Mourning Sally Meyerhoff

27-year-old triathlete and runner killed in cycling accident was “loving life”.

By late Saturday afternoon, the flowers along the knee-high wall leading to a small house in Tempe, Ariz., were wilting in the sun. Throughout the day, marathoners, triathletes, friends and family passed by the shriveling roses and carnations, gathering to remember the life of Sally Meyerhoff.

On March 8, Meyerhoff, 27, considered one of the top 10 marathoners in the United States, was cross-training on her road bike when she was hit by a pickup truck at a tricky rural intersection in Maricopa, Ariz., a city in the Gila River Valley just south of Phoenix. According to news reports, Meyerhoff failed to yield at a stop sign at an intersection. Reports say she died instantly.

Meyerhoff’s death is a reminder of the risks of training on roadways.

Inside the crowded Meyerhoff home, her training coach, Adam Zucco, sat on a couch looking mournful and distant. Near him were walls filled with color photographs of Meyerhoff racing as an all-American track and cross-country star at Duke, in various marathons and races, and posing with friends and athletes, smiling, arms draped over shoulders. On another wall, words on a framed poster read: Keep calm and carry on.

Read More: The New York Times