To the Community of Seward, Alaska, and the Race Directors of the 2019 Exit Glacier 10K: My husband, Kevin Calhoun, was the man that passed away during the Exit Glacier 10K on Saturday, May 18, 2019.

It is still unknown why Kevin died, but I’ll hopefully have some answers soon; he was 34 years old and there are so many questions. I want to send my heartfelt thanks to everyone that helped my husband on his way out of this world.

The women that were with him when he collapsed, the strangers who helped me to stay somewhat calm, the people who traded off compressions so they could try to give him a chance to live, the police officer who responded and distracted me by taking our info, the paramedics who worked to save his life on the way to the hospital, the woman who drove my truck and temperamental dogs to the hospital, the ambulance driver who sat with me and rubbed my back and refrained from telling me it was going to be OK, the Doctor who did everything she could to try to save my husband, the chaplain who sat and prayed and allowed me to cry and tell her random anecdotes and try to answer my questions, the nurses who asked for hugs and cried for me, the nurse who offered me her leftover burger and subsequently sent me off with some Sweet Darlings Fudge, and the Seward Parks & Rec Director who came to the hospital to check on Kevin only to find out that he died and to offer her yard for my dogs and her house in case I needed to do laundry or a place to stay.

I can never thank you enough for making the hardest day of my life a little bit easier. If I forgot to mention anyone, just please know that your actions were noticed and you will forever have my gratitude.

I don’t want Kevin to be remembered as the man that collapsed and died during a race. My beloved husband was literally running for his life. He had made goals of completing an ultra marathon, specifically the Resurrection Ultra 50, and he was killing (no pun intended) those goals.

He ran a half marathon that Grace Ridge Brewery in Homer put on Saturday, April 27 and we were both ecstatic that he beat his personal goal time. Kevin was the funniest smart aleck and most loving and thoughtful husband a person could ever hope for.

He could be a grump, but his good qualities always outshone that little imperfection. He was the sort of man who would leave flowers and snacks in my car when I was having a bad day and tease me out of a bad mood with his goofiness. He left behind me, the love of his life, our two dogs, Allie and Potato, our cat Chad, his parents, Clancy & Charlotte Calhoun, his sister Kelli Matacjich and her husband Johnny and their two children, Aubrey and Dylan and many more friends and family.

— Dani Calhoun