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Subscribe to RSSThousands of donations and tributes have been made in memory of an "inspirational" runner who tragically collapsed and died during the London Marathon. ITV's Paul Brand reports.
LONDON - A British fund-raising marathon runner who collapsed and died less than one mile before the finish line of London's Marathon has inspired thousands of Internet donations totaling more than half a million dollars.
Claire Squires, from Leicestershire, England, was entering the home stretch of the 26 mile London Marathon on Sunday when she collapsed in Birdcage Walk, near St James's Park.
Despite efforts by first-responders, the 30-year-old died at the scene.
She had been running to raise money for the suicide support group, Samaritans, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. It said her brother, Grant, died from an overdose at age 25 and her mother, Priscilla, has been a volunteer at the charity for a number of years.
She had raised £500 ($807) from family and friends for the charity by the time Sunday’s race began. "If everyone I know could donate £5.00 ($8) that would be a great help and change lives," she wrote on her fund-raising Internet page.
However, since news of her death broke, cash has been flooding in at a rate of hundreds of pounds a minute. By Tuesday morning there were over 28,000 donations totaling £318,000 ($513,000).
Oli Scarff/Getty Images
Members of the public view floral tributes left on Birdcage Walk for Claire Squires who died on Sunday whilst competing in the London Marathon on April 24, 2012 in London, England.
Catherine Johnstone, chief executive of Samaritans, which counsels the depressed and suicidal, told Agence France-Presse: "This is an incredibly sad time for Claire's family and all those who knew her.
"We desperately wish that it was not under these circumstances but we have been overwhelmed by the response from people donating in Claire's memory.
"These donations will be put into a tribute fund and, following discussions with the family, will go towards projects they feel would have been important to Claire."
Squires' family said in a statement: "Words cannot explain what an incredible, inspirational, beautiful and driven person she was. She was loved by so many and is dearly missed by all of us."
Tests to establish why Squires collapsed as she neared the finish line are expected to take place in the coming days.
She was the 11th runner to die in the London Marathon since the event started in 1981.
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Leave a Comment:
Whatever you are putting off--like donating to a deserving charity or telling someone you love him or her-- do it today.
You should take over Sarah McLachlans's commecial ads for saving animals.
Well said Mike. Too often we procrastinate over things like this, until something extraordinary happens.
Ha, Blake, that's funny. Sincerely, I laughed. I am not promoting any particular cause or action-- nor am I criticizing those who donated in the wake of Claire Squires's death-- I am simply pointing out that life is short and we're still alive and we have a chance today to do good.
Let's go do it.
Totally understand what you are saying Mike. But when I read you comment, the first thing that popped up in my head was Sarah McLachlan's face and that damn commercial. Probabaly the saddest commercial pertaining to animals. LOL
Just an update: Only one day later, they are at 1,038,207!!
I think marathons are ridiculous! Half marathons I can deal with.
So, someone has to die in order to collect all this money???? RIDICULOUS.. These marathons should stop... period.. if I want to run i will but only up to the point that i should not have any pressure to win....so sad but it was her fault.. in the end her poor parents lost their son and now htheir daughter?? non-sense at all...
it was her fault? You're an ass. A lazy ass. She was a go getter with meaningful goals and if you suddenly die of a heart condition that you didn't know about maybe we should blame you for simply breathing.
rude much??? Marathons give people hope, and to help research a cure, you can stop running at any point, if you can't finish the race thats fine! You will still have donations in your name, but people die out of the blue all the time they never said how she died maybe from a brain aneurysm. Most of these people need to be more educated on how to run it
Gina: The only thing RIDICULOUS here is YOU. First, why should marathons stop? Explain your reasoning clearly, and please provide evidence. Second, this woman WAS doing what she wanted: running. Third, there was NO pressure on her to win. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Fourth, exactly how was her death her fault? Again, please explain your reasoning clearly, and please provide evidence. Finally, people do not need to die to raise money. This is an unfortunate case and people from around the world are donating in her honor. However, in any given year the money raised by runners for various charities is staggering, and it makes a difference in the lives of countless people. Please think before writing absurd nonsense, Gina.
@stepasidesue - So don't run them and I am sure there are things that you do that I would call ridiculous.
