Chicago Marathon Runner Dies; Kenyan Sets World Mark
A 22-year-old Seattle man collapsed near the finish line of Sunday’s Chicago Marathon and died. Luke Roach was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said Dr. Greg Ewert, medical director of the marathon.
In the race, Catherine Ndereba of Kenya broke the week-old women’s world record, winning in 2 hours 18 minutes 47 seconds--nearly a minute better than the mark of 2:19:46 set in Berlin by Japan’s Naoko Takahashi last week.
In the men’s race, Ben Kimondiu, second in this year’s Los Angeles Marathon, won in 2:08.52.
Roach is the third person to die in the marathon’s 24-year history and second in the last two years.
Last year Dan Towns of Edmond, Okla., died of cardiac arrest after collapsing at the 221/2-mile mark. A woman died in 1998 because of low sodium levels.
Ewert said preliminary findings showed Roach’s body temperature had elevated to 107 degrees.
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