Note: This story has been received from Rudy Fuentes and slightly edited for public posting. If you want a copy of the original document leave a comment here with your email or email Rudy Fuentes directly at [email protected]
REMUS FUENTES died of multiple organ failures as result of heatstroke two days after he ran the 21K in the recent 34th Milo Marathon last Sunday, July 4, 2010.
His death was the result of fatal mistakes, sheer incompetence and gross negligence in the event organized by the Organizing Team.
My son, 37-year-old Remus ran the 21K together with a running buddy when he collapsed at 19.9 kilometer mark. There was none of organizer’s ambulance nor marshalls to respond in the incident. Policemen hailed for a taxi and they, together with his buddy, assisted in bringing him to the nearest hospital, Ospital ng Maynila. At the ER, the diagnose was suspected heart attack. My wife and me, upon being informed by his younger brother, Roy Fuentes, who also ran the 21K, rushed to the hospital and saw that Remus in coma, had seizures and struggled breathing in spite of hand-pumped oxygen and dextrose attached. His body temperature was 40 degrees C and when asked, the medical attendant told us he had fever. She introduced paracetamol intravenously twice at interval of about 15 minutes. Remus continued having seizures even until the arrival of Medical City doctor & ambulance attendants that we have arranged for his transfer. The Medical City doctor attending said his status was unstable, contrary to the earlier advice to her by the Ospital ng Maynila ER doctor. They rushed him with the ambulance to Medical City at about 11:30 AM. There, a series of tests were done, including blood chemistry, CT scan, etc. Cardiologist told us his heart was strong and no intervening medicine was necessary. Blood Chemistry results showed positive findings on creatinin level, an indication of kidney failure. They suspected liver failure too. To stop his seizures, Remus was put on full sedation for 12 hours. Kidney functions further deteriorated after 36 hours. Blood pressure and heart rate went erratic. Doctors attending him in the ICU asked our permission to do dialysis and blood transfusion to stabilize his blood pressure. Seven hours later, ICU nurse wake us up and asked us to rush to the ICU. We saw 18 medical people around him, several taking turn doing the CPR. Failing to revive him, the doctor asked our consent to stop the CPR after 15 minutes. We begged them to continue hoping for miracle. 30 minutes further, doctor told us again that all numbers in the monitoring “were bad” and asked again the consent to stop the CPR. Finally, we relented. Few minutes later, his heart rate monitor went flat. All these happened in front of my wife and me. We lost Remus 48 hours after he collapsed into coma which he has never recovered. His young wife and his eight-year old son took the news very badly.
About Heatstroke:
It usually happen in extreme sports like basketball, football, boxing and marathon.
Heat stroke is a life-threatening medical condition. The person’s cooling system, which is controlled by the brain, stops working and the internal body temperature rises to the point where brain damage or damage to other internal organs may result. The body temperature, usually at normal 37 C, goes up during the exertion of effort as result of the increased heart rate. When it reaches 40 C, the person is in danger of getting heatstroke. Above 40 C and mostly at about 42 C, the person can collapse into unconsciousness. If nothing is done within few minutes, he can slip into coma and brain damage may occur. The proven first aid response for heatstroke is cooling the body rapidly in whatever means to the level of below 40 C before bringing him to a hospital. Ice and water is the best way to do this, the same way it is done for a child having high fever who has convulsion.
Another way of understanding heatstroke is comparing it to the performance of car engine. At idling, the engine temp is low and safe. At sustained high speed, engine temperature increases rapidly but because of the cooling system, the heat is continuously dissipated in the radiator and safe temperature level is maintained. But when the water in the radiator is gone, Undissipated heat will rack up the engine temperature and ultimately exceeds the safe limits. At this condition, engine breakdown will occur in minutes starting with broken piston rings, rods, pistons, etc.
With the human body, perspiration cools down the body so hydration by drinking water is essential. Without water, perspiration stops and body temperature goes to critical level and into heatstroke and then organs and brain begin to fail.
Big obvious difference between human body and car engine is that you can always overhaul the engine but you cannot do that on the human body.
Why Heatstroke is More Dangerous in Marathon than in other Extreme Sports?
In basketball, the player exerts extreme effort only in bursts, stopping or slowing down intermittently which slows down heart rate and cools down the body. At timeout, they drink to replenish lost body water hence you always have the waterboy. Heart stroke is rare but ask any PBA player what they do when a player collapse. They don’t move the body but cool them off with water or ice before bringing him to the hospital.
The same is true in football and in many similar sports.
In boxing, in between rounds of three minutes, boxer rests and drinks water. We can only wonder what will happen if the rule of the sport is drastically changed and will only end when one is down and out.
In Marathon, the risk of heatstroke is much higher for the following reasons:
1. The long distance runner aims for shorter time as a goal and therefore motivated to keep a sustained effort, not unlike cars at high speed in the highway.
2. Furthermore, the target minimum time set by the organizer adds more to the motivation to run faster. The cut-off time added more pressure to the marginal marathon runner, meaning if you are used to run above the target time, the tendency is to do better time, probably at pace unproven by your body in practice. (Milo Marathon set the target for 21K medal at 2 ½ hours or less. Remus collapsed at near 20th km. with time of 2 hours 10 minutes when his previous record was 2 hours and 27 minutes. ).
