NSW: Man who died in City2Surf was 'a regular runner': friend

AAP General News (Australia)
08-12-2008
NSW: Man who died in City2Surf was 'a regular runner': friend

By Carrie Berdon

SYDNEY, Aug 12 AAP - A young British man who died in Sydney's City2Surf marathon was
a regular runner who had planned to move in with his Sydney girlfriend, a childhood friend
says.

Lee Marriage, 26, collapsed just 200m from the finish line of the 14km run at Bondi
Beach on Sunday.

Post-mortem examination results are expected from the coroner within a few days, and
Keir McCarthy said Mr Marriage's family hoped to have his body flown home to the UK to
be buried,

Mr McCarthy, 26, who had been good friends with Mr Marriage since they were 10, said
the family was "shocked" and struggling to find closure.

"His family have a very strong support unit but all of them are just incredibly shocked,"

he said by phone from the UK.

"And just really, really looking to find out more so that way we can begin planning
to celebrate Lee's life in the correct way.

"They're having a memorial in Sydney but we're hoping to get Lee's body flown to the
UK to bury him here," he said.

Mr McCarthy said friends and family were perplexed by the incident because Mr Marriage
was a regular runner "without an ounce of fat on him".

"He was a great footballer and extremely fit man," he said.

"He ran regularly, it was part of his training for football.

"It was a huge shock."

Onsite emergency crews had worked to revive Mr Marriage after he collapsed, but were
unsuccessful.

Mr McCarthy said Mr Marriage's girlfriend Michelle, from Sydney, was also struggling
to come to terms with what had happened.

The couple, who had been together for a number of years, were planning their future
together, he said.

"She's got a good family and friends supporting her but obviously she's very much in
shock," he said.

"I believe they were just about to move in together."

Mr McCarthy said it was likely that Mr Marriage had had a quiet night in with Michelle,
whose surname is not known, the night before the race.

"He would have a drink occasionally at a party ... but I should imagine that if he
was doing something like (a run) he would have stayed in with Michelle the night before."

He said Mr Marriage had decided to settle in Sydney in 2005 after stopping in the city
as part of a world tour.

"It's just a terrible shame he was a wonderful individual who is going to be greatly
missed," he added.

"It just doesn't seem right."

Emma Wild, another childhood friend who met Mr Marriage at Rodborough School in Surrey,
England, when they were both 13, said in a Facebook message that she could not believe
her friend was gone.

"He was such a fantastic, amazing, caring, fun, loving person," she said.

"He made everyone laugh and lived his life to the full. He was living his dream in
Oz and seemed so in love with his girlfriend ... it's devastating that he has been taken
from us.

"I think Lee should be an example to the rest of us in the world ... to go for what
you want and do as much as you possibly can, as you just don't know what is around the
corner," she said.

"Life is way too short."

AAP cjb/wjf/srp/bwl

KEYWORD: CITY2SURF DEATH DAYLEAD

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