A RUNNER was last night recovering after collapsing just a few miles into the Belfast Half Marathon.
It is understood the man fell to the ground four miles after the start of the event in Ormeau Park on Sunday.
Other runners and volunteer stewards rushed to the man's side and helped treat him before paramedics arrived on the scene.
A steward said: "Many of the runners and volunteers provided huge support for the unfortunate man.
"The runners abandoned their race to make sure he was attended, and some of them, who clearly had paramedical training, commenced the CPR response immediately.
"The volunteers and a woman police officer took over until the ambulances arrived.
"They all stayed with the man until he was taken to hospital.
"It was an outstanding response from an heroic group who showed the best side of Belfast."
A spokeswoman for the Belfast Half Marathon, the largest half marathon in the north, last night confirmed a man had collapsed at the event.
She said he was taken to hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, a 23-year-old man collapsed and died of a suspected heart attack during the Dublin Half Marathon on Saturday.
The man was coming to the finish line of the run, which snakes through Phoenix Park in the city, when he collapsed.
Several other competitors, who were trained paramedics, treated the runner before medical teams arrived.
However, a spokesman for the SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon Team later confirmed the man had died.
"We would like to commend the St John's Ambulance medical team and all those who looked after the young man and express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased," he said.