@Gina - What a horrible and misguided comment on so many levels i dont know where to start. It was her fault? How do you know how much training she had or did prior to the race. Maybe she had a pre-existing medical condition that she was unaware of. The percentage of people who die in marathons is far less than those driving cars so should we lock our cars up in the garage and forget the whole deal? Gimmie a break, if you dont like them then dont run them, the case being is you cant run a mile let alone 26.2 of em i would suspect. Where was this pressure to win? Its my bet she wanted to finish. Unless you are a professional runner who trains year round for these things you dont have a chance of winning. Crawl back in your hole, or back on your couch and continue to armchair quarterback everyone else's life while you eat your Cheeto's.
Marathons are for beginners. 50 milers are much more fun. But I guess a marathon is pretty scary if a you're a couch potato who hasn't run since high school.
Marathons give people hope? "I know you're in a lot of pain due to your terminal cancer, Jimmy. But look at all those people running. They're running...running for a cure. Cancer has a contractual agreement that if somebody runs 26.2 miles in less than 2 hours, then it will go into remission forever. Some day, somebody will outrun cancer. Some day. Until then we hope. We hope and run...... Or they can just donate the money without all the running. Whatever works."
The loony season is starting early this year. Here we have someone who thinks a race that has been run for hundreds of years is "ridiculous", someone who blames a woman for whatever condition she had that caused her to die and some guy who just wants to look macho all in the same thread.
She probably had a cardiomyopathy. As a fellow cardiomyopathy patient my thoughts are with her and her family.
Yours is one of the most intelligent comments yet. I agree 100%. cardiomyopathy is the most likely culprit here, followed by heat stroke and/or severe dehydration. I wish you well!! Take care.
OMG, that was dumb, make an unfounded guesstimate, relate it to yourself, then add in a heaping dose of self adoration via pseudo condolences and you get Morgan's post.
For all we know, she was up for a week doing crank, or had asthma. Sorry you have some disease that's wanting you to feel sorry for yourself, but don't drag everyone that collapses dead into your dementia.
Scott, you need to look in the mirror. Cardiomyopathies are the number one reason for marathon runners, professional athletes, etc. to suddenly drop dead on the road, field, ice or whatever. Try educating your self on cardiomyopathies, specifically dilated cardiomyopathies, before you have an opinion.
I'm actually one of the lucky ones, since I'm still alive and well. I don't need your or anyone's adoration.
Tragic, that a young woman, inspired by a good cause, should die as she did.
But that is what happened to the first known person to run a Marathon, back in 490 B.C. Following the victorious battle against the Persians, a single Athenian soldier ran from the village of Marathon, back across the Attic Peninsula to Athens, a distance of about 26 miles. His purpose was to bring word of the victory to the city before the Persian fleet could arrive; there were rumors that the oligarchic party in Athens would open the gates to the forces of the Great King.
As the story is related, the soldier arrived at the city just in time, staggered through the gate and called out a single word, "Nike" [victory] and then dropped dead.
i always thought it odd that people run marathons for that very reason. sad story though...
that is actually a myth, dman, but a pretty darn good one.
You are correct, Ray, although I never knew the story was not factual until today; it is the account my 10 grade Ancient History teacher "taught" us back so many years go. It does contain a grain of truth, in that after the battle, the Athenian army did conduct a rapid march back to Athens to forestall any attempt by traitors to open the gates to the Persian fleet.
I have no sympathy for anyone who is dumb enough to run 26 miles at one time. You do know that the origin of the race was a man who died after he ran 26 miles to give the king an important message. If you don't die now, you will surely pay a dear price when your joints go all to hell in your later years.
@Road Warrior - You should probably stop to think before you make such insulting and uninformed posts. I can guarantee that the vast majority of marathon participants are well aware of the origins of the race. And even if they weren't they have some smug out of shape know it all like yourself who insists on informing them. Running is part of a healthy lifestyle so don't knock it. I'd encourage you to do the same but 1. you wouldn't and 2. with your attitude I wouldn't care to share the road with you. Also I'm not sure what kind of antiquated medical journals you read about running being bad for your joints but it's known now that runner's actually have better joints than non-runners.
Rabbit,
How old are you? I have played football through college and then ran road races to the present. The more you exert, the more wear and tear your joints take, and arthritis is in your future. Moderation is the key. 26 miles is not it.
