Man Who Died in Army 10-Miler Identified

ARLINGTON, Va. - A runner who collapsed and died at the Pentagon near the end of the Army Ten-Miler race Sunday has been identified as 25-year-old Michael Banner.

His employer, Kimley-Horn and Associates in Herndon, confirmed Banner's death. The Fairfax County man was treated by medics after he fell to the ground about 200 yards from the finish line at around 10:40 a.m. Sunday.

Arlington County medics responded immediately and took Banner to George Washington University Hospital.

Julie Beauvais, a spokeswoman for Kimley-Horn, said Banner was a civil engineer at the company's traffic division. The Army has not released his name.

The cause of death is still unknown. Army spokesman Colonel Jim Yonts says an autopsy was to be performed. He says the runner's family had been notified of the death.

Yonts says one other person has died in the 23-year history of the event, in 1990.

Meanwhile, a day after the race, many runners are speaking out about a lack of water on the course.

Race officials say 9,000 out of the 25,000 runners registered for the race did not make it to the finish line on Sunday.

Temperatures climbed after the race began in 70-degree heat and high humidity at 8 a.m.

Several runners tell WTOP that by the time they reached the water stations at Mile 6 and Mile 8, there was no water left. At Mile 6, runners were told they would have to run two more miles before they could have water.

Some runners were even on their hands and knees drinking and pouring water on themselves from the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool. Others chose to stop running and purchase water bottles from street vendors throughout the course.

Race officials did not return calls from WTOP.

More than 25,000 people registered for the race - the largest 10-mile race in the United States.

The 23rd annual race took runners from the Pentagon, across the Potomac River through the streets of Washington, past the Capitol building and back to the Pentagon in Arlington.

The runners included amputees who were injured in the Iraq war and a group of 36 women from Georgia whose husbands are deployed in the war zone.

Record temperatures and humidity also slowed runners at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. The weather forced race organizers to shut down the course midway through the event.

A Michigan man collapsed and died during the race. An autopsy later showed the man died from a heart condition.

(Copyright 2007 by WTOP and The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)