Runner dies in Scotland's first charity Kilomathon

SCOTLAND'S first ever Kilomathon road race was marred by tragedy when a runner died after collapsing towards the end of the race.

Emergency services desperately tried to save the 25-year-old man, who collapsed near South Queensferry yesterday, by giving CPR emergency heart massage.

Although the dead man was not named by police last night, race records showed there was no finishing time recorded for Andrew Dunne, a 25-year-old salesman from Aberdeen.

The man was taken by ambulance to St John's hospital in Livingston, West Lothian, where it was confirmed he had died.

His next of kin have been contacted by Lothian and Borders Police. There appear to be no suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the procurator-fiscal.

One male competitor, who did not want to be named, said: "I'd already run past the place where the man collapsed, but my mates who were running behind me said they saw him getting CPR. Some of the girls who were running were in tears."

The GSi Events team, the race organisers, last night said they would like to convey their deepest sympathy to the dead man's family and friends.

• Funding Run

The runner was taking part in the new charity fundraising 26.2km (16.3 miles) event aimed at people who had completed a half marathon, but wanted to work up to a full 26.2 mile marathon.

More than a million people take part in marathons worldwide each year, with numbers increasing by 10 per cent annually. However, there have been a number of fatalities in long-distance events in recent years.

In May, Douglas MacFarlane, 52, from Edinburgh, collapsed and died during the Edinburgh Marathon.

Mr Macfarlane, a manager with the Scottish Malt Whiskey Society, was taking part in the race's 8.1 mile relay section. The event, held on one of the hottest weekends of the year, saw 242 of the 16,822 runners being treated at medical points along the circuit. Spectators also handed out extra water to runners.

In September 2005, four men aged between 28 and 52 died while taking part in the Bupa Great North Run half marathon between Newcastle and South Shields.

A total of ten participants have died in the London Marathon over the past 30 years, all of them men.

Dr Sanjay Sharma, of St George's hospital in London and medical director of the London Marathon, commenting on medical research into amateur marathon runners last month, said: "Maybe testosterone is bad for you. Testosterone allows you to develop a big, lean body mass, allows you to push yourself much harder than the heart would like, and it could be the reason why males are nine times more likely to die during exercise than females."