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A fundraiser for the family of Mateo Cruz, the 23-year-old Eugene man who died April 27 shortly after crossing the half-marathon finish line at Hayward Field, has raised nearly $18,000 to help offset costs associated with his death.
“Teo,” as he was known to those closest to him, finished the 13.1-mile race at this year’s Eugene Marathon in two hours and 46 seconds, among the top third of about 4,500 runners in the race.
“He did the damn thing; he took that finish line,” Cruz’s cousin, Maresa Gutierrez, posted on Facebook the day after he died.
On-field medical staff surrounded Cruz after he collapsed a few feet beyond the finish line shortly after 9 a.m., and administered chest compressions before Eugene Springfield Fire personnel arrived to continue care and transport him to a local hospital.
Cruz was from Citrus Heights, California, just northeast of Sacramento, according to his Facebook page. He had worked at Wildlife Safari in Winston and The Bier Stein and Fred Meyer in Eugene.
“Teo had this amazing ability to make anyone he met feel like family,” his family posted on GoFundMe. “An immediate best friend. His heart stretched so far and wide and the impact that he had and still continues to have amazes us in the most beautiful ways. He brought people together. His hugs were legendary. His laugh was extremely contagious.”
His family plans to spread Cruz’s ashes in the redwoods of the Northern California coast, “where he grew and learned, where we roasted marshmallows and stood in awe of the world,” and in San Francisco, “the city he adored,” according to the GoFundMePage, organized by Louisa Rodriguez, of Eugene.
“There are so many places that he loved in this world. … We will be taking him to those places and mixing him with the earth,” his family wrote. “We will dance on the beach for him, with him.”
They also plan to include some of his remains near the grave of the family dog, “who was his greatest companion and best friend.”
Cruz’s family has not commented on what might have contributed to his sudden death.
Such incidents, if very rare, are not unprecedented.
In an eerie coincidence, something similar happened at the Corvallis Half Marathon, April 5.
Camryn Morris, a 19-year-old Oregon State University sophomore, died of cardiac arrest moments after crossing the finish, according to The Oregonian, collapsing into the arms of friends.
Morris was rushed to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis and then Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, according to her father, Jeff Morris.
Like Cruz, she had no known history of heart problems.
“We asked, ‘How could this happen? What happened?” Jeff Morris told the newspaper. “They couldn’t really give us any information.”
A GoFundMe effort raised almost $7,000 for the Morris family to build a memorial bench in her honor at OSU.
An American College of Cardiology study published March 30 found there were 176 cases of sudden cardiac arrests and 59 deaths among some 29 million race finishers in the nation between 2010 and 2023, with the majority (127) occurring in men and the most common cause (52%) being coronary artery disease.
The study also identified 641 athletes between 11 and 29 who experienced sudden cardiac arrest during athletic practice or competition, with 75 percent occurring during exertion.
The likelihood of survival varied by race, with 57% of Black and 54% of nonwhite athletes (Cruz was Latino) dying after suffering sudden cardiac arrest during exertion, compared to 32% of white athletes.
The study also says the overall survival rate for athletes who experience sudden cardiac arrest during competition has improved, thanks to improved emergency preparedness and CPR training.
That’s little solace for the family of Mateo Cruz.
“In death, some people are so special,” his father, Chris Cruz, of Sacramento, posted on Facebook, May 1. “They have the power to bring people joy and inspiration in their life. Bringing love and laughter through the most difficult experience imaginable. Teo is one of those people. He created life that gave us love even as we lost him physically.
“And I can’t express in human words how in awe I am of him. He is in all of us. Forever.”
