Death Casts a Pall Over Trials

Joe Shay said his son had been told he had a "pretty big" heart when he was treated for pneumonia at age 14 and that doctors said during a hospital visit two years later that it was "getting bigger." He also said Shay always had an exceptionally low resting heart rate of 25 to 30 beats per minute, which led a doctor to tell him last summer he might eventually need a pacemaker.

But, Joe Shay said, his son was a "risk taker" and "had an immense capacity to tolerate pain."

Several athletes said they called Shay "the workhorse" because he was known for extremely demanding training sessions. Sara Hall said she had seen him run to the point of collapse during treadmill tests designed to measure fitness.

His approach brought him much success. He was the NCAA 10,000 champion in 2001. He won the USA Marathon championship in 2003. One of the favorites before the 2004 Olympic trials, Shay finished 23rd after being hampered by hamstring troubles.

"Me and him and [U.S. mile specialist] Alan Webb kind of went through the ranks together, The Young Three," Ritzenhein said. Upon hearing of Shay's death, Ritzenhein said: "It just deflated me. I was in such a great mood; this was such a great accomplishment and my mood just sunk. . . . It's tragic."

The state of mourning that dominated the aftermath of the race could not completely erase the images of joy that lit up the finish as Hall, Ritzenhein and Sell secured Olympic spots, with fourth-place finisher Khalid Khannouchi, the former marathon world record holder, coming in 56 seconds after Sell.

Khannouchi's attempt to close the gap about an hour into the race -- he got to within about 10 seconds of the leading group of five -- led Hall to make the break at 17 miles that resulted in a massive separation from the group. "I looked up at the big screen and saw Khannouchi kind of catching our backs and I didn't want that to happen," Hall said. "Khannouchi's a dangerous guy."

As Hall broke away, race favorites Meb Keflezighi, who won a silver medal in the 2004 Olympic marathon, and Abdi Abdirahman, a two-time Olympian in the 10,000, fell back. Keflezighi, who said he had a stomach virus two weeks ago, said he ran out of steam but sobbed with appreciation as fans chanted his name over the last mile. He was eighth in 2:15:09. Abdirahman did not finish because of hip pain.

Sell moved into third place by passing Dan Browne, who had stopped because of a calf cramp, at the 23-mile mark. Browne faded to sixth (2:13:23). Washington's Christopher Raabe topped the local entrants, finishing 16th in 2:17:01, ahead of Oakton's Jacob Frey (22nd; 2:18:19).

While others struggled, Hall cruised. He ran his fastest miles, including splits of 4:32 and 4:34 at miles 18 and 20, near the end.

"When you run a 2:08 in your first marathon and then run a 2:09 waving to the crowd for two miles [at the finish], good grief," runner Alan Culpepper said. "It wasn't an easy course. You're going up and down the whole time. It shows he can run quite a bit faster and he certainly is a medal contender without a doubt."

A medal contender with a heavy heart.

"As great of a moment as this is," Hall said, "my heart and thoughts are with Ryan Shay."