Marietta man dies during race

DETROIT - A Marietta man was among three runners who collapsed and died during the running of the Detroit Marathon and Half-Marathon on Sunday.

Rick Brown, 65, of Marietta, a member of the River City Runners and Walkers Club who runs in virtually all the local road races, collapsed at 9:17 a.m. while participating in the half marathon.

"Rick was my best friend,' said Chip Allman, president of the runners club and one of several local runners who traveled to the Detroit race. "Even though he lived in Marietta, he came to Parkersburg to run every day. Everybody liked Rick. He coached a lot of local runners and he was very popular with them.'

Allman said Rick Brown and his wife Vivian were constant traveling companions to races throughout the eastern United States.

"We would do marathons and half marathons together all the time,' Allman said. "He does more local races than anybody else.'

Allman said he was running the marathon and as was their tradition expected Rick to be waiting for him at the finish line with his clothes. When he didn't see his friend, he wondered if something had happened.

"It wasn't like Rick not to be there,' he said.

Ironically, 36-year-old Daniel Langdon of Laingsburg, Mich, had collapsed at almost the same spot just 15 minutes earlier said Rich Harshbarger, vice president of consumer marketing for the Detroit Media Partnership.

Meanwhile, just one minute after Brown collapsed, 26-year-old Jon Fenlon of Waterford collapsed just after finishing the half-marathon in 1:53:37, Harshbarger said.

It was unclear whether Langdon were participating in the 13.1-mile half marathon or the full race.

Harshbarger told the Detroit Free Press that there were at least six medical stations on the race course and that emergency personnel were on the scene within seconds.

Every runner must sign a medical release form, and they are encouraged to talk to their doctors before they run the race, Harshbarger said.

'On a day when so many people bring such energy and challenge themselves to do their utmost, this news is very difficult to hear,' said Free Press editor and publisher Paul Anger said. 'Our deepest sympathies are with the families.'

The temperature was about 28 degrees when the marathon started and had risen to 41 degrees by 10 a.m. Running coach Keith Hanson said he doubted that the weather had anything to do with the deaths.

'The wind never kicked up,' Hanson said. 'In my mind, the conditions were perfect.'

Deaths at marathons are relatively rare. The last death at the Detroit event was in 1994 when a 42-year-old man died of a heart attack after running more than 20 miles.

More than 19,000 people were registered to participate in the 32nd Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon on Sunday.

Nicholas Stanko, of Haslett, Mich., took first place in the marathon with a time of 2:20:24. He said he was inspired by members of the track and cross country teams at Haslett High who came out to cheer him on. Stanko and his wife, Theresa, both teach and coach at the school.

Sarah Plaxton, of Highland, Mich., was the top female finisher in the marathon with a time of 2:57:09. The 41-year-old mother of three said she didn't realize how close she was to the lead runner until supporters lining the streets told her she was reeling in the leader with less than a quarter-mile to go.