Running: Oakville runner dies at Toronto Marathon

Monday, October 17, 2005 - 10:59 PM

Two other runners have died in Toronto race in the last four years - Witnesses say it took too long to get collapsed man to hospital

For the second year in a row, a runner has died in the Toronto Marathon.

The unidentified 36-year-old Oakville man was running in the half-marathon yesterday morning with thousands of others and collapsed moments after crossing the finish line on Queen's Park Circle, just south of Hoskin Ave.

Three people have died in the event in the last four years.

Medical personnel working with the race rushed to his aid, first trying CPR, then a defibrillator. As an ambulance tried to get through the crowd, he was placed on a stretcher while health workers continued trying CPR and administering oxygen. He was carried on a stretcher to Wellesley St. and then to Mount Sinai Hospital with no vital signs, Toronto EMS said.

A number of witnesses said it took too long for the man to be put in an ambulance and taken to hospital. "It did take a long time,'' said Janet Dogon of Thornhill. She was at the finish line because her daughter and a friend ran the half-marathon

Race director Jay Glassman said some members of the medical team in place for the race — 30 registered nurses and about seven doctors — attended to the man and there was an ambulance on site. Glassman said he can't comment on the time it took to get the man to hospital because he doesn't have all the details.

Last year 42-year-old Scott Labron of Guelph, a married father of four, died minutes before crossing the finish line. He was also running in the half-marathon. It's suspected he suffered a heart attack, but no cause of death was revealed after test results.

In 2001, 50-year-old Aurora businessman Bob Hartwell, who had run the Boston Marathon several times, died of a heart attack running in the full marathon.

"Things like this happen, unfortunately. It's statistically rare when it happens,'' Glassman said, adding big marathons like those in Boston and New York have had fatalities. "I went to watch the New York Marathon years ago and two people died,'' he said.

Before the race, organizers were expecting about 2,500 for the 42.195-kilometre marathon, about 5,000 in the half-marathon, up to 1,500 for the 5-kilometre and around 1,200 for the relay. The marathon and half-marathon begin at Mel Lastman Square in North York.

Glassman said the deaths are ``no reflection'' on the Toronto Marathon course. ``There are marathons at high altitudes, low altitudes, in good weather in bad weather,'' he said. ``We had good conditions. It was windy, which was a hindrance, but that's about it.'' Runners must sign a waiver before taking part.

But with thousands of runners in the race "it's not feasible to have them all go to a cardiologist or get a physical before the race,'' Glassman said.

The Toronto Waterfront Marathon, which staged its fourth annual race last month, has had no fatalities.

David Cheruiyot of Kenya finished first in the main event for the men with an official time of 2:17:12.2. Rito Regules Jardon of Toluca, Mexico, was second and Danny Kassap of Toronto third.

A Canadian came first in the women's marathon. Lioudmila Kortchaguina of Thornhill captured the women's title with a time of 2:37:17.7, ahead of Kathryn MacNamara of Dundas and Isabelle Ledroit of Montreal.

First place in the men's and women's marathon came with a cheque for $15,000.