We received the sad news that US American marathon hopeful Gabe Proctor took his own life, losing his battle with depression.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Obituary for Gabe from his family here:
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2017/05/gabe-proctor-rest-peace/
This is unspeakably sad. My sympathies to those who survive him.
The "black dog" (Churchill's phrase) is a terrible disease.
I knew Gabe Vaguely from running against (far, far behind) him in College. We all knew Gabe as a hard-working gracious competitor, a real class act. I had no idea he was struggling with this. It's always great to see somebody familiar making a go of things and none of us were surprised to Gabe excelling. Thoughts out to his family friends and teammates.
Lost a good one.
Really sad about this. Hadn't any idea he was going through all this, he was a great person and always worked very hard at everything he was doing.
RIP
Gabe and I were almost the exact same age, and although we competed in different regions, I followed his progress. After doing a quick search, I had no idea he ran 61:40 (!!!) for the half marathon. Major respect to him for what he accomplished as an athlete through hard work, and even more respect to him for the person he was.
I cannot imagine what his family is going through now. A person the same age as he and I took his own life recently in our town, and it has been a devastating blow to that family. It sounds like he has a wonderful, loving family and they will be in my thoughts and prayers.
LetsRun.com wrote:
We received the sad news that US American marathon hopeful Gabe Proctor took his own life, losing his battle with depression.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Obituary for Gabe from his family here:
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2017/05/gabe-proctor-rest-peace/
Met the guy once. I was running in mammoth lakes with my old club team, and a couple of the elites that train up there showed us a run they do. He was one of them. You never would've known how great of a runner he was either, he didn't talk about himself at all. We thought he was just a normal dude, until I looked him up back at our room and found out he had a 61:40 half. Super nice dude.
Rest In Peace, prayers for him and his family.
As the parents of a Western State Colorado University Track teammate of Gabes, we watched him achieve many of his accomplishments as a runner and student. Will never forget jumping up and down in celebration of Gabe and 6 of his teammates crossing the finish line in Spokane to win the 2011 National XC Championship. When we got a chance to congratulate him, he was very humble and seem almost embarrassed to be acknowledged. Wish we could say we knew him but we did know he was very much respected and loved by everyone who did. RIP
When I joined MTC in the fall Gabe was my housemate and was incredibly generous and kind towards me. I hate to admit this but I was struggling with being able to afford to buy food and he made me a deal where if I cooked for him he would pay for groceries.. and I know he was only doing this to help me out because my cooking isn't that great. Had many miles together and I hope he found peace.
Entirely heart breaking... I worked in the Dorms and was President of SGA at Garden City Community College when Gabe attended. He was a leader on the XC team in both performance and professional/community representation. He was amongst the Coach and other leaders on the team to request a funding increase so the sport he loved and the team he cherished could flourish. He spoke with poise and made his argument by showing results, performance, campus involvement and that those attributes made our school look good, and that's why the XC team deserved the increase. In the short time I knew him he was a man passionate about what he did. The running world is a darker place today.
You will be missed old friend.
Quote from above:
""When I joined MTC in the fall Gabe was my housemate and was incredibly generous and kind towards me. I hate to admit this but I was struggling with being able to afford to buy food and he made me a deal where if I cooked for him he would pay for groceries.. and I know he was only doing this to help me out because my cooking isn't that great. Had many miles together and I hope he found peace.""
This sums up Gabe perfectly. The first time I met him was on a very cold windy day at a cross country meet in Hays, KS, while he was still at GCCC. At the completion of the race a teammate brought him a blanket. Another runner on a different team from him crossed the finish line shivering pretty severely. He immediately pulled off his winter hat, put it on his competitor, and wrapped him in the blanket. Pure class.
I never took the opportunity to tell you how much of a role model and an inspiration you were to. I guess now I will never be able to face to face. But you really were. I could hardly believe it when I heard one of my former teammates won the NCAA D2 title in the 5k and 10k. The next thing I knew you were sponsored by Asics and debuting your first marathon as a professional athlete in LA and what a debut it was. The 1st American to cross the line and the 6th overall. I started seeing article after article about people expecting you to make the 2020 Olympic team and how you qualified for the 2016 trials. I knew if anyone was going to do it, it would be you. I never once hoped, but instead, waited for the day I would be watching the Olympics and be able to point you out and say "hey, I lived with that guy!" Because I knew you were going to do it. Off the course you were always knew exactly what you were doing. You never followed in anyone's footsteps and blazed your own trail. You always had a level head and could keep your cool in heated situations. I may not have told you, but I always admired you Gabe. You were an inspiration to us all and taken far to soon. RIP Gabe.
Absolutely horrible. :(
Learning of this through Letsrun is beyond perplexing. But seeing some of the incredible comments above, I feel inclined to share. I can picture him now, dropping me halfway into a 22 miler. One of the most beautiful strides and souls I've ever had the privilege to run and live with, Gabe showed that running is certainly not an individual sport and was the epitome of not just a teammate but a great friend. His talent and motivation was enormous but his love for others is infinite. God bless you Gabe.
Thank you to everyone else for sharing as well.
Thanks for sharing, Chris. Hope you're well.
I didn't know Gabe at all, but reading others' posts on here makes him sound like a wonderful man. Sorry to hear the world lost such a beautiful soul. Condolences to his family and friends. May we all run in his honor today.
Found this via twitter.
The Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800- 273-8255) offers free and confidential support for people in distress.
I didn't know Gabe. I never even talked to him. But I know people who knew him and it's amazing that everyone has only had good things to say of him, even before he ever passed I'd never heard a bad thing about him.
Depression is a tough thing to battle alone. Please, anyone ever suffering, ask for help. Good people suffer from this too, and we don't want to lose good people to something like this.
RIP Gabe