3. The more critical factor is that the hydration management is not in the control of the runner. He has to rely on water availability at the water stations provided and planned by the organizer along the route. ( In this 34th Milo Marathon, several runners including Remus brother, Roy and Remus running buddy asserted that practically there was no water to drink in the last 2~3 kilometers before the finish line, a fatal failure for Remus by the organizer when they changed the route resulting in over-traffic near the finish line. There were record 28,000 runners on that day and obviously the organizers failed to anticipate the complexity of hydration. Milo’s last year marathon participant was well below 10,000 runners.)
4. The correct life-saving response for heatstroke depends on few knowledgable people who may happen to be around the person. To mitigate this, the organizer deploys ambulances with water & ice for cooling heatstroke victims and is expected to respond within minutes. In addition, marshalls are provided along the route to assess runner situations continuously. (Obviously, the organizer failed again on this aspect because Remus was helped by policemen and his buddy instead. By this time, Remus is probably already brain damaged as evident by his seizure at the hospital. No Milo people knew of Remus case on that day until Roy, his brother, sent an email informing the organizer of the incident in the next morning).
5. The Sun Factor adds to the danger in Marathon. Running under the heat of the sun in tropical country like ours cannot be underestimated. To minimize the effect of the sunheat, Marathon run is planned to finish in the early morning avoiding the heat at later time. Organizers usually take this into consideration. (Milo organized the 21K to start at 5:30 AM , a departure of common practice of other marathons which started at 5:00 AM. Remus collapsed at about 7:57 AM. Roy who is a better runner than his brother Remus, complained that it was unusually hot that morning even if he was able to finish it earlier in 2 hours 45 minutes )
Clearly, Marathon is an extreme and dangerous sport even to the young, healthy and trained runners. This is not the “fun run” many people confused of.
The organizer has clear life-and-death responsibility to make sure that the conditions the runner will run under item 3, 4 and 5 above are done properly. Obviously they did not do their job properly in the 34th Milo Marathon. In my opinion, being the father of Remus, Milo Marathon Organizers have failed my son. It is their sheer incompetence and consequently the gross negligence in their duty that results in the death of Remus …an unneccesary death.
About Remus:
At the time of his death, he was an IT project manager of Hewlett-Packard (HP) responsible in computerizing big companies like Unilab, Coke, etc. including installation of hardwares (servers, etc.) and software system. He used to worked for Intel for 10 years before he moved to HP 3 years ago. He graduated in Computer Engineering. He left a housewife, Takako and two children, Raphael, 8 years old and Therese, 4 years old. Raphael is enrolled at La Salle Greenhills. He played basketball with his brothers regularly on weekends. He has been running since his high school days in Lourdes School of Mandaluyong. He has run many 10Ks and two 21Ks before these, the “Freedom Run” in June 13 and “Nature Valley” in May 20 only this year. He has no history nor complaint of illness and he lived clean.
My Questions for the Organizers:
1. How many died in the 34th Milo Marathon last July 4? Is it true that there was another runner at 42K who collapsed at 33 km and later died?
2. How many runner collapsed in that marathon due to heatstroke who later survived but now are no longer the same person as before due to partial brain injury? At Ospital ng Maynila, we saw a 2nd runner brought in unconscious and woke up later but he can no longer recognize his family. Do the Organizers of knew this? What happened to him. Are their more?
3. Is it true that another 36 year-old runner, Fidel Camson, who ran the 42K 31st Milo Marathon in November 2007 collapsed near the finish line, brought to the Ospital ng Maynila and died later of undetermined cause? If true, what did they do avoid a repeat which apparently did not happen in this 34th Milo Marathon? If true, why do they still keep their Marathon organizer for 10 years until now?
4. Do they keep tally of deaths in the 34 years of Milo Marathon? Do they study the statistics and establish how many died of heatstroke, the preventable one?
5. What is the corporate culture of the Organizers regarding its respect of the value of life? Upon knowing the death of my son Remus, A Senior Vice President of one of the organizing team, who head its Beverages Business Unit went to see me and among other things, he told me that the Marathon is continuously improved and but sometimes “lapses occur and they will learn from these lapses”. Lapse is defined as a ‘mistake’. People learn from ‘error’, a deviation from being correct but a ‘mistake’ is caused by a fault: the fault could be misjudgment or carelessness. We learn from ‘error’ but we take action on ‘mistake’ and more drastic action when people die of this ‘mistake’. So death in my son’s case is a mere learning process for this person? Is this the culture that pervades in their Organization? or only in him?
6. Is the measly “humanitarian” offer to help the family shoulder medical & funeral expense to the family had become an SOP too often? Was it their expectation that as appreciation of this help, the family will keep quiet about the whole thing? Do they really think that the waiver signed by the runners protect them from being liable? Do they know that this waiver won’t apply if negligence of their duty as organizer can be established?
7. What did the Organizers do, if any, to keep the news of Remus death from appearing in the media even after one week? Not one news item of his death appeared in the newspaper, TV or radio. Could the news of “ HP Manager Died of HeatStroke during the Milo Marathon” not interest the public? Were they afraid that the bigger news is when the subline “Father charged Milo Marathon Organizer of Incompetence and Negligence” which may damage the public image of the company?
