A 24-year-old youth pastor died after suddenly collapsing during the Portland Marathon, just minutes after smiling, running over to his wife and giving her a kiss along the course.
Treyton “Trey” Lara had spent months training for the 26.2-mile race and appeared to be doing well when his wife, Audrey Shin-Lara, saw him around miles 18 and 19 on Sunday.
“I saw him at 18, 19. He ran over and was able to smile and give me a kiss, and then he ran off, and he looked good,” Audrey recalled.
About a mile later, everything changed.
Trey collapsed near mile 20. Audrey said doctors later told her that her husband had gone into cardiac arrest.
He was rushed to a hospital, where medical teams tried to save him, but he died surrounded by loved ones.
Trey was just days away from celebrating his 25th birthday.
The sudden death stunned his family because Audrey said her husband appeared healthy and had no known underlying medical conditions. A specific medical cause behind the cardiac arrest has not been publicly announced.
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood effectively. It is different from a heart attack, although a heart attack can sometimes trigger cardiac arrest.
Audrey said Trey had long enjoyed running and viewed it as a way to unwind.
“I think he’s just always just enjoyed running as just a way to like relax and release,” she said.
Sunday’s Portland Marathon began in downtown Portland and took runners through neighborhoods across the city. The marathon started at 7:15 a.m. and covered the traditional 26.2-mile distance.
For Audrey, the moments before Trey’s collapse have made the loss even more difficult to comprehend. She had seen him only minutes earlier, smiling and showing no obvious signs that something was wrong.
“The grief is coming in waves where one moment it still doesn’t feel real where we’re like I’m just gonna wake up, and he’s gonna be over there,” she said.
Trey devoted much of his life to working with young people through his Christian faith.
As a youth pastor, he had recently been collaborating with other pastors and youth leaders in an effort to make a positive difference in their communities. Over the summer, he also helped launch a youth camp called Camp Genesis.
Audrey remembered her husband as someone whose life revolved around his faith, friends and family.
“Besides loving Jesus, he loved his friends and family. He was the best big brother, Tio to so many cousins, and some of our friends’ kids would call him Uncle Trey,” she said.
Friends and relatives described a man with interests that extended far beyond ministry.
According to a fundraiser created for his family, Trey loved movies and maintained an active Letterboxd account. He was passionate about photography, fashion, cooking and coffee, and friends remembered his ability to connect with nearly anyone he met.
He and Audrey were also devoted dog owners to a large white Golden Retriever.
A GoFundMe established to support Audrey and the family following Trey’s death quickly drew an outpouring of donations and messages from people mourning the young pastor.
For Audrey, that support has become a source of comfort as she tries to process the sudden loss of the man she expected to spend her life with.
“He’s the love of my life, always will be,” she said. “And we’ll see him again.”
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