Two runners die after Cardiff Half-Marathon

After consulting with both families, we are now able to name the two men who tragically died after taking part in Sunday's @CardiffHalf. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of Ben McDonald and Dean Fletcher: https://t.co/fjVvNbym3j pic.twitter.com/UCv79Be7u1

— Cardiff Half Marathon (@CardiffHalf) October 8, 2018

Tragedy struck at the Cardiff Half-Marathon in Wales yesterday as two men suffered cardiac arrest at the finish line. Ben McDonald, 25, was a Welsh local, and Dean Fletcher, 32, who was from Devon in southwestern England but had attended university in Cardiff, died in hospital after collapsing after the race. British media reported that it was the first time anyone has died at this race, which has been run every year for the past 15 years.

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McDonald was an avid snowboarder and kayaker but had not run the race before. He was running with various family members. Fletcher, an accountant and husband and father of a young child, had run it in a previous year, and was using his run to raise money for charity.

Twenty thousand runners took part in the race, which is the UK’s second largest half-marathon behind the Great North Run in Newcastle, which was won last month by Sir Mo Farah for the fifth time.

Race organizers praised the efforts of emergency personnel, and conveyed condolences to the deceased runners’ families.