Chase Flack could see the finish line.
He had completed nearly all of the 12.4-mile race in Des Moines, Iowa, and was about to sprint the final block when he collapsed on June 1, according to family friend Chuck Offenburger.
Paramedics tried to save Flack, 26, but he was pronounced dead a short while later. His cause of death was cardiac arrest.
“His death…shocked us all,” Offenburger wrote on Facebook. It was not immediately clear whether Flack had previous health problems.
Two weeks prior, he had climbed to Mount Everest’s base camp at 17,598 feet. Flack’s latest Facebook post featured photos of him on the trek.
His dad, Craig Flack, told Runner’s World he thought his son would have made it to the top of the mountain his next visit.
“Whatever he did, he did 110%,” his dad said. “He was a super kid who was a friend to everybody. Within a minute, you were friends, and within 10 minutes, you were family,” Craig Flack said.
A funeral for Flack was held in the Greene County Middle School gymnasium, where he used to compete in wrestling matches. More than 800 people attended the service, according to Runner’s World.
Flack continued wrestling at Iowa State University, where he graduated with a business degree. He worked as a project manager for Dean Snyder Construction.
Family and friends remembered him for his unwavering determination to try new things and push himself.
“I’ve never seen anyone that could adapt and learn that quickly. His desire to learn and to be the best that he could be not only made him fun to coach, but a fun person to be around,” his former coach Bill Frederick said on Facebook.
“It’s a shame that he won’t be able to use it to make a positive impact on the people around him in the future. But in his short life he has left his world a better place and left a good example for those that knew him, and that will remain forever.”
Power Lift, an exercise equipment store where Flack used to work, said they were “deeply saddened” by his loss.
“His inner drive and always wanting to ‘do better’ made him who he was.”
