Heat stroke during a 'run for fun': A case report.

An athlete taking part in a mini-marathon race on a cold mid-winter morning collapsed with heat stroke after completing 19,5 km. To stop himself coughing during the run, he had taken a proprietary cough mixture containing 18 mg of the phenothiazine antihistaminic, promethazine, before the start. A possible explanation for the development of heat stroke is that the promethazine interfered with the body's ability to dissipate the enormous endogenous heat load which is generated during the course of a marathon race.