Runners file through a security check point before the start of the ING New York City Marathon on November 3, 2013, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. / Maddie Meyer
NEW YORK An 86-year-old California woman has died after hitting her head on the pavement during the New York City Marathon.
Joy Johnson was the oldest woman to complete Sunday's marathon.
Her sister Faith Anderson said Johnson stumbled and hit her head on the road at about the 20th mile.
Anderson told the Daily News that medics wanted to take Johnson to the hospital but she insisted on continuing the race.
On Monday, Johnson felt tired after her visit to the "Today" show and lay down on the bed at her hotel. She never woke up. She was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.
The city medical examiner's office said Tuesday that Johnson died of complications of blunt trauma.
Organizers said Sunday's race was Johnson's 25th New York City Marathon.