The answers to these questions will help enlightened the public whether Milo Marathon is safe or not for the runner. To the runners, their parents, wives and relatives…they all better asked these questions before the runners decide to run in Milo Marathon.
Last Words from Remus Father:
I am not condemning the sport but the organizer who failed to make sure runners will not die of heatstroke, when the risks can be grossly minimized with proper route planning, hydration management and quick medical response. I am condemning the contribution of the apparent culture of the sponsor of diminished value of human life as indicative of its senior executive’s attitude calling my son’s death a result of lapses. My hope is something good will come out of his death and as result of improved organizing of the marathon run, few lives will be saved from heatstroke. My other hope is to get justice and for the Organizing team to answer for his untimely death. I am working on it.
Rudy Fuentes, Father of Remus
Note: This story has been received from Rudy Fuentes and slightly edited for public posting. If you want a copy of the original document leave a comment here with your email or email Rudy Fuentes directly at [email protected]
Here is the Official Statement of Milo Marathon 2010 on the story of Remus Fuentes
damn.. this story is really sad… condolence.. :( a total loss
but lesson to us all..
maraming websites and forums with regards to running. We should read before getting into something. with such long distance as 21k i think the hydration belt is a must need. We shouldn’t neglect these gears. Let’s prepare well and have ourselves check before running such long distances.
Condolence…
To REMUS, I will pin your name next to my race bibb the next time I will run in any marathon except MILO. My condolence and symphaty to your family,and REMUS wherever you are, you’ve just finished your run rest in peace and God Bless
This is so sad. My heart goes out to his family. Sending my deepest condolences to his family.
Condolence to Family of Sir Remus….
I read at the Bull Runner's website based on their observation that the hydration system of the 34th Milo Marathon for the distance running was really really bad. So hydration system is number one on the list of the mistakes of the organizers, second is, I guess, response team is lacking on their system.
I think some lesson that we can take from this is to have this mentality of not-to-expect too much from anyone, instead apply a self-preparedness attitude, such as bringing your own small hydration system when running distance and it could save some life of buy yourself some time.
I deeply feel sorry for your lost Mr. and Mrs. Fuentes, may Remus rest in peace. God bless us all.
We grieve for the loss of a fellow runner and condolences to the family of Remus.. I ran 10k and I can vouch for the fact there was no water available on the last 2 – 3 km of the Milo Marathon Manila leg at around that time. All I can think about when I passed the empty water stations was "What about the half and full marathon runners?" It would have been very dangerous for them to continue without hydration. And to think the tragedy happened 1km away from the finish line and they failed to respond in time.. I just read about Remus this morning and Its just sad news for me.. It could've been prevented if the organizers expected something like this would happen. Then they would've thought it through and made sure the runners safety was top priority.
Condolence to his family.
condolence to the family
truly saddened.
Condolence to his family.
deepest condolences to the family
shame on the MD who gave paracetamol. Antipyretics have no role in the treatment of heatstroke, as the patient’s hypothalamus is functioning properly. Giving antipyretics might actually be harmful and aggravate liver and hepatic dysfunction in these patients.
Condolences.
When I went to his burol in San Roque Church, I remember asking Remus' widow last July 7 if there is a news blackout since none of us get to GOOGLE for a news article regarding the death of the runners or the numerous runners who collapsed. Water/Gatorade was in a total shortage for the last 9km. They replenished gatorade in the CCP area (around 3.8km away from the finishline) around 9:30am, and water bottles were unloaded from the truck at the Quirino water station around 9:45am. Tsk.
Maybe it's about time to consider giving insurance to participants if only to lessen the impact of tragic cases like this on the family.
Condolences to the family and friends.. I run the 21k and can attest the shortage of hydration on at least the last 3km to the finish line… May Remus Rest In Peace… his story teach me to be more mindful of the races I joined against the readiness of my body… God Bless Us All!!!
This is truly a loss. Much more saddening is the fact that this could have been prevented.
I have already done a number of 21k's always mindful that it could be my last. In my opinion, all 21k's are hard and the Milo last July 4 is no different. Hydration is a big issue in any race, so I always carry mine and not rely on the organizers. Being in a tropical country, heat is always present and must be managed with caution. Pace needs to be controlled so as to finish the race strong and not fade away.
Furthermore, I have learned through experience that motivation and perseverance alone cannot finish a race. It has to be backed by sufficient preparation and training.
Hopefully, this would serve as a lesson to all us runners. We have to know when to go on and when to call it quits. While it is called a race, it doesn't matter who is faster, what is really important is completing the distance alive and well. Finishing is not everything.
condolence to the family…….rest in peace Remus………
My deepest condolences to his family and friends. Regardless of the circumstances, a life lost so soon is a tragedy indeed.
i also ran 21k during the milo marathon and i've probably got to run next to remus during the race… i was greatly saddened by this news and i would like to extend my sincere condolences to his family and friends… this is really an eye-opener to all runners, to take into utmost consideration not only their health but also the profile/ history of the event organizers. i agree, there was no more water available on the last 2 to 3 kms. i had cramps on both legs, 4 kms. away from the finish line and got to ask help from the medics only when i got to the finish line as there was no one to ask help from along the route and they were not even attentive and responsive to your needs unless you tell them so. i think that the availability of a medical team should not only be the major concern but also ensuring that they have been properly trained so they would know what to do in case of emergency situations.
this is very sad. I will be running my first 21K this sept for the Milo Cebu Elims. and it scares us newbies to know such stories of incompetence from the organizers. i hope they will learn these lessons.
