A 27-year-old man from Brooklyn, who worked in film and TV production, has died after competing in a recent half marathon in Providence, Rhode Island. Begho Ukueberuwa passed away from complications of heat stroke after running in the Providence Marathon & Half Marathon this past Sunday.
According to Providence local news, Ukueberuwa collapsed shortly after the 12th mile of the race and was transported to Rhode Island Hospital. He died on Monday morning.
“No one had any reason to suspect that he had any kind of underlying health problem, but it was a hot day during the race, and unfortunately, some of his body systems ending up failing him during the course of it, and he wasn’t able to recover,” Mene Ukueberuwa, Begho’s brother, told WJAR 10. “He was looking forward to [running] being a part of his life going forward.”
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Ukueberuwa, a passionate film fan, started his entertainment career as an agent in CAA’s Motion Picture Literary department. In August 2022, he was appointed director of development at Fat City, a New York-based production company started by Sara Murphy and Ryan Zacarias.
“We are utterly heartbroken by the recent passing of our friend and colleague,” said Murphy and Zacarias in a joint statement. “He was joyful, insightful, wonderfully disruptive. He was kind. More than anything, he loved people and brought them together. Everyone who knew him felt special for the simple fact of knowing him. He was Begho. And there was an immediate camaraderie if you met someone else who knew Begho. Our thoughts go out to all of these people whose lives he so specifically touched.”
Friends of Ukueberuwa quickly created a GoFundMe to cover his funeral expenses, which has since amassed more than $48,000, exceeding their initial goal of $25,000. Additional funds will be donated to Athens PBJs and the Woodlawn Foundation. “Your donations are a beautiful testament to how Begho impacted people around him, and we are so grateful for your support,” Pierre De Malliard, the fundraiser’s organizer, said in an update.
Unrelated to Ukueberuwa’s death, several other runners were injured during the event after colliding with a cut-down pole along the course. “All of a sudden, I saw a few people on the ground, and next thing you know, I hit my leg,” an anonymous runner told WPRI. “I felt a pretty sharp pain, felt I got hit in the leg with a hammer, and all of a sudden, I look down, and my leg was gushing blood.”
A marathon spokesperson told WJAR 10 that “it was a routine marathon,” otherwise.
Contributing Writer
Laura Ratliff is a New York City-based writer, editor, and runner. Laura’s writing expertise spans numerous topics, ranging from travel and food and drink to reported pieces covering political and human rights issues. She has previously worked at Architectural Digest, Bloomberg News, and Condé Nast Traveler and was most recently the senior editorial director at TripSavvy. Like many of us, Laura was bitten by the running bug later in life, after years of claiming to “hate running.” Her favorite marathon is Big Sur.
