Claire Squires: London Marathon Runner Who Died 'Suffered From Heart Condition'

Claire Squires: London Marathon Runner Who Died 'Suffered From Heart Condition'
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The London Marathon runner who collapsed and died less than a mile from the finishing line had a heart condition, it has been revealed.

Claire Squires had been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat but refused to let it stop her fundraising, The Sun said.

Tests are being carried out on the 30-year-old to see if her condition contributed to her collapse.

Since her death last Sunday, donations to Claire’s Just Giving fundraising account have passed £1m.

A friend said: “It didn’t stop her keeping extremely fit but it might have made a lesser person take a back seat and put their feet up. But Claire just got on with it. “

Yesterday Claire's heartbroken boyfriend described the moment he found out she had collapsed and died.

Simon van Herrewege, a social carer in a nursing home, was stood alongside Claire's sister and her friends at the finish, waiting to cheer the hairdresser across the line.

Tragically, she never made it, dying 300 metres from the end near St James’ Park.

Van Herrewege eventually received a phone call, instructing him to go to a nearby hospital.

Speaking to The Sun, the 31-year-old said: “I thought she had twisted an ankle or something, and I ran and flagged down a taxi.”

When he got to the emergency room, medical staff informed him that Claire was dead.

I just couldn’t believe it,” he told the newspaper. “She was such a fit and vibrant person.”

Speaking of the last time he saw her, Simon said: “I gave her a kiss and said to her ‘I love you more than words can say’.

He added: “She smiled and then she was gone. She was woo-hooing with joy as she ran off. Everyone was looking at her. That was the last time I saw her alive.”

After Claire’s death, Simon and her sister Penny, 28, were taken to see her body.

She looked so beautiful. There was not a mark on her.”

Following news of her death, Claire’s Just Giving page was inundated with donations, collecting more than £1m for the Samaritans.

Click below for pictures of Claire and her friends