The race Marathon was named for the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger, who ran from Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon. It is said that once he told the assembly, "We have won," he collapsed and died. Recreational marathons typically do not have that sort of result, but today in the Detroit marathon, there were three deaths.
Organizers stated that the Detroit marathon deaths involved a half-marathoner and two other runners, whose attempted distances could not be confirmed.
Daniel Langdon, 36, of Laingsburg, collapsed at about 9:02 AM between the 11- and 12-mile markers. Rick Brown, 65, of Marietta, Ohio, collapsed at 9:17 AM, close to where Langdon collapse. Finally, Jon Fenlon, 26, of Waterford collapsed at about 9:18 AM, just after finishing the half-marathon in 1:53:37.
More than 19,000 people were registered to participate in the 32nd Detroit Free Press / Flagstar Marathon on Sunday. Despite the Detroit marathon deaths, the race went on. The last death at a Detroit marathon was in 1994; a 42-year-old man died of a heart attack after running more than 20 miles.
First place in the marathon was taken by Nicholas Stanko, of Haslett, Michigan, at 2:20:24. Sarah Plaxton, 41, of Highland, Michigan, was the top female finisher in the marathon with a time of 2:57:09.
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