Marc Witkes, who collapsed and died in last month’s Tucson Marathon, suffered from complications of congenital heart disease, a Pima County coroner has determined.
Shane Benjamin, staff writer for the Durango (Colo.) Herald, has reported that Witkes, 40, a resident of Durango, had two congenital heart abnormalities, according to Dr. Eric Peters. He was born with a bicuspid aortic valve and the blood vessels supplying the victim’s heart muscles were abnormal, the report said.
While running his last mile, Witkes became unconscious and his heart stopped, Peters told Benjamin.