Eugene man who died after half marathon identified

Mateo Cruz, a 23-year-old Eugene resident, died shortly after finishing the Eugene Half Marathon on April 27. 

Cruz crossed the finish line at Hayward Field in 2 hours and 46 seconds, shortly after 9 a.m. He appears in race photos wearing a black Nike shirt and black Nike shorts, with a phone on his left arm and headphones. He finished on the inside lane of the track and can be seen afterward in the photos holding onto a railing that holds up race signage.

At the 2-hour mark of the half-marathon, as Cruz was finishing, runners were streaming across the finish line. According to people who saw what happened and a photographer working for Lookout Eugene-Springfield, Cruz collapsed several feet beyond the finish line. Several runners yelled for help. 

Medical staff surrounded Cruz and administered chest compressions. He was still on the track at 9:08 a.m. before medical personnel removed him on a stretcher for transport to a local hospital. 

Cruz also ran the half marathon in 2024. 

In a statement, the Eugene Marathon wrote: “Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Mateo Cruz. This loss hurts us to the core. The entire running community who ran alongside Mateo yesterday mourns with his family.”

Cruz’s death is the second tragedy to hit the Eugene running community in less than a week. On April 23, Eugene woman Sharon Schuman, 79, was running on the Amazon Trail when a vehicle jumped the curb, crossed over the grass between the road and the trail, and struck Schuman, killing her. Schuman had participated in Eugene Marathon events several times.