Published: August 11, 2007 10:50 pm            

Runner collapses during endurance race

52-year-old man was competing in the Howl at the Moon

DANVILLE, Ill. — A 52-year-old Logansport man died Saturday while competing in an endurance race near Danville, Ill.

Scott Hathaway had just crossed the 2-mile mark on the first lap at the Howl at the Moon Ultra when he collapsed of a heart attack. He was just minutes into the race.

Deb Reddy, a member of the Kennekuk Road Runners, which organizes the event each year, was working at a nearby aid station and felt, given the timing, that the incident was not heat related.

An emergency room doctor, medical technician and three nurses were on standby at the aid station at the time Hathaway collapsed. They worked on him until an ambulance arrived to take him to a hospital, said Reddy. Hathaway was pronounced dead at 8:31 a.m.

This was the 17th running of the Howl at the Moon, and Reddy said she remembered Hathaway competing at least seven or eight times. She said Hathaway was very healthy and was well prepared for the ultra, which is any race more than the marathon length of 26 miles.

“He died doing what he loved doing,” said Reddy, who made the call to 911 when Hathaway collapsed.

The race began at 7 a.m. at the Kennekuk County Park, and lasted until 3 p.m. The eight-hour event is the largest timed ultra in the United States and generally attracts veteran endurance runners from around the country.

“We usually get pretty dedicated people who have trained pretty well for this kind of stuff,” said John Linville of the Kennekuk Road Runners. “But the unexpected can always happen.”

Hathaway was entered in the Grandmaster Male division, which is for runners over the age of 50. During the event, participants complete a 3.29-mile loop as many times as possible. The runner who makes it the farthest during the eight-hour time frame is the winner.

More than 300 runners and walkers participated in the event this year, including 12 from Logansport.

Saturday’s heat, which reached into the 90s, led to only one other medical situation. Reddy said one runner became dehydrated and had to be taken to the hospital, is expected to recover fully.



The Danville (Ill.) Commercial-News contributed to this report.

        

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