Sad news from the Jacksonville Marathon
Jacksonville.com: Georgia man dies after half-marathon run
Ronald Ray and his wife, Maritza, began running six years ago as a way to help them overcome the death of their 2-year old daughter. The couple ran 13 marathons and dozens of half marathons, 5K and 10K races.
Last Sunday, Ronald Ray, 49, collapsed and died after finishing the Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon."We warmed up together. He gave me a kiss before we started, and then we ran together for the first two miles," Maritza Ray said. "I started to speed up, [and] he said, 'You're gonna do great.' I turned to wave to him, and that's the last time I saw him."
I heard about this later Sunday afternoon after the race. I hate hearing these stories. This is the fifth race in the last 2 years that I have participated in where this has happened. The others were:
2004 Gasparilla
2005 River Run
2005 St. Anthony's
2005 BFAST
Mike McLamb forwarded a New York Times article to me a couple of weeks ago regarding folks having heart attacks in running races. Mike included a note for me to ignore the chest pains at mile 15. I had shared with him a blog in the past that discussed the same topic.
When you think about the number of people participating in races, it becomes easier to understand that it is just a matter of statistics. Non-runners (particularly my mother) like to point out that running is the root cause and inherently dangerous. They point to Jim Fixx as the conclusive evidence. But Jim Fixx's father died of a heart attack at the age of 42. Running probably prolonged Fixx's life, even though he only lived to be 52. One of the articles included a quote by a doctor saying "You can't outrun your genes."
Sometimes there are warning signs such as family history, but sometimes it is just your time. Many of the runners I have spoken to this week regarding Sunday's death have said that there are probably worse ways to go than dying doing something you enjoy. It still is tough for the ones you leave behind.
On the results page for the race, the folks from 1st Place Sports included this information:
Ron Ray, age 49, passed away at the finish of the Jacksonville Bank 1/2 Marathon on Sunday. He leaves behind his wife Maritza and 5 children ages 8 to 20. Two are in college. The family has set up a fund to help provide for the children's college. If you would like to contribute the fund is:
Ray's Children College Fund
c/o Cresent Bank
PO Box 688
Jasper, GA 30143
My prayers go out to the Ray family during this difficult time.