In Memory of Ryan Shay,

Elite Runner and Friend

The running community was hit hard with the recent and tragic death of a young, elite marathoner. Ryan Shay was 5.5 miles into one of the most important races of his life, the US Olympic Marathon Trials in New York on November 3 rd, when he had a massive heart attack.

My husband, Graham Hood, was in New York for the NYC Marathon the following day and had been looking forward to watching the men’s Olympic trials even more than running his own race. He was only 200m from where Ryan collapsed, and hearing the buzz amongst spectators, called me at home where I was eagerly waiting race updates. Two of my friends and former Stanford University teammates were in New York cheering on their husbands – Ryan Hall and Ryan Shay – for their spots on the US Olympic team. When I answered the phone, I was expecting an elated update on how inspiring the event was and news that both Ryans (Hall and Shay) were enroute to qualifying for the Olympics in Beijing in 2008. But Graham’s tone was serious and reserved. “Something terrible has happened”, he told me, “I think Ryan Shay died”. My heart fell to the ground. I might immediate thoughts turned his new wife and my friend, Alicia.

Of all my friends, I have never seen someone grow so confidently and positively through a relationship. Their courtship was fast and intense; they were engaged within a year of dating and married shortly afterwards. As a two-time NCAA 10,000m Champion and record holder, Alicia had renewed her passion for running after she had grown frustrated and quit running in 2006. At their July wedding, Ryan had pledged to support her financially and emotionally in her quest to fulfill her own Olympic 10,000m dreams and she was thriving. As both professional, full-time runners based in Flagstaff, AZ, they were living a dream life – but something very different from usual newlyweds.

The running world was in shock. A popular running message board (www.letsrun.com) had close to 1000 posts of fans offering their support to his family. All the major newspapers carried articles and photos of Ryan – juxtaposing photographs of his grit during races with his easy smile while sitting against a fencepost with Alicia on her family’s Wyoming ranch. Although marathon deaths are not unheard of, it is extremely rare for a fit, young, elite athlete such as Ryan to die during a race. He was not even at the tough part of the race yet – 5.5 miles is still cruising for such strong athletes.

While most of the world focused on Ryan, my group of friends rallied – at least in spirit – around Alicia. As we are all spread out across Canada, the US, and even Bermuda, we fired off emails and phone calls like crazy. Where do you begin when your 25 year old friend loses her husband of four months – and her world comes crashing down? As a full-time runner, Alicia lives a transient life, traveling from a camp at altitude, to a race in Europe, to a family home for a holiday; sacrificing a real home base, job, or even medical benefits for the pursuit of excellence. The only thing “stable” was her husband, Ryan. And at the stage of their marriage, it is unlikely that they had made legal arrangements for an unexpected death in the family.

As such, we each decided to hold a memorial run for Ryan in our hometowns in the weeks following his death. Calgary runners were invited to a group run on November 11 and 12 th (due to the holiday) at the Weaslehead to run 5.5 miles in Ryan’s honour. As the run was on Remembrance Day (and the day of Ryan’s funeral), runners were also encouraged to run in memory of special people they have lost as well as troops who have fought and continue to fight for our country and world peace. We passed a proverbial hat (envelope) for anyone who was inspired to donate a few dollars to send to an “Alicia Support Fund”. Thanks for the generous support of the running community, we are sending $1500 in trust to her mother for her support; we hope that the funds will help her through a tough period of instability, and hopefully allow her to continue to chase her running goals – something Ryan would have wanted her to do.

Ryan died what he loved doing most outside of being with family. As one of the toughest and most passionate athletes ever to compete, we can learn from his conviction and dedication to the sport and life. We also need to remember to take a step back and be grateful for each day we have and our special moments with the people we love.

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