Runner dies during Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in Georgia
SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Officials say a male runner has died while taking part in a marathon event in south Georgia.
Rock 'n' Roll Marathon medical director P.Z. Pearce said in a statement that the runner died Saturday at the fifth annual running of the event in Savannah. Officials say the runner was a 35-year-old man from Georgia but he wasn't identified by name.
"We are saddened by a heartbreaking and tragic loss," Pearce said, according to CBS affiliate WTOC. "Our deepest sympathies and prayers go out to family members and loved ones of the runner."
WTOC reported race medics responded within a minute of the call and paramedics arrived shortly after that.
Authorities had no immediate report on a cause of death.
A marathon spokesman, Dan Cruz, says officials diverted about 1,100 runners at 9:45 a.m. Saturday from the 26.2-mile marathon to the half marathon course because of unseasonably warm temperatures.
The National Weather Service says the high in Savannah reached 84 degrees during the day Saturday.