Man collapses, dies after run

Press, 31 March 1981, Page 18

Man collapses, dies after run

PA Auckland A man collapsed and died after taking part in the Round the Bays run on Saturday. He was Peter Finlayson, aged 43, of Meadowbank. He collapsed about an hour after finishing the run, while picnicking with his family. The organiser of the event, the Auckland Joggers’ Club, plans to maintain the competitive element in next year’s run, even though some runners finished the event in doubtful times. A Birkenhead City Council recreation officer, Paul Lee, led the 70,000 runners at the finish in 28min 50s, for the 10.5 km run. The time is about 90 sec-

onds slower than Henry Rono’s world record of 27min 22.4 s for 10km. Many leading road runners started between a half and two kilometres in front of the starting area to avoid the crush. Officials of the Joggers' Club doubt whether many of the other early finishers ran the full distance, for at least 20,000 people were in front of the starting area. The president of the club, Mr Jack Callinan, said last evening that the club would give times for future runs, even though many people did not run the full distance. “We have all got a bit of a competitive streak,” said Mr Callinan, “but the main thing is that it is a fun run.”