"During its four-year history, the Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon & ½ Marathon has hosted tens of thousands of runners, a scattering of Olympians and several record-setting performances. On Sunday, the event hosted tragedy.
Half-marathon competitor Jorge Fernandez, 32, was declared dead shortly after collapsing just past the finish line of the 13.1-mile race. The Bexar County medical examiner's office has yet to determine a cause of death.
“They were about to the finish line, and he was joking around,” Fernandez's cousin Raul Ramirez said Sunday night. “His best friend stayed back, because he was carrying a pack, and his girlfriend went off ahead and sprinted. When it was over, they looked for Jorge.
“They couldn't find him, because he wasn't carrying ID.”
Fernandez, a one-time student at the University of Texas at San Antonio who graduated from Texas Tech in 2010, was a decorated Air Force staff sergeant who served two tours in Iraq, the last in 2006. He worked as a nurse in the surgical intensive-care unit of University Hospital after moving from Lubbock this year to be closer to his family.
A dedicated runner who completed the half-marathon in San Antonio a year ago, Fernandez has relatives in San Antonio, Lubbock and Monterrey, Mexico. His girlfriend, Cindy Mendez, is a San Antonio physical therapist.
“We are deeply saddened as both the race organizer and as fellow runners, and wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to the participant's family and loved ones,” Tracy Sundlun, an official with event coordinator Competitor Group, said in a statement.
Fernandez's death is the fourth U.S. marathon death in two months and the third involving the Rock 'n' Roll marathon series run by the San Diego-based Competitor Group.
Sunday's event began at 7:30 a.m. under foggy, overcast conditions. The starting temperature of 63 degrees gradually gave way to temperatures in the low 80s by midday.
Fernandez, dressed in thin black shorts and a dark running singlet, fell to the pavement at 9:45 a.m. about 20 yards past the finish line at South Cherry and Wyoming streets near the Alamodome. He was immediately surrounded by medical personnel and carried on a portable stretcher to a white tent nearby.
After roughly 25 minutes of CPR, defibrillator shocks and other attempts to restart his heart, he was transported to Christus Santa Rosa Hospital. There, Fernandez was declared dead at 10:20 a.m.
He leaves behind a mother and father, two brothers and a sister.
“He was healthy, he was all about fitness — he studied it,” Ramirez said. “We were all-around so proud of him.”
It was the first fatality in the event's history. A field of 23,822 runners took part in Sunday's competition, including 19,366 running the half-marathon.
San Antonio resident Liza Hunter-Galvan won the women's marathon, and former Boerne High School standout David Fuentes captured the men's marathon.
Abnormally humid conditions and the increasingly higher temperatures made it a busy day for medical personnel and local hospitals.
“You have to really make sure you take fluids if you're running today,” Olympic distance runner Shalane Flanagan said after capturing the women's half-marathon crown early Sunday. “If you don't, I could see potential disaster.”
A Fire Department official said Sunday evening that emergency calls received regarding runners were dispatched in most cases to American Medical Response, a private ambulance company hired by marathon organizers. Between 9:10 a.m. and 4:35 p.m., the Fire Department and EMS responded to 30 calls directly related to the marathon.
In total, including the AMR dispatches, 48 runners were transported to area hospitals.
“I don't remember coming to the finish line, getting to the medic's tent,” said Schertz-based schoolteacher Kelly Rust, who completed the half-marathon before collapsing with heat exhaustion and dehydration.
“I've run several marathons, so it was shocking,” she said after being discharged from Christus Santa Rosa. “The humidity was awful. I checked before I left, and it was 97 percent. I was sweating, and I wasn't even doing anything.”
Joe Guinn, a ministry intern at San Antonio's Baptist Temple Church, was upset after his marathon. Guinn said there weren't enough water stations in the final five miles and that he wasn't offered suitable sustenance at the finish.
“After 26.2 miles, the body needs replenishing, and bagels, water and Fritos won't do it,” he said. “Protein is critical. I was very disappointed in this experience.”
Competitor Group spokesman Dan Cruz said protocols to deal with the heat were in effect, including water stations positioned throughout the 13.1- and 26.2-mile courses and air-conditioned buses at the 19-mile marker.
Before Sunday's death, the most recent marathon fatality came Nov. 5 at a Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in Savannah, Ga.
According to a study by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the risk of sudden death because of cardiac problems during a distance event such as a marathon is about 1 in 50,000."
Staff Writer Jessica Kwong contributed to this report.