One woman suffered a heart attack and three other runners were placed in critical care units at the hospital Monday after a sweltering running of the Boston Marathon, the Boston Herald reported.
Race officials said as many as 135 runners were taken to area hospitals, while about 2,200 required treatment after being overcome during the 26.2-mile run as temperatures reached the mid-80s Fahrenheit.
About 30 to 40 runners required "ice water immersions," where their entire bodies were placed into an ice bath, according to the Herald.
"To my knowledge, there are no fatalities at this moment," Dr. Pierre D'Hemecourt, director of the medical tent at the finish line of the marathon, told the Herald late Monday after the majority of runners had finished.
Officials said most of the runners who needed treatment were dehydrated, suffering from heat exhaustion and/or feeling faint.
"We passed people who were dropping left and right," said runner Kate Walsh, 29, of Norwell, Mass.
Organizers had considered canceling the event and urged inexperienced runners to sit out the historic race. They offered competitors a guaranteed spot in next year's field if they accepted the deferment, and more than 4,000 opted not to run.
Many others gave it a try but abandoned the journey early, including last year's winner and race record-holder Geoffrey Mutai, of Kenya, who dropped out due to cramping after 18.5 miles.
His countryman, Wesley Korir, overcame the heat to claim the 116th Boston Marathon with an official time of 2:12:40. Kenyan Sharon Cherop took the women's title with an official time of 2:31:50.
Korir, 29, admitted to cramping up at about mile 13 but said, "I just kept praying and singing and asking God for the energy.
"It was very important to me to take water, to take fluids, to hydrate as often as possible, even if it led to falling off the pace at times."
