Ryan Shay.
Even though I’m not very consistent at getting out every day and I’m not very fast, I still call myself a runner. I love being outside, pushing myself further, breathing in the cold fall air, and the energy I feel the rest of the day after I put in a couple of miles before work.
There are several runners that I look to for inspiration. This morning I was completely blown away to learn that one of these runners, Ryan Shay, had suddenly passed away…
From the New York Times:
“A triumphant United States Olympic trials marathon turned somber yesterday morning when Ryan Shay, a 28-year-old veteran marathoner, collapsed during the race in Central Park and was pronounced dead at Lenox Hill Hospital.
It put a terrible twist on the victory by Ryan Hall, who exulted in the emotion of winning the race and capturing an Olympic berth. But he had no idea that the ambulance that had passed him on the course was carrying Shay, his good friend and occasional training partner, a man whose wedding he had helped celebrate in July.
Shay collapsed at the five-and-a-half-mile mark near the Central Park boathouse, relatively early in the 26.2-mile race, and he was pronounced dead at 8:46 a.m., stunning the sport on a cool, crisp morning that seemed perfect for a marathon. The death was announced by Mary Wittenberg, the president of the New York Road Runners, which staged the race. No cause of death was given. The medical examiner’s office said an autopsy would be performed today.”
Read more online:
We ALL mess up,and you’re honest...
Reading the article makes me wonder if he had the same heart condition as Trae. That is the reason Trae can’t do sports when he’s older - because of the risk of sudden death.
That is so sad, Isaac.
I wondered the same thing when I read that, too. They (the Associated Press) said that his heart condition actually helped him in endurance sports.
Since his heart didn’t have to pump as much to keep a large amount of oxygen flowing through his system, his working heart rate was a lot lower, which helped him last a lot longer in marathons and races.