Ryan Shay (May 4, 1979 – November 3, 2007) was an American professional

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

who won several USA championships titles. He was born in Ypsilanti,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

, and attended the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main c ...

. He was married to Alicia Craig, also an American distance runner.

Running career

High school

Ryan Shay attended Central Lake High School in

Central Lake, Michigan Central Lake is a village in Antrim County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 952 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Central Lake Township. Central Lake is situated on a lake which is in the center of a chain of la ...

, home of the Trojans, from 1993 to 1997. He won every cross country meet he competed following the third meet of his freshman year (1993), including four consecutive Class-D MHSAA Lower Peninsula (LP) state cross country meets from 1993 to 1996. He was a three-time consecutive Class D MHSAA LP state champion in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter runs from his sophomore through senior track seasons (1995 through 1997), and also won the Class-D MHSAA LP state title in the 800-meter run as a sophomore. He was also his class valedictorian.

Collegiate

Shay continued running as a student-athlete at the University of Notre Dame in the fall of 1997, majoring in economics and competing in both cross country and track. He was a 9-time All-American while competing at Notre Dame. Shay was the first Notre Dame runner to win an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

individual title, winning the 10,000-meter run at the 2001 NCAA outdoor meet in a time of 29:05.44. Shay graduated as the school record holder in both the indoor and outdoor 5,000-meter runs, as well as the 10,000-meter run. He graduated in the top of his class.

Post-collegiate/professional

Following college, Shay ran professionally, winning races at various distances, including

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

, half-marathon, 20 km and 15 km. Shay also competed during the

2005 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 14th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships were held in Edmonton, Canada on 1 October 2005. The competition was replaced by the World Road Running Championships in 2006 and 2007, but revived as IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2008. ...

, finishing 15th in the men's individual race. Shay finished in 23rd place in the 2004 Men's Olympic Marathon Trials.

USA Running Circuit

Shay was a five-time road national champion in the 15 km, 20 km, marathon and twice in the half marathon. In 2003 after winning both the USA Half Marathon Championships and the USA Marathon Championships as well as placing third in the USA 25 km Championships and the USA 5 km Championships Shay was named the 2003 USA Running Circuit Champion. Shay repeated as the USA Running Circuit Champion in 2004 after winning both the USA Half Marathon Championships and the USA 20 km Championships as well as finishing second in the USA 25 km Championships and USA 5 km Championships and placing third at the USA 10 Mile Championships. In 2005 Shay came in second place in the USA Running Circuit Championships standings, third in 2006 and 10th in 2007.

Death

Memorial plate central park ryan shay-1649247657

On November 3, 2007, during the US Olympic marathon trials in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Shay collapsed approximately into the race at 8:06 a.m. He was taken to

Lenox Hill Hospital Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH) is a nationally ranked 450-bed non-profit, tertiary, research and academic medical center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, servicing the tri-state area. LHH is one of the region's many unive ...

, where he was pronounced dead at 8:46 a.m. Doctors at the hospital who examined him reported that he died of heart failure due to cardiac arrhythmia, due to a pre–existing enlarged heart condition. Autopsy results were initially inconclusive, leading to speculation over other possibilities for his death. On March 18, 2008, Ellen Borakove, the Director of Public Affairs of the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Chief Medical Examiner's Office released the following statement to Joe Shay, Ryan's father, regarding his final autopsy results: "Cardiac arrhythmia due to cardiac hypertrophy with patchy fibrosis of undetermined etiology. Natural causes."Ryan Shay Autopsy Results

Achievements

*2005 USATF 15 km Champion *2004 USATF 20 km Champion *2004 USATF Half-Marathon Champion *2003 USATF Half-Marathon Champion *2003 USATF Marathon Champion *2001 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Champion (10000-meter run) *2001 Big East Conference Outdoor Track & Field Champion (10000-meter run) *2001 Big East Conference Indoor Track & Field Champion (5000-meter run) *2000 Big East Conference Outdoor Track & Field Champion (5000-meter & 10000-meter runs) *1999 Big East Conference Cross Country Champion *1999 Big East Conference Indoor Track & Field Champion (3000-meter run)

Competition record

International competitions

USA National Championships

Road

Track and field

Cross country

NCAA championships

Track and field

Cross country

References

External links

*
Notre Dame Athletic Website
*

* ttps://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/sports/othersports/08runner.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=61b5157e07c5cfa8&ex=1352178000&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Small Town Mourns a Running Marvel (New York Times)br>Still No Answer on What Caused Runner's Death (New York Times)USATF comment on the death of Ryan ShayAssociated Press- Star Runner Dies During Marathon Trials
* ttp://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-239-407--12952-0,00.html Pure Heart: Amby Burfoot writes of Shay in the February 2008 issue of Runner's World {{DEFAULTSORT:Shay, Ryan 1979 births 2007 deaths Sportspeople from Ypsilanti, Michigan Track and field athletes from Michigan American male long-distance runners Sports deaths in New York (state) Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's track and field athletes Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's cross country runners