Sudden death stuns family: ‘He was so fit’
Loved ones left waiting for answers after young dad of three collapses after race
Aweekend morning run ended in devastation for a family after a young husband and father died at the finish line. Chris Dawson, 39, took part in the 5km Lower Hutt parkrun regularly, but his quest to keep fit came to an end on Saturday after he suffered a cardiac event.
Wife Belinda Dawson and their two children were waiting at the finish line when Chris collapsed in front of them.
“We saw him coming along and he sprinted to beat his personal best, then he crossed the finish line and collapsed,” Belinda Dawson said.
“It was very sudden. There were parkrun people there who were with him straight away and gave CPR and called the ambulance . . . but it was pretty clear he wasn’t coming back.”
Dawson said her husband’s death was “completely unexpected” and very hard to witness.
“He was really fit and healthy. In fact he had seen a doctor a month or two before because he was talking about weight-loss options. The doctor checked all his vitals and said they were all incredibly healthy,” she said.
“He has had a post-mortem and it is inconclusive at this point, so they are doing further testing, but at this stage they can’t say what caused it.”
The couple met 15 years ago, and have been married for 11 years.
Chris Dawson has a 19-year-old daughter, Charla, and two children with Belinda — Amelia, 13, and 10-year-old Ben.
“He loved his kids and was always doing stuff with them like teaching them how to solder electronics, fly drones, take them mountain biking and camping,” Belinda said.
While Chris Dawson described himself as a “socially awkward nerd” on his website, Belinda said her husband was a generous, enthusiastic and kind person.
“He was informally known as ‘the crazy ideas guy’. I think if he’d had the means he would have been happy to be a mad inventor in his garage,” she said.
Chris was brought up in Havelock North by an adoptive family, and moved to Wellington in his late teens. He also had strong ties with his birth parents and their families.
He had four younger half-siblings; Kate, Renee, Nick and Tara.
He had been working at Trade Me for the past six years, both in software development and relationship management.
“He was very much a self-taught kind of guy. He was too smart for school. He had no formal qualifications but taught himself everything he knew,” Belinda said.
“He was a crazy person who would read books on particle physics just for fun. He would throw himself headlong into things, absorb them, and once he knew everything there was to know he would move on and find something else to learn.”
Trade Me CEO Jon Macdonald said it had been a really difficult few days.
“Our hearts go out to Chris’ family and friends. We’re in close contact with his family and have been doing our little bit to help out in what are incredibly tough times,” he said.
● A service to celebrate Chris’ life will be held at Heretaunga Christian Centre in Upper Hutt on Friday, March 15, at 1pm, followed by interment at Akatarawa Cemetery.