A 35-year-old runner who used to compete in long runs reportedly died while crossing the finish line of the Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon on Sunday after expressing concern about the heat the day before in a TikTok video.
“The Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon is tomorrow, and I’m a little worried now,” Bobby Caleb Graves said in a video titled “This Heat Is No Joke,” according to the New York Post.
On Saturday, the influencer who posts content about Disney parks shared a video in which he recounted his concern about the heat after fainting after returning from a short walk with his dog in California, where temperatures exceeded 40 degrees this week.
Except that the next day, he was due to take part in a half-marathon organised by Disneyland Park, he recounted in the vlog.
“I was hot, but I felt good. When I got home, I fainted. (…) It was heat exhaustion, because it happened to me once before. I don’t know what’s going on, but I really hope to be able to do well in the race tomorrow morning,” he continued.
Despite his doubts, he reportedly showed up at the starting line at 5 a.m. on Sunday. It was only when he was about to cross the finish line less than two hours later – a very good time for a half marathon – that he clutched his chest before collapsing, according to the American media.
“Fire and rescue were on scene. Emergency services couldn’t have been there any quicker,” Anaheim Police Sgt. Matt Sutter told the Post.
Unfortunately, this would not have been enough and the 35-year-old rider would have succumbed to cardiac arrest after being rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“Oh my god, I wish he would have gone to a doctor after (shooting the video),” one user lamented in the comments.
Heat exhaustion occurs when a person’s body temperature rises to between 38 and 40 degrees Celsius, instead of the normal average of 37 degrees Celsius, and the body is unable to cool down due to, for example, ambient heat, according to the Post.
Heatstroke can occur in just 10 minutes if the body temperature exceeds 40 degrees. At the first symptoms of heatstroke, it is important to lower the body temperature by drinking water and resting in a cool place.
