A 35-year-old runner collapsed and died on Sunday after completing a half-marathon at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, during a heatwave, only a day after expressing his concern about the searing temperatures in a video posted to TikTok.
Bobby Graves, who went by Caleb on his popular TikTok page, clutched his chest as he crossed the finish line of the Disneyland Halloween half-marathon around 7am, and was then caught by a race volunteer as he collapsed, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Fire and rescue personnel gave lifesaving measures and transported Graves to hospital, according to Sgt Matt Sutter of Anaheim police. “Unfortunately, they worked on him for about an hour, and he was pronounced deceased at the hospital.”
Graves had earlier expressed reservations about outdoor temperatures before running the race, which was held as an extreme heatwave blasted California.
“Disneyland half-marathon – the Halloween half-marathon – is tomorrow and I’m marginally worried now,” he said in a video posted on Saturday on his TikTok account.
“I went outside today around two, which is probably the hottest part of the day, and it was 90-something degrees.”
At another point in the video Graves told his 18,000 followers: “I have some susceptibility, I don’t know if it’s temporary or long term, to heat.
“Because I was outside for like 20 minutes, walking my dog, and it was hot, but I felt fine … and then like 10 minutes after I got back in, I just passed out.”
Before the competition started, Graves urged participants to stay safe, cautioning: “Remember it will be hot!
“Stay hydrated and listen to your body,” Graves wrote in the caption. “Good luck to all the runners!”
A spokesperson for Disneyland Resort told KTLA that the venue was “deeply saddened by this tragic loss, and our hearts are with Caleb’s family and loved ones during this difficult time”.
Anaheim police said authorities were not aware of any other injuries during the race and that the run was held early in the morning, not in “the full heat of the day”, according to People magazine. Temperatures ranged from 72F (22C) to a high of 107F (41C) in Anaheim on Sunday, though the exact temperature during the race was not immediately clear.
Extreme temperatures have injured dozens at outdoor events in the US this year. More than 100 people underwent treatment for heat-related illness at a Colorado airshow in August.
In June, an Ocala, Florida, music festival saw dozens hospitalized, and some 450 were treated on site for a variety of conditions including heat-related symptoms.
Many authorities have described heat-related illness as the most significant weather-related public health threat, as the US reeled from searing temperatures this summer.
Data suggest that many US residents can identify the symptoms of heat illnesses, but few know where nearby cooling centers that could provide life-saving relief from heat are located.
