Medical Personnel Kept Busy at Pittsburgh Marathon
May 03—A 25-year-old runner collapsed about 300 yards from the finish line of the Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon Sunday, with medics performing CPR and using a defibrillator to jolt his heart into beating again, medical personnel said.
"I was saying the Our Father and Hail Mary. They brought him back to life," said race volunteer Mark Ferguson of Mt. Lebanon, who initially helped the runner on the Boulevard of the Allies, Downtown, as hundreds of finishers streamed past.
The runner, dazed and mostly incoherent, Ferguson said, collapsed just after indicating he wanted to finish the race. He was listed in critical condition Sunday evening at UPMC Mercy, according to UPMC's Dr. Ron Roth.
The runner from Washington, D.C., wasn't identified. He was in the full marathon, and it wasn't clear why he went into cardiac arrest. Medical personnel, along with two bystanders with medical backgrounds, reached the man quickly, Roth said.
"We quickly got a heartbeat back, and we're hoping for the best," Roth said.
Temperatures reaching 73 degrees by noon Sunday took a heavy toll on some of the more than 34,000 runners who took to the streets of Pittsburgh, running either 26.2 miles or the 13.1-mile half-marathon.
Roth said medical personnel treated 367 people for a variety of ailments ranging from minor blisters and dehydration to dizziness, cramps and overheating, with 199 treated on the race course, and 168 at the medical tent at the finish line. Of the 49 people taken to city hospitals, two were pregnant spectators who went into labor and were taken to Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC.
About 10 people suffered from dangerously high body temperatures, reaching between 108 and 110 degrees, and they were dunked in ice water, Roth said.
It was the highest number of medical problems at the marathon since 2012, when 365 runners were treated and 60 were taken to hospitals.
The marathon raised yellow flags, warning runners that they should take precautions because of the temperatures, at 10 a.m.
"In the morning, it was cold at the start line and I suspect runners said, 'Wow, it's going to be a great marathon, it's 50 degrees, I'm really going to try to run quickly,' and as the temperature increased, hopefully some of them adjusted their speed, but maybe not all of them," Roth said.
"It was just a one mile-at-a-time kind of deal," Elaine Vincent, 29, of Dormont, said of dealing with the warm weather. She finished the full marathon in about 5 hours 15 minutes.
Police did not have any security issues or major problems Sunday, according to Michael Huss, the city's deputy director of public safety.
Stephen Njoroge of Kenya and Clara Santucci of Dilliner, Greene County, were the top male and female finishers.
Njoroge finished with a time of 2:15:19. Santucci, who was the top female finisher in the 2014 Pittsburgh marathon, repeated her win with a time of 2:34:06.
For some marathon participants, the day was a chance to qualify for the Boston Marathon. For others, they dashed across asphalt and concrete in honor of a loved one. For still others, it was simply for the love of running.
"This wasn't bad, considering that I was training in a hat and gloves two weeks ago," said Sara Gorney, 39 of Forest Hills, who ran a half-marathon, her ninth race, with a finishing time of 2:23:01.
As in years past, the marathon turned many of the 13 city neighborhoods along the course into party zones, with bands playing and thousands lining streets, ringing cowbells, offering high-fives, and holding signs bearing encouraging messages.
Gregory Gentile, 43, of Monroeville, called out runners' names as they passed him along Forbes Avenue in Oakland, offering words of praise, like "Way to go, Ryan," reading the names off the bibs.
"It's a little bit of personal encouragement," Gentile said. "They think that someone cares about them and that's a good thing."
"When you train, you run alone. And then you come here, and people are so supportive" said Kelly Ulm, 46, of Elizabeth Township, who ran the full marathon as a Boston Marathon qualifier, but came up short with a net time of 3:49:20. "They don't know how much they help. I wish I could thank them all."
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