embraced by two friends after she finished a half marathon Sunday. About 11 miles into the race, Styrlund and others gave CPR to a fellow runner. To the left is MacKenzie Styrlund, Madison’s sister, who also was there when the runner collapsed. (Provided by Soni Styrlund)
With her sister at her side, Madison Styrlund was in the home stretch of the City of Lakes Half Marathon on Sunday morning in Minneapolis when she noticed a fellow runner struggling. She asked whether he was OK, and he shrugged it off, apparently determined to run through it.
Moments later, Styrlund saw him stumble and collapse to the pavement, striking his head. Styrlund, a health care provider, and other medical professionals in the race rushed to his aid before he was taken to the hospital, where he later died. Blake Joseph Groulx was 27.
Groulx, was stricken while competing in the annual race around Lake Harriet and Bde Maka Ska, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Groulx fell along W. Bde Maka Ska Parkway just south of W. Lake Street, according to Park Board police records. Race participants alerted a police officer at a road closure and said they saw Groulx lose his footing “and hit his head on the curb,” a park police report read.
An ambulance took Groulx to Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, said the examiner’s office, which has yet to disclose a cause of death.
The 13.1-mile race, which began more than 60 years ago, is sponsored by the nonprofit Run Minnesota.
“On a day meant to be a celebration, a family lost a loved one,” said Sarah Ahlers McInerney, Run Minnesota’s executive director. “Our hearts go out to the runner’s family and all those who were close to them.”
McInerney added that her organization wants “to express our heartfelt gratitude to the participants on the course who came to the aid of a fellow runner, the first responders, and the medical professionals who provided medical care. We also send our care to the running community as we grieve this loss together.”
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