Runner who died was Fort Campbell soldier

By Jennifer Brooks • THE TENNESSEAN • April 27, 2009

The 25-year-old runner who collapsed and died after crossing the finish line at the Country Music Half Marathon on Saturday has been identified as a decorated Army veteran, home after serving five tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Army Staff Sgt. Benjamin "Levi" Pigman completed the half-marathon course in two hours and 16 minutes, then collapsed. Despite the efforts of rescue workers at the scene and at the hospital, he later died at Nashville General Hospital. The command at Fort Campbell, where he served, confirmed his identity Sunday evening.

Pigman's death was described Saturday as a "sudden cardiac event." Although temperatures were higher than normal on race day, Dr. Lewis Maharan, the Country Music Marathon and Half Marathon medical director, said the death was not a result of the heat.

"This was not a heat-related incident," Maharan told The Tennessean Saturday. "It was a cardiac incident. I can say that with certainty. … He was immediately taken care of."