A London Marathon runner who finished the race in under 3 hours died 'out of the blue' on his way home

• A 45-year-old man who completed Sunday's London Marathon suddenly died on his way home.
• Steve Shanks finished the 26.2-mile race in 2:53:26.

A 45-year-old avid runner who completed the London Marathon on Sunday in under three hours died "out of the blue" while on his way home from the competition.

Steve Shanks, a husband and father from Nottingham, England finished the 26.2-mile race in 2:53:26 before dying as he traveled home on Sunday, London Marathon organizers said in a statement.

"Everyone at London Marathon Events was deeply saddened to hear about the sudden death of Steve Shanks," the organizers said. They noted that Shanks was an experienced runner who had competed in multiple marathons in the past.

Organizers said that Shanks' exact cause of death would be "established later through medical examination."

Shanks' wife, Jess, announced the passing of her husband on social media, calling his death "sudden" and "out of the blue."

"He was returning home having spent the day participating in the London Marathon. As you can imagine I'm absolutely in shock & devastated," she wrote.

Organizers of the London Marathon said that a fundraising page for the Multiple Sclerosis Society had been set up in Shanks' memory.

"It was a cause close to his heart because a number of his close friends have MS," a note posted to the GoFundMe page says.

Tragic stories of runners suddenly dying during races — or just after them — have made headlines in recent years. Last year, a 32-year-old man collapsed and died after crossing the finish line at New York City's 13.1-mile Brooklyn half marathon.

However, the phenomenon is rare. According to a 2012 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, "the risk of marathon-related sudden death is estimated to be 1 in 50,000 participants."

About 48,000 runners competed in this year's London Marathon.