Kathleen Jobes, Runner's World's sales development manager, won the Oct. 6 Steamtown Marathon in 2:44:41 after first qualifying for the 2008 USA Women's Olympic Marathon Trials with a 2:46:37 at Grandma's Marathon in June. Last Saturday morning, she was an eager spectator at the Men's Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City. "I especially wanted to see the emotions they were feeling on their faces at the start," she says. "I'm so passionate about running, I was curious to see what they would look like." After the start in Rockefeller Center, she ran up to Central Park, where the field would run five loops to finish the race, never imagining that she would happen upon a fallen runner, Ryan Shay.
RW: Did you actually see Shay collapse in the road?
Kathleen Jobes: No, we were running around the corner when we came upon this group of people surrounding someone. At first I assumed it must be a spectator. But then we saw his bare legs sticking out and his running shoes, and the two chips in his shoes. He was down already, but it was obvious from the big pack of runners that had just passed that he had collapsed just seconds before. He was lying motionless in the road on his back. There were already people pounding on his chest and giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and others massaging his legs.
Did you know who it was?
Yes. I didn't know Ryan personally, but I recognized him from the photos I've seen. And I knew that he had just gotten married last summer. My first thought was, "Oh, his poor wife. She's out there somewhere, but she doesn't know that this is the beginning of a horrible ordeal for her."
How long did it take for an ambulance to arrive with EMTs?
It was fast. It seemed like just a couple of minutes. They got out the paddles and started shocking him. That was the only time he moved. I was shaking like a leaf, I was so scared. I couldn't stop shaking. My husband, Mark, was there with me, and we kept looking away, and then looking back. You didn't want to stare, but you didn't know what to do. It scared the daylights out of me.
Did you have a bad sense about the outcome?
Yes. I've seen a lot of runners collapse at races, but nothing like this. He was just so motionless, so lifeless. The scene was so surreal. They must have worked on him for almost 15 minutes before they loaded him into the ambulance. They took off for the hospital just before the leaders came around the park again. I didn't say anything to anyone, but I thought there was only a 1 percent chance that he was going to make it.
I had such an empty feeling. I couldn't believe what was happening. I kept thinking, this shouldn't be happening. I woke up the next morning and my first thought was, "Please, God, tell me that didn't happen." I thought of his wife and the pain and anguish she must be in. Then I saw some of the photos in the newspaper, especially the one of Ryan Shay lined up next to Ryan Hall. Here are two young men in great shape hoping to run the race of their lifetimes, and 35 minutes later....
It's had a major effect on my husband and me. He's also a competitive runner and he actually looks a lot like Ryan Shay. He's one of those guys who tends to let the stress build up in him, and not roll with it. Now he's thinking... now we're both thinking, "That could have been either of us. It could have been anyone." It makes you realize that so many things simply aren't worth getting stressed about. It makes you sit back and realize what's important. It makes you vow to never again take for granted that you can lace up your shoes and go out for a run.
