A Father’s Race Runs Out of Time

A man whose 14-year-old daughter’s death spurred him to run long distance to raise money to fight cancer dropped dead of a heart attack just 10 feet from the finish line of his first half-marathon.

John Pierce, 51, crumpled to the pavement Saturday during the 13-mile Applefest Half-Marathon in Hollis, N.H. He was wearing a baseball cap that read: “In Memory of Ali Pierce.”

Pierce’s widow, Anna, consoled herself Monday with the thought that father and daughter were together again: “That’s what’s giving me the strength to open my eyes this morning.”

His daughter was diagnosed with liver cancer in 1994. Pierce was a casual runner but had to give it up to spend time at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center’s cancer ward.

Soon after Ali died last November, Pierce started running again. His goal was to compete in next spring’s Boston Marathon, accepting pledges for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, where their daughter died.

The Applefest run was the longest race he had entered. Under blue skies in cool temperatures, he had nearly finished when he collapsed. Pierce was pronounced dead soon afterward.