Condolences to the Fuentes family.
My heartfelt condolences. The prayers of LSM '90 are with you and your family.
…Rest in Peace Sir Remus, and may God watch over his family.
..Just my 2 cents,I think MILO should consider putting a cap or limit to the number of runners running in the Manila Leg. This will enable organizers to properly provide proper care, hydration and security to us runners. Probably limit it to 12,000 runners and Rudy B. should also consider joining forces with coach rio who so far had success pulling of races with more than 11k runners.
Though I prepared enough for this event,still I suffered from numbness of left arm and minor chest pain maybe due to the uncoordinated movement of my arm and feet when I reached Manila Film Center. I walked for more than a hundred meters and was thinking of quitting. I saw an ambulance near the Star City but hesitated to approach the paramedics upon seeing a man being assisted by them. After that, I suffered numerous leg cramps on my way along the Roxas Blvd. To my dismay, there was no water or anything in the hydration stations. I hope the organizing committee of Milo Marathon will prevent this and other lapses next time. Though runners may be well prepared, still unfortunate or unexpected things happen. Therefore much is expected from the organizers to quickly respond especially in life-threatening situations.My condolences to Remus' family.
Condolence to the family of Remus. rest in peace!
This is truly a heartbreaking story. My deepest sympathy and sincerest condolences to the bereaved family of Remus…
God bless his soul and may Remus rest in peace.
This is an appeal from Remus Father to all bloggers who have run the 21K or 42K Event of 34th Milo Marathon last Sunday, July 4.
I appreciate to get your personal story & experience about the hydration issue for me to have a better understanding as to what really happened. I only have stories of Remus few friends who ran with him which I like to validate. This will be appreciated.
You can email this to me at [email protected]
my heartfelt condolences to Remus' family.
this reminded me of last year's SCTEX marathon where there were just too many lapses in the way it was organized.
it made me think twice before joining another locally organized marathon next time. what a far cry from international marathons! you only need to run. the rest (water, food, cheering squads, markers, ambulance, first aid stations, the works) are all in place and a-plenty,
i hope this becomes a lesson for the organizers and for us who love the sport.
We were also there during the run. It was really hot and quite surprising that there were no motorcades surrounding the people who were running unlike other running events.
My condolence to the family, this is truly a saddening news :(
My sincere condolences to the family and their loss..
my sincere condolences to the family…
I hope that all the organizers in the country will take note of these recent events…
R.I.P. this is a real sad story, but haven't received much exposure as indicated in the letter. Thanks for posting this.
the organizers will have the results ready with a day or two, we'll post it here asap once it's available.
Sincerest condolences to the family…
you'll surely be missed by fellow runners.
rest in peace…
my deepest condolences to the family of Remus.
my deepest sympathy to your loss sir..i have several friends and acquaintances who are into running as means of keeping themselves fit or slim..i am not much of a fan not because of i did not plan to get into it but due to lack of time and discipline to do so and keep at it..for now, i just satisfy myself to breeze-walking going out of our village when going to work..
thank you for sharing this story..i support your plight and hopefully this will be an eye-opener to all enthusiasts and organizers..
in this regard, i would like to request for a copy of the note original document mentioned in the "note" above to further understand the circumstances..
thank you.
Condolences to Sir Remus' family. He was an officemate and a running friend. Will be reposting this in my FB
I call it negligence… lack of foresight. I ran at the 34th Milo Marathon. It is true that there was no proper hydration. At the last 3K, while there was a water station, they ran out of water. This is because runners for 5K, 10K, 21K, and 42K pass by this water station. They should have anticipated this. The 5K runners will pass by this water station once but they are the largest contingent and the rest of the runners will pass by it twice. This water station was the most frequented but apparently they overlooked this.
my deepest condolences to the family of remus. it saddens me more to know that he leaves behind 2 kids :( i was part of a support group that day, and i saw 3 runners collapse. 2 in front of our station, and 1 right after crossing the finish line, inside the chute. we've been getting unusually hot days this year, and though i understand that runners ought to be responsible enough to bring their own hydration, you can only hang on to that supply for a short time, especially when running a distance greater than 15K. it is the responsibility of the organizers to provide runners with adequate hydration at all critical points in the route. saying that they ran out of water is just plain inexcusable.
Sincerely and deepest condolences to the family
My sincerest condolences to this fellow runner's family.
I ran several races in the past months but my experience during the 34th Milo Marathon was different. After running 10k and barely getting water at the hydration areas (there was practically not enough for the anticipated number of runners especially on the way back)I was hoping to get some instead after crossing the finish line. Once I got there, it was so crowded I could barely get more than the 2 gulps they gave each runner. There was not enough room for the finishers and not enough space to comfortably get some water. I was frustrated and wanted to get out of the huge crowd and avoid the sun. I proceeded to a less crowded area and suddenly had a fainting spell. I ran several 10k races and did not even experience this! I felt my face burning up and I was so dizzy I had to find a place to sit down. Good thing I was with a good friend who rushed to get me a small cup of water from the crowded hydration area I avoided earlier.
