Tragedy hit Raleigh’s first ever Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Sunday when two participants in the half marathon suffered medical problems and died.
Officials said the men were relatively young and in great shape. One was 35 and the other 31. The men are both from the Triangle. Officials have not yet released the participants’ names or causes of death
On Monday, ABC11 learned Derrick Myers was one of the men who died. A close friend said Myers was an avid soccer player and in great shape by just about all measures.
“It really shocked us when we found out,” said friend Dileep Dadlani. “He’s in fantastic shape and that’s why it was so shocking to see someone in the prime of their life just getting struck down by whatever the case might have been.”
The medical examiner is investigating how he died, but doctors say most likely, he had a heart condition he did not know about.
One man collapsed right near the end on Fayetteville Street. Video shows paramedics trying to help him. An eyewitness said emergency responders performed CPR frantically – to the point where workers were rotated. The other man collapsed in-between the 10 and 11-mile markers. That’s right outside of Jay Smith’s apartment building.
“It was just kind of a chaotic scene,” said Smith, who was walking out of his building when EMS was working to save the runner’s life. He tried to get closer but the streets were packed. Thousands of spectators clogged city sidewalks as the race was underway.
“It was just crowded and people were milling around trying to figure out what was going on,” Smith said.
“Wake County EMS and medical personnel were immediately on the scene and attempted to revive each runner, but their efforts were unsuccessful. We are greatly saddened by these tragic losses and our prayers go out to the each of the runners’ family and friends.”
A race spokesperson said a representative spent the majority of the afternoon at the hospital with the families of the two runners to help them cope with the losses.
More than 12,000 runners from around the world hit the pavement Sunday morning. Two Triangle men beat out thousands from all over the world in both the full and half marathons, and a Triangle woman prevailed in the women’s full marathon. They say even with the cool conditions for the run, they felt the strain.
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