Susan Karnatz of Raleigh, North Carolina, was out for her daily run on the Neuse River Trail greenway on October 13, aiming to do 7 miles.
According to friends, she was 5.1 miles into her run when she was shot and killed by a 15-year-old gunman on a rampage through Raleigh. The shooter killed five people and wounded two others.
Karnatz, 49, was an accomplished runner who finished the Boston Marathon four times, in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. In April, she ran her fastest time of those four races: 3:43:13, or 8:31 per mile pace.
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She also ran six ultramarathons, twice completing 50 miles, according to results in UltraSignup.
Karnatz and her husband, Tom, also a marathoner and frequent Boston finisher, met at a North Carolina Roadrunners Club event in 2004, according to Brad Broyles, past president of the club. “As I understand it, they were smitten from the start,” he wrote to Runner’s World in an email.
Broyles said Karnatz would be remembered with a moment of silence before the club’s trail 10-miler on Saturday morning. The club is asking participants to donate to two charities meaningful to the family: Second Chance Pet Adoptions, where Karnatz adopted her family’s beloved rescue dog, Lucy, and Imagination Library, Dolly Parton’s book gifting program.
Patrick Fahey, an attorney from Bellingham, Washington, met Karnatz online through Run the Year in 2016, a challenge founded by former elite runner Adam Goucher that encourages runners to run the same number of miles as the year.
While Karnatz and Fahey were trying to log the 2016 miles (almost 39 miles per week), they struck up a friendship that continued for years. They met in person for the first time in 2020, at a 50K race in Maryland, and then they made plans to meet up each year in Boston.
In April, Fahey, Karnatz and Tom Karnatz went for a shakeout run together on the Sunday before Boston, and took a picture together near the finish line.
“One reason I liked being around them is they’re super accomplished,” Fahey said in a phone call with Runner’s World. “They have really full lives. They’re not the type of runners who all they talk about is running. It’s really remarkable.”
Fahey said he and others in their online running community were feeling helpless and in shock. He encouraged runners to run in his friend’s honor and post their miles with the hashtag #RunForSue. Many runners posted on various social media platforms that they did 1.9 miles to finish Karnatz’s run.
According to her obituary, Karnatz sometimes stopped during her runs to send her family pictures of wildlife she saw. “She asked others to have compassion for all animals—even an occasional snake—and reassured us about its harmlessness,” the obituary reads.
Karnatz was passionate about social justice and learning. She was a school psychologist early in her career, but she paused that work to homeschool the couple’s three sons, ages 14, 13, and 10.
“She meticulously researched curriculum and enrichment activities, planning each school year carefully so that she could give her boys the best education she could. Spending this time with her boys brought her joy, purpose, and fulfillment,” the obituary reads.
Fahey said Karnatz was so focused on her family, she forgot to register for the 2023 Boston Marathon, even though she had requalified at the 2022 race. On September 16, when she realized she had missed the registration deadline, she posted on Facebook with the facepalm emoji.
Her husband responded in the comments, “You don’t forget the critical stuff! The boys and I are very loved and have a great life and home thanks to you.”
Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
