I stood atop the Fred Lebow Statue at the finish of the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials in Central Park, my left arm slung around Fred’s bronze shoulders.

I gazed off into the distance as Fred gazed down at his watch as the last of the runners trickled in. I wish that if we had waited long enough, we would’ve seen Ryan Shay power up that last incline, too.

Just a few minutes before, hundreds of excited fans ushered the next generation of American marathoners up West Park Drive with soaring cheers. Most had no idea, including the athletes, that Shay had collapsed and died, just 5 1/2 miles into the 26.2 mile race.

We were just a few blocks away from where Shay collapsed, but didn’t find out until after we jogged to the other side of the park. A man in his 20s was on his cell phone, talking with someone who had apparently witnessed the event.

A runner named Ryan had collapsed and died was the message. I hoped it was a rumor or exaggeration, but remembered hearing an ambulance’s chirp close by (at the time I thought nothing of it — sirens are as common as bird songs in New York City).

We watched the rest of the race and cheered on the athletes, uneasy with the news that seemed too horrible to be true.

I didn’t know Shay personally, but I know he was a world-class runner for a reason. He was dedicated and passionate about his craft — a professional sport where the athletes are actually underpaid and accessible.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Shay’s friends and family.

Someday I think there should be a statue of Shay in Central Park, where he belongs, at the finish.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 at 5:32 pm and is filed under Central Park, Manhattan, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.