I wouldn’t call this common, but it’s not what I would call terribly unusual. The Half Marathon distance has exploded over the past 8-10 years and when you have 50,000 people every weekend running half marathons, 2-3 per year are going to have serious medical issues during their race. Running does not make one immune to genetics.
I had a suspicious EKG during my annual physical a few years back and it was suggested to me that I go see a cardiologist. The cardiologist said it was a toss-up in his mind as to whether or not I should get a stress test. That weekend three people died running the Half/Full Marathon events in Detroit. I decided to do the stress test.
There is absolutely no comparison between running a half marathon and running a full marathon. The two haves of a full are the first 20 miles and the last six. Now that the youngest kid has declared his intention to toe the line in Houston next January for the full, I’m going to have to get back in full marathon shape so It’s going to be a long hot summer