I think that the Milo Marathon was poorly planned, and they failed to ensure that the most important part of the race does not fail – the hydration areas.
With this sad news about the deaths and my experiance of nearly passing out because of dehydration, I don't think I'm running on next year's Milo Marathon.
my deepest condolences..
i wanted to know the full email of Remus father, if maybe i can forward it to our news team (am from GMA7) so they can have a full story about Remus and other runners who suffered last 34th Milo Marathon. His story deserves to be aired so we all can learn the lessons from it.
i would like to extend my sincere condolences to his family and friends
Actually I ran 42K in this event it's such a sad story to know that there's one fellow runner who passed away in this race.
I have noticed aside of there was no proper hydration,there's no devoted martials who will willing to stay until all runners arrived in finish line to assist them. I experienced a lot of disappointment here.
again, thank you for sharing this story..I support your plight and hopefully this will be an eye-opener to all enthusiasts and organizers..
in regard with this, I would like to request for a copy of the note original document mentioned in the “note” above to further understand the circumstances..
thank you.
Something like this just happened few weeks back in Malaysia during the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon 2010..
A runner running 10km route have collapsed approximately around 8km mark..
The medical aid came around 15 to 20 minutes after the victim have collapsed.. The victim went into seizure then cardiac arrest..
There were few government officers(traffic wardens) nearby.. They were on big bike,. They just could not be bothered to help forget help for us..
Few runners was taking turn to perform CPR on the victim.. No sign of help anywhere.. Finally an ambulance came,, they were not equipped with AED or even BVM..
The organizing committees are not giving us the public any proper explanation and they just kept quiet and hope that they can sweep this under the carpet..
I hate all these organizing committees as they are only concerned with the profit they are going to make from this event..
Here is the Facebook link to that incident
https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12242918780…
My condolences to the family of REMUS….I ran that 34th MILO marathon too; i agree with Remus Father, i am having goosebumps right now…. there was not enough hydration stops for the MILO event, if there wasn’t enough HYDRATION stops, they should have made a rule that those running the 21k should have their own Hydration belts since 21k really needs lot of hydration for the runner. Also there was not enough marshals, security was ok, there was lots of policeman. but the police aren’t marshals you know…. clearly, this is an event wherein the event organizer didn’t care about the welfare of the runner and only cared about the maximum exposure of the sponsoring brand…. GROSS GROSS NEGLIGENCE…. and in the case of Ospital ng Maynila, i may not be a medical practitioner, but basing it on common sense, when you ran that much you are dehydrated, and on my experience, paracetamol can cause dehydration… maybe that caused the seizure… just sharing though… once again, i’m not a medical practitioner. it is just my own opinion…
This is really tragic. My sincere condolences to Remus’ family. I’m sure losing a loved one during a supposedly “safe” event is absolutely gut wrenching.
To Rudy, my brother,
Don't let those irresponsible people get away with their failure which caused Remus death.If possible let them rot in jail so that they will not caused any "lapses" again to anybody.
Sue everybody including the company for hiring incompetent people without an iota of brain to think the dangers of marathon.It is only common sense to anticipate the dangers of the last lapses of the marathon.
To those asking where they can go for the wake, sorry… Remus body was cremated last Saturday, July 10 at Loyola Guadalupe, Makati.
Even after one week since he died, no traditional media (TV, Newspaper, radio) picked the story so only close friends were in the wake. Only my detailed story here triggered the blogs. I personally tried to bring the story to the leading newspaper of the country yesterday afternoon, they initially indicated interests when they asked few more details. But late last night , I was called & told me that they are not printing the story. Reasons given are that it is old story and that they already printed the story in Sports page (One sentence at end of long paragraph about a runner who died, no name)
You bloggers are my only venue now to spread the story, for that I am thankful to all.
This is truly saddening. My heartfelt condolences to you Mr. Rudy Fuentes and your family.
May Remus' soul rest in peace.
thank you for all the kindess sir remus..my prayers are with you and your family..rest and peace our beloved remus:'(
This is truly sad.. Our sincere condolences to the whole family. I am Orly's sister and we are deeply moved upon learning of your brother's story. We support your stand in any way we can. God bless all your endeavors.
My sincere condolences to the family of Remus. I did not join the Milo Marathon but I just want to share my thoughts on this . I've been joining races since 2007. I would usually run 10ks, a couple of 15Ks and just this year, 21ks(earth run and freedom run.
I suffered my first heart attack during the RunNew run (February)last year. I came prepared with my own water (fuel) belt so hydration was not the problem. I was supposed to do a 15K but suddenly felt tired at the 6thK, I walked a bit and pushed it till the 8thK where I collapsed. I was lucky that the run was sponsored by the Asian Hospital. Amongst all the races I have joined, THAT run had the most ambulances going around…not to mention doctors who were doing their rounds…or participating in the race. I was brought to the Asian Hospital, found out I had two blocked arteries,had my angioplasty/open heart surgery a few days after…and in short..alive to be sending this email.
I'm sending this email to encourange and strongly suggest that organizers set up medical stations (even as much as water stations) during races. Medical stations should be able to communicate immediately with ambulances that are required to do the rounds. One ambulance is definitely not enough.
