Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III was to be hospitalized overnight Saturday for observation after falling ill during a 10-mile charity run in Druid Hill Park in the morning.
"At this point, it's just not looking like it's anything critical," police spokesman Anthony J. Guglielmi said Saturday afternoon, describing the overnight stay at Maryland Shock Trauma Center as a "standard 24-hour observation."
Doctors performed unspecified medical tests and Guglielmi said "things look OK." Additional tests were planned, he said.
"He is talking, he's coherent, he's responsive," Guglielmi said of the 47-year-old commissioner. "He's talking to family and staff."
Bealefeld developed a health problem about 9:15 a.m. near the nine-mile mark of the University of Maryland Heart Center Baltimore 10-Miler. The race began at 7:30 a.m.
"He didn't pass out, but he didn't feel so hot," his spokesman said. "His aides saw that, and they stopped along the route and contacted assistance."
At that point, "officers brought him to an ambulance to be checked out; he was preliminarily evaluated at the race site and transported to Shock Trauma, where he is undergoing formalized testing."
Dr. Thomas M. Scalea, the hospital's chief surgeon, is overseeing his care.
When Bealefeld signed on to take part in the 10-mile run to benefit the Baltimore Police Foundation, the idea was not just to have a local dignitary in the field. The faster he ran, the more money the event would raise.
Bealefeld started near the back of a pack that organizers had projected to exceed 3,000 runners. Corrigan Sports Enterprises, a local sports promotion group, pledged $2 for each runner Bealefeld passed, and police trainees slapped "Caught by the Commish" stickers on those he overtook.
Bealefeld, a hockey player who jogs around the Inner Harbor several times a week, told The Baltimore Sun that 10 miles is as far as he has ever run. But he said he'd be driven by a desire to do well in front of rookie officers.
"I suffer from a bit of egotism, just a little bit," he jokingly said at the time, "and I don't want these trainees to see me falter. It will be a great motivation for me to keep running faster and faster, and get as many of these tags on folks as I can, because it is a great cause."
Event organizers had estimated that Bealefeld would run brisk 9-minute miles and pass 1,900 runners. They had hoped to raise $10,000 through the race and merchandise sales. Bealefeld passed about 2,000 runners, Guglielmi said.
