More than 30 runners were hospitalized during the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, including one man who suffered a heart attack, as 26,000 participants took on the 26.2 miles in record-breaking heat.
The start time of the annual race from Los Angeles to Santa Monica was pushed up by a half-hour to 6:55 a.m. (9:55 a.m. ET) so runners could partly beat the rising temperatures, which hit a high of 88 degrees at noon, according to NBC Los Angeles. The poorly timed heat wave brought temperatures that were nearly 20 degrees above average and smashed the city's record for the day, which was set at 85 degrees in 1978, according to The Weather Channel.
Thirty-six people were transported to the hospital, including a 61-year-old man, who had a heart attack at the tail end of the race, according to a statement from the Los Angeles-area Joint Information Center. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition and was conscious by late Sunday afternoon, the statement said. An additional 150 runners were treated on the scene at the marathon, according to the Joint Information Center.
Los Angeles Fire Capt. Stacy Gerlich said that more people were treated during this year's marathon than were treated last year but that the high numbers were expected because of the blistering heat.
Daniel Limo of Kenya didn't have to worry about the temperature, winning the race just after 9 a.m. in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 35 seconds, according to the Los Angeles Marathon scoreboard. Ogla Kimaiyo, also of Kenya, took the women's title with a time of 2:34:10, according to marathon officials, and wheelchair athlete Scott Parson was the first person to cross the finish line in 1 hour, 37 minutes and 13 seconds.
SOCIAL
— Elisha Fieldstadt