@RoadWarrior
That is the stupidest comment I have ever heard...Someone died you feeling-less moron! omg...Please don't post stuff like that. Prayers for the Family, they lost a beautiful young lady. I'm only 16 but I know the pain of losing a loved one and its the hardest thing in the world. May the Lord strengthen you and give you comfert. God bless....
while running can be good, most people do not use the proper form! And the six times added pressure is accumlative, especially for your back!! And do not be so smug @!$%#!
Road Warrior,
Old enough to know what I'm talking about. [Approaching 40, if you really must know for some reason.] If you run road races regularly I would think that you would be more informed. I would venture to guess that the football did a lot more damage than the road races.
I was going to link to a Runner's World article but their site is down at the moment. Here's another article though that dispels this old wives tale:
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134861448/put-those-shoes-on-running-wont-kill-your-knees
I can link multiple others citing studies indicating the same if you would like.
Road Warrier, people have died having sex. Are you going to refuse to do that, too? Actually, a lot more people have died on the toilet than running marathons, so I think you should stop going to the bathroom. How silly. Oh, and the old wives tale about running ruining your joints has been debunked (see the recent study from Stanford - runners live longer AND have LESS joint problems than non-runners). In any case, do you suppose that your joints will be just fine if you run road races, and will ONLY be affected if you run marathons? That doesn't even make any sense.
Maybe you don't have sympathy but here is not the place to express that, someone died.
45,000 people die in the US every year in car accidents. One death every minute from violent crime. Stop acting like this one death is something special and worth more of your sympathy.
Get a life...
Road Warrior:
You're an absolute FOOL.
This women decided to run the London Marathon partly because she enjoyed running and partly because she was hoping to raise money for a noble cause. The cause she was championing? Suicide prevention. We don't know how she died, but it's sad and tragic. However, hearing of her death, and her goal to raise money for a charity chartered with simply trying to save the lives of others, has inspired thousands to take the time to donate money for this imporant endevor.
Yes, we have thousands of people die each day, and that also is sad, but your vapid and stupid comments are disgusting. Yes, each person killed leaves sorrow and pain for their friends and family. Nobody disputes that. And there's no reason for YOU or anyone else to besmirch the memory of this young women, or her noble cause.
We should ask YOU, Road Warrior. What have YOU done recently to help society? To help those less gifted, the down trodden, the disadvantaged? Maybe it's too hard to run when you have a foot in your mouth!
.
Wow Road Warrior are you that much of a jerk and heartless person... I bet you have never had anyone close to you suddenly die.. Weather they were doing something they loved ( like running) or not.. I knew people could be jerks but I think you top them all your just a heartless soul with nothing better to do than downgrade people because they died.. Grow up man, if you can't leave your nasty heartless comments to yourself.
@Michelle
THANK-YOU!! Very well said...
Michelle,
How close were you to this woman?
@Road Warrior
Your a jerk and a heartless human. How can you overlook that someone has lost their LIFE?? Dont even start on Michelle, just leave her alone.
To pretend that every death is equivalent and of equal significance is bizarre, Road Warrier. Each and every one of us will die some day, so the death of an elderly person, while sad for their immediate family, is not shocking. The death of a soldier in a war zone is similarly sad for their family and should inspire gratitude from those of us he or she was protecting. However, deaths that occur unexpectedly in young people are most certainly more tragic and noteworthy, or deaths as the result of horrific crimes. These are not expected, inevitable deaths. I can't believe I actually have to explain these facts to a so-called human being. I certainly hope you don't have any children, Road Warrier.
So sorry for the Squires family. They have now lost two children. That is a terrible tragedy.
The original runner to Marathon died after running it, so why do people today think it's fun to replicate this?
I know right?? What's wrong with people?? if you start feeling your body can't take anymore why force it to do it and then die?? So sad....
11 have died in the same race since 1981. That's almost one death every three year. Why is this race still sanctioned?
What a beautiful Woman, such a shame!
god you people sound like children, some people die unexpectedly sometimes its a sudden death, some times it lurks in your body and you don't feel it...
