For the first time, Scotty Gill finished a race ahead of his wife, Rose.
Rose Gill made sure of it, stopping short of the finish line of the Thanksgiving Day 10K Gobble Jog in Cobb County to slowly remove her jacket, said her friend, Christian Anderson, who was in a jogging club with the couple. When Rose Gill looked up, she saw her 53-year-old husband on the ground.
"I'm sure he had a big smile on his face knowing he had finally beat Rose," said Anderson, a Dallas fitness instructor.
Doctors told his wife that Gill was killed by a massive heart attack not caused by the physical exertion.
"He could have been driving, or talking to someone on the phone, and it would've happened," Anderson said.
Gill, of Paulding County, was rushed from the Marietta Square, where he collapsed, to nearby WellStar Kennestone Hospital and was pronounced dead upon arrival.
"The doctors told us he was probably dead before he hit the ground," Anderson said.
Gill's death came as a shock, she said, as he wasn't known to have any heart problems. The purchaser for Dixie Construction, known for his easygoing manner, was physically active, earning a green belt in judo.
Every Sunday Gill and his wife would meet Anderson and other joggers on the Silver Comet Trail, where the group was training for a half-marathon in April.
Organizers of the Gobble Jog, which benefits MUST Ministries, announced they will retire Gill's number.
Anderson said Gil's daughter just married a few weeks ago. His stepdaughter, meanwhile, is trying to arrange travel from Brazil to be with her mother. The family has set up a memorial fund in lieu of flowers at Bank of America, Anderson said.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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