An inquest into the death of Claire Squires has been told how a single dietary supplement taken during the London Marathon last year contributed to her death.
The drug 1,3-dimethylamyline (DMAA) is found in some nutritional products altho banned for elite athletes. A single scoop of 'Jack3D' containing the stimulant that increases heart rate was poured by Claire into the water bottle, to be taken if she felt that she had hit 'the wall' her boyfriend reported at the inquest. She collapsed and died near the end when she was attempting to run a sub 4 hour time.  |
| DMAA up close |
The coroner said that Claire had died of acute cardiac failure caused by extreme physical exertion complicated by DMAA toxicity 'on the balance of probabilities'.
It is banned in sereral European countries, and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) was moved to advise people not to consume the stimulant in August of last year.
This sobering news today is from a BBC report (BBC news story on Claire Squires inquest), and the backstory on why it so affected the population is well described here: Public interest high in marathon runner's charity quest.
Aiming to raise £500 for the Samaritans, Claire's story raised the profile of her quest and donations topped £1 million.
It is the time of year when recreational runners are planning and training for the marathons of London and Edinburgh amongst others. Take advice people if planning on running marathons regarding supplements and exertion-here to help for any kind of running related issues!
