FARMINGTON HILLS (WWJ) A Farmington Hills woman died while participating in an excruciating, 100+ mile run in the mountains of southwest Colorado.
Silverton Medical Rescue (SMR)—a nonprofit EMS and search and rescue volunteer group in Colorado—said she died by a remote lake on the morning of Friday, July 11.
According to a statement by SMR; their team and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office received a call about an incident that occurred near Gold Lake on Little Giant Trail around 9:00 a.m.
It happened during the Hardrock 100, an 102.5 mile marathon in the San Juan Mountains which forces its participants to traverse a total elevation change of over 66,000 feet (33,000+ ft. climb and 33,000+ ft. descent). It starts and ends in Silverton, and crosses through Ouray and Telluride.
Authorities said the woman's race team members attempted to perform CPR. First responders climbed the mountainous terrain to reach her—including a quarter-mile of the “steep, rugged” Little Giant Trail—which is part of the Hardrock 100 course.
First responders with SMR made multiple attempts to resuscitate her. They pronounced her dead at 10:27 a.m., about 90 minutes after the initial call.
The San Juan County Coroner identified her as Elaine Stypula, 60, of Farmington Hills. According to the Detroit Free Press, she ran a family law practice in Novi.
No further details were given about the incident. In a statement, the coroner described her cause of death as an “unknown medical reason.”
“We are indebted to Silverton Medical Rescue for their professional response to this tragedy at the Hardrock 100 Mile Endurance Run today,” The Hardrock 100 said on their website. “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.”
The Hardrock 100 released the following statement:
“We are deeply saddened to share that a beloved member of our Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run family has passed away during this year’s event. Our hearts are with their family, friends, and fellow runners as we grieve this tremendous loss. We are committed to caring for runners, crews, volunteers, and all members of our community through the event’s duration and beyond.”