Sunday’s TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon came to a harsh halt for one participant, who experienced a medical episode about 20 km into his half-marathon. The runner collapsed just over a kilometre from the finish line, and after resisting aid from two course medics, police restrained him using handcuffs.
A video posted on TikTok captures the participant, boasting an official race bib, escaping from the grasp of medics and raising his arms defensively before attempting to hop the fence out of the medical area in the centre of the course. Then, the video cuts to a clip of a police officer grabbing him, placing him face down on the ground and restraining him with handcuffs behind his back.
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The runner declined to comment on the incident. Canadian Running reached out to the Toronto Police Service, who said, “This was a medical call, non-criminal in nature.” The Toronto Waterfront Marathon app shows that the runner’s final recorded split was at the 15-km mark, captured at 9:42 a.m.
A bystander’s recollection
“I saw him fall into the barricade where the medic team was, and they caught him and held onto him” one bystander told Canadian Running. “He tried to go back to keep running, but they weren’t letting him.” The witness says she also saw a woman trying to feed the runner a gummy, and the runner was held back during his attempts to eat it.
“Then, the runner fell on the ground and was having full body convulsions,” the spectator continued. “He then got up and moved into the corner of the barricade, trying to punch the medic team. That’s when I saw the cop approach him, holding a taser behind his back.” An hour later, the witness says, she saw the participant walking with a member of the medic team, appearing to be fine.
It isn’t rare for runners to collapse during races, especially longer distances such as the marathon and half-marathon. Dehydration, exhaustion and cardiac arrest are common causes–and on a warm day like Sunday, this particular runner surely was not the only one to collapse. But according to a source who lives with epilepsy, the runner’s behaviour aligns with that of someone who has experienced a seizure.
Seizures and temporary amnesia
“Usually there’s a loss of motor function and a bodily collapse of sorts that would lead to more of a medical response to him from the staff,” the source told Canadian Running. “In my experience, you don’t know what happened, especially in the moment and immediately after. You have temporary amnesia where you don’t know where you are, what day it is, who you are, what you were doing and why.”
The source says sometimes, someone who has experienced a seizure might not even remember their name, let alone understand why there are so many people around them–which can exacerbate panic. “If this guy had a seizure, being in a caged-in area with loud crowds and people running around is not a good spot to be confused and have a brain reset,” the source said.
