47] 38 16 September 2018 Medellín Marathon Medellín, Colombia Heart attack
 CHI Claudio Agurto Spencer[48] 51 7 April 2019 Santiago Marathon Santiago, Chile Aortic dissection
 USA Taylor Ceepo[49] 22 19 May 2019 Cleveland Marathon Cleveland, US Cardiac
 USA Harry Vroulis[50] 74 19 January 2020 Houston Marathon Houston, US Heart attack
 USA Gregory McSween 41 9 November 2021 Marine Corps Marathon
 FRA Bruno Meunier[51] 41 5 June 2022 Marathon de la Liberté Caen, France Heart attack
Country Event Deaths Date
 Sri Lanka Weliveriya bombing 15 5 April 2008
 USA Boston Marathon bombing 3 15 April 2013
 China Gansu ultramarathon disaster 21 22 May 2021

See also

References
  1. Waite, Oliver; Smith, Andy; Madge, Luke; Spring, Hannah; Noret, Nathalie (January 2016). "Sudden cardiac death in marathons: a systematic review" (PDF). The Physician and Sportsmedicine. 44 (1): 79–84. doi:10.1080/00913847.2016.1135036. PMID 26765272. S2CID 36458482.
  2. "Marathoners Warned About Too Much Water", The New York Times, 20 October 2005.
  3. Armstrong, Lawrence E.; Casa, Douglas J.; Millard-Stafford, Mindy; Moran, Daniel S.; Pyne, Scott W.; Roberts, William O.; Roberts, W. O. (March 2007). "American College of Sports Medicine position stand: Exertional heat illness during training and competition". Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 39 (3): 556–572. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e31802fa199. PMID 17473783.
  4. "Francisco Lázaro, a emborcação no treino", Fórum Olímpico de Portugal.
  5. "The splendor of the New York City Marathon was...", UPI, 29 October 1984.
  6. "Can Running Kill?", Scotland's Runner, August 1986.
  7. "Marine Who Died During Marathon Here Had Undiagnosed Heart Ailment", The Washington Post, 4 November 1986.
  8. "Dallas White Rock Marathon: The Seventeenth Annual Running", December 1986.
  9. "Runner dies after finishing", St. Cloud Times, 9 October 1989.
  10. "Exuberance of L.A. Marathon Tempered by Runners' Deaths", Los Angeles Times, 20 March 2006.
  11. "Marathon's No Random Killer, But No Running From Death", Washington Post, 12 November 1990.
  12. "Runner's Heart Attack Was Waiting to Happen", The Washington Post, 30 October 1993.
  13. "Runner, 42, collapses and dies", Detroit Free Press, 17 October 1994.
  14. "New York City Marathon: Two Runners Are Dead From Cardiac Arrest", The New York Times, 7 November 1994. "A second runner, a man approximately 45 years old whose name was not released by St. Luke's Hospital or marathon officials, also died."
  15. "Heartbreak Hill Claims Another Victim", Associated Press, 16 April 1996.
  16. "First aid charity sued over death of runner". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  17. Pedoe, Dan Tunstall (2000-04-01). "Sudden cardiac death in sport—spectre or preventable risk?". British Journal of Sports Medicine. 34 (2): 137–140. doi:10.1136/bjsm.34.2.137. ISSN 0306-3674. PMC 1724190. PMID 10786871.
  18. "How marathons can kill you", Chicago Sun-Times, 6 October 2002.
  19. "Marathon death man named", BBC, 15 September 2003.
  20. "Marathon Runner Collapses, Dies", The Baltimore Sun, 11 October 2009.
  21. "Too Much of a Good Thing", The Washington Times, 23 October 2003.
  22. "Coach copes with wife's death", The Columbus Dispatch, 27 January 2004.
  23. "The Fit Man's Heart Threat", Men's Health, 23 August 2007.
  24. "Man who died in Twin Cities Marathon was experienced runner", Associated Press, 2 October 2006.
  25. "Runner collapses, dies during Marine Corps Marathon", Associated Press, 30 October 2006.
  26. "Man who died in marathon had congenital heart disease", Tucson Citizen, 23 January 2007.
  27. "Marathon victim died from drinking too MUCH water". 13 April 2012.
  28. "Autopsy: Man who died in Chicago Marathon had heart condition", Associated Press, 8 October 2007.
  29. "Ryan Shay dies in U.S. Olympic marathon trials", USA Today, 3 November 2007.
  30. "Doctors: Ark. marathon runner died of rare mix of heart condition, electrolyte abnormalities", Associated Press, 7 April 2008.
  31. "Secrets of the New York City Marathon". amNewYork. 4 November 2016.
  32. "Heart condition caused White Rock Marathon runner's death", The Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2009.
  33. "Teacher dies from heart attack during marathon", The Independent, 2 March 2009.
  34. "Runner Was MIT Student; N.C. Native Died During The Baltimore Marathon Saturday", The Baltimore Sun, 13 October 2009.
  35. "Marathon runner was 'picture of health,' wife says", Savannah Morning News, 9 November 2011.
  36. "Claire Squires inquest: DMAA was factor in marathon runner's death", BBC, 30 January 2013.
  37. "Muere un atleta en el maratón de Barcelona", El Periódico de Aragón, 17 March 2013.
  38. "Brighton marathon runner died from bowel failure", The Guardian, 28 August 2013.
  39. "Mr. Robert Jacob (Jake) Zeman obituary", Tributes.com, 11 November 2013.
  40. "London marathon runner died yards from finish after his body overheated", London Evening Standard, 28 August 2014.
  41. ", ABS-CBN Sports, 8 February 2016.
  42. ", Rappler, 8 February 2016.
  43. "Marathon runner died of natural causes – police", Times of Malta, 1 March 2016.
  44. "London Marathon runner David Seath dies after collapsing near finish line", The Guardian, 25 April 2016.
  45. "Runner dies during KLM marathon", Antilliaans Dagblad, 27 November 2017.
  46. "London Marathon: Masterchef semi-finalist Matt Campbell dies", BBC News, 22 April 2017.
  47. "Juan Camilo Arboleda, profesor universitario murió de un paro en Media Maratón de Medellín". Semena. September 16, 2018.
  48. "Murió maratonista en la Marathon De Santiago". El Mostrador. 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  49. Livingston, Doug. "Woman, 22, dies in Cleveland Marathon; soccer player was graduate of St. V-M and Walsh University". Akron Beacon Journal.
  50. McCord, Cory (21 January 2020). "Runner dies after suffering heart attack during 2020 Chevron Houston Marathon". khou.com.
  51. "Le Marathon de la Liberté à Caen endeuillé par la mort d'un participant". franceinfo. June 5, 2022.

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