There are trained runners and beginners.All runners tend to push themselves to beat personal records. Many runners do not know their limits and as the saying goes "The spirit is willing..the body is not". Organizers should be conscious of this and mitigate accidents that may happen by really preparing for the race…in fact, better to be "over" prepared than ill prepared. Organizers cannot afford to do "short cuts", lives are at stake…I would have lost mine last year.
I have already heard rumors that somebody had died during the Milo Marathon but up until I read this blog, the rumor had not been confirmed. The news blackout is really very unusual since media tends to pick up even the most trivial of stories. The death of Remus during the marathon should have made to the front pages of our national dailies but the eerie silence is creepy. The organizers should be made to answer for their lack of foresight.
My most sincere condolences to the grieving family of Remus. May you find justice for Remus.
my deepest condolences to the grieved family of sir Remus Fuentes…
deepest sympathy and sincerest condolences to the bereaved family of Remus…
God bless his soul and may He rest in peace.
I am also a 21K runner @ the 34th milo marathon held last july 4. Is is indeed hot that day. There is not enough hydration stations for the long range runners. Especially at the macapagal stretch, wherein I would say the really hottest area to run that day. Since there were no trees or building that could somehow give shade from the sun. If mu assumption is correct, the hydration distance is around 5KM from the last hydration staion in roxas blvd. then the next hydration station is at the corner of vicente sotto and roxas blvd. Considering the temp that dat, this hydration station is not enough to support the hydration needs of all long range runners. Plus I agree that there really is no water supply on the last 4KM of the race. There is a station but no available water. Plus that starting area which around 500 to 600 meters to the finish line is already crowded due to all 5KM runners taking pictures. This actually cause a traffic to the runners who is about to finish. These are not simple lapses but a clear mistakes on the part of the organizer. Perhaps, the organizer are not runner them selves. Because they do not know the needs of the runners. I am not going to join any race organized by the same organizing team that handled milo marathon.
To you my fellow runners, I suggest to check first if you can trust the organizing committee if ever you are going to join a half or full marathon event.
Again, may this all be a lesson to the organizing team.
I ran the 42k too in the last Milo Marathon and noticed that there's no hydration stations at the last loop and in the 42k's turnaround point towards the end. One reason I see why the traditional media doesn't pick up the story (I highly doubt why don't get this much more local media love sensationalization) is that perhaps some threat from ***** that they'll be pulling out their advertisements should they publish this. After all, Milo is still Milo yet I think this deserves proper attention. Sounded this off too in my FB.
My sincere condolences.
im not a runner nor a sports person but this caught my attention. as my support to the family, i will not patronize milo product anymore. my condolences to the family.
Running is a good thing. Finishing a marathon course, whether 5k, 10k or full, is something to be proud of – it is a personal achievement. But, no amount of training can provide for lack of hydration in a course.
Bringing your own hydration is fine, but first and foremost, the organizers have the responsibility to organize sufficient hydration for the runner. This is not a running competition based on who is the best equipped with fancy or diy hydration systems, to win or finish the race – it is about running, period. Unless this is intentional, then it should have been specified in the rules during sign up – BRING YOUR OWN WATER, in bold, large font letters.
Preparation can only take you so much… try to imagine carrying a 3L camel pack in a hot, sweaty day with hundreds of people around you… Hoping you reach the 42km finish line with sufficient water – some things just doesn’t work.
When you’ve been responsible enough to have trained for the run, the only thing left is unforeseen circumstances – unexpected temperatures, overexertion, some unknown medical reason you personally are not yet aware of… standby medical personnel should be available for that. Thats a good organizers job.
I’ve run 10k and 21k in the Hong Kong Standard Chartered Marathon, and there were organizers, medics, police spaced apart probably every 250-400meters. You’ll never get far without seeing one of the organizers. There were many water stations, far more than what was indicated in the original route map. All you had to do was make your best effort to run to the finish line. Its a highly successful event. Yes, there are a few casualties here and there, but the medics and water were always available or nearby. It was the event’s 14th year for – Wait, Milo is in its 34th year? Shouldn’t it have more experience in handling marathons? …………
have you observed lately that marathon events has become revenue generating activities for the organizers? Big bucks ey!
it is no longer about advocacies.
meron nga dyan – "Run! Save the Dolphins". huh? gaano ba kadami population ng dolphins sa pilipinas?
ang ganang akin lamang.
…gone too soon…Remus' story marked another running history. No one to be blamed, no one is responsible for anyone's life. For those like us who are into this sport, make this a lesson to take extra care /safety measures of running. To the family of Remus, he only went ahead of us. To the running organizers, take this seriously or else you will lose your job!!
Why is it that Ospital ng Maynila ER doctors failed to pinpoint that it was heatstroke? Could they be charged of anything?
My condolences to the family. What a tragedy
I noticed in his picture that it looked like he wasn't perspiring. His clothes were wet probably from perspiring earlier, but then his arm, neck and face seem to be really dry. That is one of the indications that one is severely dehydrated–the body stops producing sweat to conserve fluids, therefore making it hard for the body to cool itself down through perspiration.
Remus is the most kindest person i have ever known. He's so soft-spoken and careful with each words he lets out. For sure, he was well-loved and will be surely missed. His journey in this world ends and a new one awaits him on the other side. Push on my friend!
this is really sad, though i have not ran the milo marathon, i know how hard running a marathon because i ran the 22k marathon of north face and they had really great hydration system and there were ample amount of bottled water, i mean overflowing and to think milo is a huge company and been advertising their marathon how come they fell short of the most important things in a marathon? but also as a runner, we should also secure ourselves with our own hydration pack that carries 2 liters of water it might not last the whole 22k but still a big help.
condolence to the Remus family, may this be a lesson to us all.
