ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- A 35-year-old man who collapsed and died near St. Joseph, Minn., while taking part in Saturday's Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon was raised in Oklee, Minn., and was his class valedictorian in 1994.
Paul E. Melby lived in Byron, Minn., with his wife Shelly (Huot) and three children, according to an obituary on the website for Ranfranz & Vine Funeral Home, Rochester, Minn.
Melby was an active outdoorsman whose activities included membership in a running group in Byron, the obituary said.
Melby's parents, Robert and Phyllis Melby, who live in Oklee, had another son, Ryan, who was killed in 1994 at age 19 in a 1994 car accident near Oklee.
Paul Melby also has a sister, Rachel, in Owatonna, Minn., the obituary said.
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St. Cloud Hospital nursing supervisor Mary Loecken says Saturday that the marathon runner was pronounced dead a little less than five hours after the race had started.
Race organizer Sharon Hobbs said the man crossed the finish line of the 26.2-mile race and collapsed moments later.
"It's a terrible tragedy," Hobbs said. "The physician and medical team were right there on the spot, they did everything that could be done for him until the ambulance arrived."
Hobbs said the medical team included a physician, registered nurse and two medical assistants, and they had access to an automated external defibrillator.
About 250 runners took part in the run on a course considered flat and fast, winding through the tiny towns of Holdingford, Albany, Avon and St. Joseph just to the northwest of the city of St. Cloud.
Melby was an active outdoorsman whose activities included membership in a running group in Byron, the obituary stated.
According to the obituary, Melby attended NDSU and graduated with honors in electrical engineering in 1999.
A funeral is planned in Byron Friday at Christ the King Catholic Church. A visitation is set from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, with a 7 p.m. prayer service; and visitation will continue one hour before Friday's 11 a.m. funeral.
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Paul Melby will be buried at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Oklee.