@ Gina and Road Warrior
You are both ignorant bastards. Why do people play hockey? Why do people play football? Why do people play soccer? Why do people play basketball? Why do people take the stairs when they could take the elevator? People die doing these activities too, you want to eliminate all of them too? They are far healthier than those who sit on their @ss eating a bag of cheetos and watching TV.
ug1,
Running 26 miles is suicide. It's like playing football without a helmet.
Running 26.2 (can tell you aren't a marathon runner, there, Road Warrier) miles is hardly suicide. How many people died in London in car accidents during the 6-hour period of the marathon, added up each year since 1981? Many more than 11, I have no doubt. Let's ban driving cars, then. You seem to have no perspective on risk. Running marathons is NOT risky. The deaths are noteworthy precisely because they ARE so few.
So, someone has to die in order to collect all this money???? RIDICULOUS.. These marathons should stop... period.. if I want to run i will but only up to the point that i should not have any pressure to win....so sad but it was her fault.. in the end her poor parents lost their son and now htheir daughter?? non-sense at all...
Seriously? Pressure to win? This woman was CLEARLY not trying to win, knucklehead. There were probably 20-30 PROFESSIONALS who were there to win. Perhaps it was an undiagnosed heart ailment... My boyfriend was a very good runner (2:31 marathon) and trained at a high level. He wasn't feeling well, and when he went for a check-up, they found a serious problem which required open-heart surgery. SOmetimes you just never know.
She was out there living her life and doing something important to her. We should all hope to die while living life fully and doing something we love. I just wish she could have known how much she helped.
So sad...and something I worry about a lot, since my son and daughter-in-law run marathons. I feel a special kinship with the Squires family, since my maiden name is Squires, and my family's roots are from England. Makes me wonder if we might be related somehow...
Very sad indeed. I hope her charity is boosted to millions.
So any idea what she died from, or is it just a casually accepted thing in the UK that people drop dead out of the blue?
Probably an undiagnosed and/or untreated cardiomyopathy. They are very deadly, are often asymptomatic and often cause sudden death aka cardiac arrest aka heart failure. The only way to truly diagnose one is through an echocardiogram.
Very sad ...God bless you lady......Heart trouble perhaps. There are those in this world who have a very different type of heart trouble .....they could learn a thing or two from you.
Well said PValdes... Very well said indeed...
Yes, and I am one of them... dilated cardiomyopathy. It has nothing to do with clogged arteries, in fact my arteries had 0% calcification when mine was discovered and there are no age limits to heart disease.
She was hot.
@Tim8585
That is very irrelevant right now Tim...I'm 16 and I had the smarts not to say that....
It's very relevant... If she wasn't hot, her death wouldn't make headlines.
Maybe, maybe not...I dont know
She's now room temperature.
How old are you? Like 7?? Go away
lmfao... Now that's messed up.
Steada,
61 and old enough to not take things too seriously.
Everything should be taken seariously...because everything that happens makes us into what we are today. I can tell some things have happened to you that have made you sour and mean...
Steada,
Then why is it a sin to bring up the idiocy of killing oneself by running 26 miles when 10 others had died before her in the same event since its inception? If jumping off a building to raise money is a noble cause, would you do it?
Road Warrior,
no one has even implied that its a sin, the issue here is that you expressed no sympathy or compassion for the loss of someones life, which in turn makes me assume that you dont value life...And if it was to SAVE life I would yes. But not just to raise money....
Once again, Road Warrier has proven that age does not equal wisdom nor maturity. You do realize that you run a higher risk of being hit by a car while out running to train for your road races than you would face when running a marathon, right? Only a fool would think that 10 people out of the hundreds of thousands of people who have successfully completed that marathon in the 32 years represents a great risk. Your odds of dying from a marathon overall is 1 in 220,000 - about the same risk as being hit by an asteroid.
Thank you Jay...
She died in the pursuit of trying to help others, something we should all thrive for...
Agreed
If George Costanza had died just think of all the donations The Human Fund would have gotten.
Some here want to blame the runner for her death. It wasn't her fault. A twenty-six mile run is strenuous. She likely had an undiagnosed heart condition.
My heart goes out to her family and friends.
