Marathon kills runner aged 22

THE 22-year-old who collapsed and died after running the London Marathon was named last night as David Rogers.

David — a fitness instructor who completed the race in an impressive 3hr 50min — collapsed after he crossed the finish line and had to be rushed to hospital.

He died there yesterday morning as organisers faced fury after admitting they ran out of water at some places during London’s hottest-ever marathon.

But David, from Milton Keynes, Bucks, collapsed due to hyponatraemia. The condition, a lack of sodium in his body, can be caused by drinking too much water.

Parents Chris and Sarah told last night how they watched with pride as he raced just hours before his death.

Chris, 52, said: “We saw him coming across Tower Bridge. He saw us and waved and then leapt in the air. He was doing what he wanted to do.”

The couple then saw him again a mile before before the finish. Chris said: “He was labouring a bit, but only like everyone else at that stage.”

He added: “He was a happy-go-lucky lad who brought happiness to everyone.”

David was the ninth person to die in 27 years of the marathon. Sunday’s race in 23°C (73°F) heat also left two others fighting for life.

Desperate runners told how they were forced to drink from discarded bottles on the road or go off-route and BUY some. One said: “There were four or five consecutive miles where water had run out.”

A marathon spokeswoman said 2,600 extra bottles were drafted in to each station on the second half of the course. But she admitted: “Some did run out.”

A total of 57 of the race’s 36,391 starters needed hospital treatment. One who was in a critical condition immediately after the event had recovered enough yesterday to return to a normal ward.

St John Ambulance volunteers treated 5,032 runners, many for heat exhaustion and dehydration. Organisers rejected calls to bring the event forward to February.