I am deeply saddened by this unfortunate incident. I would like to extend my condolences to Remus' family. It seems that organizers need a wake up call to prevent things like these from happening. Things like his father's vigilance are needed to raise the awareness levels of those who are into this kind of sport.
I ran on this 34th Milo Marathon and one thing that got me really disappointed was, how it was organized. So chaotic … they should have separated the serious runners from the students and those that are not serious about running.
My wife and I ran the 5K category which took us more than an hour to finish, why? The road was full or students, sunday walkers with pets (yes, pets akala ko nga bawal eh) those with strollers (akala ko din bawal … narinig ko pa yung tatay na nagtutulak, hindi na yan mahahalata).
Instead of running, you'll have to walk your way to the finish line. Ang dami pang magugulo na kasabay ng mga runners. There were a group young gays (students ata yun) na keeps on shouting Piolo and other celebrity names. The tendency was, yung nasa unahan namin titigil at titingin sa likod, minsan humihinto pa which is distracting talaga sa mga runners.
One word to describe that run … chaotic!
this is very bereaving.. :(
I hope Remus' family will continue to live life happily inspite of this. I'm sure there's a purpose to his death..and I hope that that purpose is what his father said: for every single one of us to know the value of human life esp. the organizers.
I can't blame Remus' father to condemn the organizers. It's really a clear sign of negligence on their part not to have medical aid ready and not to have provided their runners (which are supposed to be their partners at that time) with enough hydration.
this is really sad. :(
May Remus’s family find comfort in God’s loving arms in this time of mourning…
Our sincerest condolences to the family from Ras Al Khaimah
did the organizers provided enough water thoughout the course?
did he drink water in between stations?
I am shocked and saddened by Remus' fate in the sport I love. My condolences to his wife and two kids, and his parents. I cannot imagine how difficult it is to lose somebody so loved so soon:-(
And let this be a lesson to all runners. Always be self-reliant, and always hydrate! Race events in the Philippines are not even close to how it is organized abroad. The weather is also another consideration so expect local runs to be tougher and more trying…
our deepest sympathy! – runner/son of lourdes and my family
1st my deepest condolences to the family of mr.remus fuentes i also register my self to join dat milo run but unfortunately i sufferd knee injury wed.b4 d sunday run but now bec of ds incident plus d shortcomings of d organizer i realized m fortunate enough 4 not joining dat sunday milo run m also wondering how come no news fr d media abt ds incident ds thing should knw by a lot of people hindi puro politics cla na walang ka kwenta kwenta or baka naman d media s trying to protect the co. who organized ds event m jst asking…to sir rudy tnx 2 al ur tips abt heatstroke im an active person i do bdminton,running n mountain biking those tips r big help agen sir my condolences.
I used to work in a construction site in Abu Dhabi where temperature is extremely dangerous for laborers working under the soaring heat of the sun. He had heat stroke and the first aid given was to wrap him talaga in something cold, the safety department was more than ready with ice packs and all, if the first aiders at the milo run knows what to do in such cases I think maaagapan talaga. At that time I thought that the laborer will not make it kse para na syang nauulol.. pero while waiting for the ambulance they did what was necessary kaya di na humantong sa loss…
37 years is far far too young for a person to be taken away, and through such a horrible way to go – to think this is already the thirty-fourth time that Milo has held this marathon event, one would ponder that they would have installed a more responsible organizing team in place!
I can only continue to hope for the comfort of Remus’ family in this time of mourning.
RIP RSF. We will not forget you.
This is a tragedy.
I have a suggestion. Perhaps the Philippine running community should start organizing an annual run (5K, 10K, 21K, 42K etc.) in memory of Remus Fuentes. Charitable donations and any incremental proceeds from the race should help out Remus' family (example: scholarships for his children).
However, the ONE different thin about this annual memorial race is that it needs first class organization. Hydration stations, emergency health volunteers, course management, should be world class.
Anyone who has info on where the remains of Remus Fuentes lies or where the interment is going to be, kindly post it here bec. we want to pay our respects to a fellow runner….thank you.
Tsk,tsk,tsk. Condolence po…
Bless you, Terry Endozo.I just hope Milo is not one of the sponsors of GMA7.
let this serve as a lesson. negligence indeed on the part of the organizers.
how about a simple physical exam together with the FEE they ask for on registration so they can check if the participants are actually fit to run.
also how about some ambulances that tail the group in the course of the run?
Maybe the media doesn’t want this story out because they’re afraid ***** will pull out their advertisements.
This is a very sad story…My condolences to the Fuentes family.
