A finance worker collapsed and died from heat exhaustion after his body temperature reached 40C during the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London, an inquest has heard.

Kory Russell, 25, who worked as a financial officer at State Street Investment Management, was running his first half marathon on October 12 last year when he collapsed just before the finish line near the Royal Albert Hall. He had trained for the event and had previously completed shorter races.

Paramedics attempted to treat Russell at the finish line, performing CPR and using cooling techniques in a medical tent and an ambulance. Despite extensive efforts, including over 40 minutes of CPR, he was pronounced dead at St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington at 11:55 a.m.

An emergency doctor at the scene, Edward Langford, stated that the priorities of care included ice water cooling and chest compressions with a LUCAS machine. However, Russell's core temperature remained above 40 degrees Celsius.

Assistant Coroner Jean Harkin heard that Russell had no prior history of heart problems and was not on any medication. Post-mortem tests revealed no alcohol in his system. Doctors concluded that his death was a case of sudden cardiac arrest in a young man with a normal heart, caused by heat exhaustion.

Russell, from Sully in South Wales, was the eldest of four children. His father, Matt Russell, described him as a much-loved son who excelled in mathematics and science and was proud of his finance job in London. Kory Russell also enjoyed swimming, football, and running, and had achieved a first-class degree in economics and finance from Loughborough University.

Following his death, a GoFundMe page established by the family raised £1,290 for the Sudden Death charity SADS UK and the CUBE centre in Barry. Kory's mother, Rhi Russell, has since become Vice President at Calon Hearts UK, a charity focused on cardiac screening programmes, and co-launched the Screen Early, Save Lives campaign. She previously told Metro that her son was "the kindest, most loving and hard-working person you could ever meet."

The Royal Parks Half Marathon organizers expressed their sincere condolences to Kory Russell's family and friends at the time of his death.