LA Marathon runner Trisha Paddock remembered as wife, mother of 3, philanthropist
LOS ANGELES - The LA Marathon runner who died Sunday is being remembered as a wife, mother, and someone dedicated to doing good.
Trisha Paddock, 46, was all smiles at the starting line. She was running with the nonprofit Asian American Drug Abuse Program.
Trisha Paddock. (FOX 11)
The charity ran a half-marathon and all was well, until Trisha collapsed at the finish.
"If you ask a hundred people what kind of person Trisha was, I'm going to say 100/100 would say Trisha was kind," said Trisha's husband Ryan Paddock.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: LA Marathon: Woman who collapsed at finish line dies at hospital
Ryan said he'd met the woman who would become his wife when she was on a mission in South Africa.
She was a beauty pageant winner, but found missionary and charity work more gratifying than pageants.
Trisha Paddock. (FOX 11)
That started her on a lifelong path of giving back.
"Actually when I was in the hospital on Sunday, she's lying there, all beat up, obviously not looking her best, I realized at that point physically she wasn't as beautiful as she was when her spirit was in it. It was her inside that made her so beautiful," Ryan emotionally said.
The Paddocks have three children.
Trisha was active with their schools, even helping to found a charter school in Utah.
The COVID-19 pandemic and BLM marches of 2020 shifted her and where she put her energies.
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The couple sometimes clashed about her causes, but Ryan said the following when asked to sum up his wife: "We had a perfect marriage… where she was perfect… she was a better wife than I could ever be a father… be a husband."
As of Wednesday evening, officials did not specify what prompted Trisha to collapse in the first place. On Sunday, the low for race day temperatures were just under 55 degrees Fahrenheit with highs just over 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
A GoFundMe page has been launched to help the grieving family.
The Los Angeles Marathon issued the following statement on social media:
"We are deeply saddened to learn Trisha Paddock, a Charity Challenge Half Marathon participant, tragically passed away in the hospital following Sunday’s race. This is a devastating loss, and our deepest sympathies go out to her family and loved ones. We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to all the first responders, paramedics, and medical personnel who were immediately on the scene. We are in touch with Trisha’s family and are supporting them through this very difficult time. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Trisha was raising funds for The Asian American Drug Abuse Program, a charity whose mission is to Change Lives and Save Families. A Go Fund Me has been set up to support the family with medical bills and other critical expenses."
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