Suicide prevention was the cause she ran for. Suicide is hell on earth for the surviving family members and for the suicide victim's friends. That this beautiful young lady died trying to raise money and awareness elevates her sudden and tragic death. She was a hero, who died the death of hero, a champion of those despair would cause to contemplate or even act to take their own lives. That is the primary reason her passing has inspired people around the world to give in her honor. Those who post comments like "stop acting like this one death was special and worth more of your sympathy" know nothing of honor, know nothing of a giving and loving nature and may indeed suffer from their own despair and consequent self loathing. Perhaps the giving, inspired by this young lady's tragic death, will allow research that may shed some light to reveal the mechanisms of despair and thus prevent someone else from becoming so depressed that they would conspire to take their own life.
A tragic death, born of a selfless act to prevent the pain and loss of suicide Is worth special attention and rightfully ought to garner more sympathy than someone killed in an accident. She died a hero's death.
God bless her giving soul!
wow she was way too pretty to be running marathons. i am sorry for her family.
I thought I had seen some really dumb comments here, but "way too pretty to be running marathons" take the prize for the dumbest.
Lesson number one, if you have a heart condition don't run Marathons. And why do people give to charities? You don't know where the hell that money goes or who is controlling it or how much they are getting paid. I don't give Zip and never will.
Tarzan, often people do not know they have heart conditions, especially cardiomyopathies. The first time I went to the ER, I was sent home with Maalox and told to relax. I'm lucky that I lived.
Well I just gave her fund another 5 pounds, and you can kiss my ass.
Yeah, kiss Ray Butt's ass! (I'll never get a chance to say that again!)
Here's some thoughts from a former marathon runner (PB time of 2:35:22)...
Don't run marathons just to say you ran one... I watch runners here in Lincoln and almost all the "runners" are walking, at least part of the time, by the 8-10 mile point of the run (it's not a race for 99% of the people entered). Plenty of ways to get fit and stay active and if you enter a marathon with no chance of actually running the whole 26.2 miles don't enter... if you walk most of the 26.2 miles you didn't complete a marathon.
Said the elitist. Who the hell are you to define what someone else wants to do?
Let me clue you in: You are clearly a nobody.
There is nothing wrong with someone doing a walk-run pace. There is a cut off time. If you are running under that they will actually end the run for you. If you are ahead of it then you should be proud to complete a full marathon. Not everyone can be a accomplished runner (anyone running in the 2:30 range is considered a top runner). A real accomplished runner would appreciate that. So that means you are either an a-hole....or you are a liar about being a 2:30 runner.
I know people who've completed 100 mile ultra runs, and they actually walk quite a bit of it. They are known as Ultra Runners, not walkers, you fool. It is actually a good strategy for portions of a race, and I've also known plenty of people who use the Galloway run-walk method and complete marathons in the same time as those who run the whole way. The bigger question is why you feel the need to tell everyone else what is or isn't important to them? Why not let people make their own choices about what to do and what is meaningful in their own life?
This is a terribly sad tragedy. I sincerely hope they launch a very intense investigation into why this marathon has such a high fatality rate. Are they properly supporting the runners with liquids and gels along the run? I also highly recommend that anyone interested in running a marathon train for it with a established running group. There is a right way to do it and wrong way to do it. The wrong way can be fatal.
What makes you say they have a 'very high' fatality rate? There have been 11 deaths in 32 years, with 36,699 runners who finished this year. Assuming an average of 20,000 runners per year over the 32 years, that is a fatality rate of 1 in 50,000. By comparison, the chances of getting struck by lightning are 1 in 83,390. Both are pretty rare.
The article only says she died, she collapsed. Why? How? This is incomplete reporting and I say this because this woman was only 30 years old. As a public service people need to be aware of their own health status and understanding why & how she just collapsed and died could aid many in saving their own lives before joining the statistics.
The article also said:
Tests to establish why Squires collapsed as she neared the finish line are expected to take place in the coming days.
this story gets my vote for the best "apparently people don't suck!" story of the day. sad, but inspiring in a way.
Wow, I would never imagine that dying during a marathon would engender so many angry and nasty comments. People run marathons all the time and don't die. This is a tragedy for the parents but I don't get the nasty remarks on this vine. Maybe you need to go to the political articles to vent.
Did you read the article? It said she was the 11th person to have died in this marathon alone since 1981. It is a legitimate discussion on the need for such an event. When dogs die at the Iditarod, people are outraged. Is human death deserving of less attention when it is not necessary?