KGW reports that Treyton Lara, a 24-year-old youth pastor, died after collapsing from a heart attack during the Portland Marathon on Sunday. Audrey Shin-Lara said he had trained for the race for several months and was later taken to the hospital.
Audrey Shin-Lara saw Trey at miles 18 and 19
Shin-Lara said she saw him around miles 18 and 19 before he went on to collapse around mile 20. “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,” she said.
She said doctors later told her he went into cardiac arrest. She added that doctors did all they could to save him, but it was too late.
Camp Genesis and Treyton Lara
Lara was a youth pastor and had most recently helped open a youth camp called Camp Genesis over the summer. Shin-Lara said he enjoyed running as a way to relax and release. “I think he’s just always just enjoyed running as just a way to like relax and release,” she said.
The Portland Marathon is an annual event that drew thousands to the Rose City, and Lara’s death turned a routine race day into a hospital emergency for his family. He had been working with other youth pastors and leaders and hoped to make a change in the community around him.
Audrey Shin-Lara remembers Treyton Lara
After his death, Shin-Lara said, “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 also said, “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.”
The unanswered piece is what underlying medical condition or trigger led to the heart attack and cardiac arrest. For Lara’s family, the only immediate next step is the loss itself: a runner who was smiling at miles 18 and 19 did not make it past mile 20.