I’m appalled not only at the incompetence of the marathon organizers but also of the medical personnel @ the hospital where Remus was brought to. When I worked as a Veterinarian in Southern California, heat strokes is very common – even in pets. Every summer, we get lots of dogs that suffer from heatstroke – most of them from being left outside or in a car. The first thing we do to these patients is to put them on ice water bath & administer IV fluids to try to get their body temperatures lowered ASAP to prevent brain damage .In the 3 summers that I was in CA, we only lost 1 dog to brain damage (out of probably 3 dozens) primarily because it was almost comatose when it was brought to us. It would be safe to assume that managing heat strokes would be the same for pets & humans. It’s sad that the doctors who admitted him apparently didn’t know what to do. It appears also that he wasn’t even diagnosed properly to begin with. What a shame. Mr. Rudy Fuentes should also go after the Hospital Ng Maynila personnel who mismanaged the case of his son.
our deepest condolences to a our fellow runner. . . may his soul rest in peace!
my condolences to the family of remus.i hope (& i know) this will be an eye opener for many of us..race organizers and runners alike..this is really depressing..sna huli na to.God bless remus and his family.
My condolences to the family of Remus.
I can't believe no network has picked up this news-worthy story. Kapuso, kapamilya, kapatid — where are you when we need you?
My deepest condolences to Fuentes Family.
On these coming weekend its my first 16km run and 21km run on August 01.
And I will tag these message;
"TRIBUTE TO REMUS" on my back.
Rest in peace my fellow runner.
If somebody was keeping what really happened in the 34th Milo Marathon last July 4, 2010 from going out to the public, I suggest somebody organize a big rally to announce to the public and to get the attention of the media, who have no sponsorship from Milo.This bad practice must stop once and for all and no more death caused by the mistakes of those organizers who did not do their jobs properly.
I am calling those bloggers who were there too and witnessed those mistakes, those fellow runners and other runners, all Remus’ friends and co workers, HP, the company where he worked,everyone who value human life and most especially Remus’ relatives and their friends.Make his death the end of this organizer’s so called “lapses” so that nobody will suffer anymore.
condolences to the Remus family. i usually run 3K and during the earth run at the fort, the hydration station is very poor, on the 1st station, there is water but no plastic cups. That gave me a lesson to always bring a small bottled water and not to expect from the organizers.
condolence to the Fuentes family… may the story of Remus be a warning to all of us runners to properly prepare in every running event that we will be joining.. do not finish the race because of PR when you felt something while running.. to all the organizers, please take note of all the comments so that this can be addressed in future races particularly that it happened in an event sponsored by Milo who has been conducting marathons in the last 34 yrs.
condolences and prayers to the family
I agree that there has been a media blackout on Remus’ death. So far, there has been NOTHING in the newspapers, TV, radio… NOTHING. The news is circulating only in blogs and forums (and thankfully, in the mailing lists of running clubs!)
But seriously, they have all the reasons to “protect” this event. This must be one of their largest revenue-generating ventures… just imagine: 27,000 participants and each one of them is required to purchase a 300-gram pack to register in the race. That doesn’t even consider the reg fee on top of that.
I was wondering why emergency dialysis was not done.
sad 2 hear that… My deepest sympathy and sincerest condolences to Remus family. post ko i2 sa FB and tagged ko yung mga runner friends ko.
Condolences to the Family.
Condolence to the family of Remus.
Milo should be responsible to all the runners. They are the organization and all runners were pre registered. They knew before hand how many people had entered the race and the KM’s entered before the start of the event.They should have standby ambulance and medics ready for any unfortunate events. Water is suppose to be available at any given point especially the final stretch where all runners are already dehydrated. Since they had been organizing such event annually, they should have been prepared and studied all possibility. If this had happened to foreigners I think it would be a big news item.
I am saddened by what happened to your son. Yes, I agree that the organizer(s) should improve on emergency responses, not just ambulances for props! In another race last year, our friend was dehyrdated and we wanted to establish an IV but lo ande behold….no IV! I won’t mention what else is NOT there…
To race organizers….more water stations please…and please pay more attention to runners that finishes last…they don’t get and I bet, won’t get any medical attention when something bad happens…
condolence to remus family i think milo organizer is liable to his death.
My condolences to Remus’ family! I parked that same morning at the Ospital ng Maynila hoping that all will be well for all participants such as myself and the last any of the runners would conclude the races of the day. I hope that ‘lapses’ will be addressed meaningfully hereon but it is a risk all runners face, one less likely to fall on deaf ears. May God grant you grace to rise above these challenges and fill the void of a great and sad loss.
the organizers should have planned the event carefully. Lapses are not acceptable when a life is involved. The emergency medical team should have been there in a few minutes. This could have been prevented. What a waste! My sincerest condolences to Remus’ family.
Hi. I want to have an interview with Remus’ father. Can you email me his contact details. I’m from a national broadsheet. Thank you.
My condolences. Milo Run was really disorganized. I myself ran at 5k only but it looks more like an “alay lakad” instead of a real run. Most runners have cameras taking shots of themselves, of friends and you will hear them saying “pang-facebook ito”. First water stop has no water at all (I arrived at 6:35am, I was late and there were still lots of students who even has placards of their schools while walking). “Fun Run” as they say for 5k and 3k, still Milo should anticipate that there’s a lot of serious runners on those categories. Indeed, Milo helped a lot of kids to have a pair of shoes, still, we can’t deny the fact that it was so disorganized and one runner died (or more). I hope this will serve as a lesson to all Run Organizers…My condolences again…
Shame on that newspaper which was not published the story!!! Are they afraid?. Shame on the Organizer, they might be an old school and outdated. I always decide to run 21K if the organizer is Coach Rio.