Saturday, March 19, 2011

RIP Sally Meyerhoff (1984-2011)

(Sally Meyerhoff, just after winning the P.F. Chang's Arizona Marathon)
On March 7th, elite runner, trail runner, and triathlete Sally Meyerhoff died in a cycling accident in Mariposa, AZ. She was a very accomplished athlete, setting the 10-mile American Record two years ago, recently winning the PF Chang's Arizona Marathon in 2:37 (qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Trials again in her 2nd marathon) just a month after winning the XTERRA Trail Run World Championships in course record time, and fitting in a Kona-qualifying 4:43 Half Ironman too. One gets the impression this Duke All-American 5k/3k runner was just finding her groove.

I had a chance to meet Sally at the XTERRA Worlds last year, and immediately loved her spunky and positive vibe. She had a thousand questions for me about Ironman Hawaii (which she was training for after qualifying in 2010), and wanted to know every place to party, eat, and have fun. She raced hard, and enjoyed every minute (be sure to watch the XTERRA video where she face plants off the trail, gets right up and wins). You can catch some of her positive attitude on her last blog entry, eerily entered the day before her death.

(Sally en  route to winning the XTERRA Trail Run World Championships)

Sally was "hit by a pickup truck after failing to yield at an intersection in Maricopa, Ariz. and died instantly". For all you cyclists out there, please be careful. We don't want to add any more names to the 700+ who die annually in cycling accidents.

Sally, I hit 10 x 1-mile repeats today in your honor, and will now toast your short but fabulous life. You will be missed!
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13 comments:

  1. Kathleen @ ForgingAhead3/20/2011 10:08:00 PM

    What a tragedy.

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  2. Freight Brokering3/21/2011 12:38:00 AM

    Good one..she face plants off the trail, gets right up and wins). You can catch some of her positive attitude..Great shared

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  3. Franz3/21/2011 01:35:00 PM

    Scott, thanks for sharing the memories of Sally. I had seen the XTERRA vid a few months back and LOVED her (re-watched her falling off the trail numerous times). It's sad to hear of those that go before their time.

    Your entry about Sally's passing reminded me of ultra-cyclist Jure Robic passing in a car/bicycle accident in Sept. of 2010.

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  4. Caroline Meyerhoff Holmberg3/21/2011 03:41:00 PM

    She not only was an elite athlete but an elite person, and also my niece. Our family is missing her tremendously. We have received wonderful support from the athletic community..what a great organization to belong to. Thanks for all your kind words on our gem, Sal.

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  5. Scott Dunlap3/21/2011 04:56:00 PM

    Caroline -

    Our condolences to you and your family for this unexpected loss. I, like most of the running community, was just thankful to have known her. Thanks so much for the kind words. Do let us know if there is anything we can do.

    SD

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  6. Pepe Fanjul3/22/2011 04:54:00 AM

    It's sad to hear of those that go before their time.

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  7. Marshall Ulrich3/22/2011 02:42:00 PM

    Scott,
    Can you contact me or leave a post on my facebook.

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  8. Lindy3/22/2011 02:56:00 PM

    Thanks for posting- I knew youd have the right thing to say in her honor. Its hard to process someone leaving when they are LIVING life so fully- actively making their dreams come true. A good reminder to go for those goals while we can!

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  9. IRS Tax Lawyers3/23/2011 02:15:00 AM

    Thanks so much for the kind words. Do let us know if there is anything we can do.

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  10. Lynn Roylance3/23/2011 04:33:00 PM

    So sad. What a tragedy!

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  11. EMR3/24/2011 02:15:00 AM

    Essential to keep fit for which exercise and running is an integral part.This is all very inspiring news about running and Marathon.

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  12. Tina3/25/2011 12:26:00 AM

    I didn't know Sally in person, but all that I've read about her and videos of her reveal that she was an extraordinary person on so many levels.
    My heart goes out to her family and friends, and all those in the running community who had the good fortune to have known Sally.

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  13. Tawnee Madlen3/28/2011 03:16:00 PM

    That is tragic, but I think she would really appreciate the loving blog post that you wrote about her.

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