Runner dies during China marathon

Beijing, Dec 6: A male runner, 33, died while participating in a marathon event in China's Shenzhen city, organisers said.

The runner surnamed Yao collapsed just 400 metres from the finish line in the 13.1-mile half marathon race on Saturday, Xinhua reported.

"The ambulance medical staff were across the street and witnessed the falling of Yao, offering him an immediate medical care," an official statement said.

It was not the first time for Yao to run marathon. Yao's friends said he had plenty of experiences in running marathon and just took part in a local half marathon last month, timing two hours 10 minutes.

Yao had a time of two and half hours when the accident happened, which seemed not to be challenging for him.