The family of Doug Kyle is mourning the loss of the 91-year-old pillar of Calgary’s running community who founded the Calgary Marathon and held numerous Canadian records.
Kyle died following a Sunday night crash near the intersection off 114th Avenue and 84th Street Southeast, a short distance from Ralph Klein Park.
According to police, the senior was driving a 2017 Chevrolet Spark eastbound when the car left the road at a T-intersection.
Investigators believe no other vehicles were involved in the crash. A preliminary investigation ruled out alcohol and drugs as potential factors.
The victim was transported to hospital in non-life-threatening condition but he died a short time later.
In a statement to Global News, family members identified the crash victim as Kyle, the founder of the Calgary Marathon.
“On behalf of the family of Doug Kyle we would like to thank everyone for their best wishes at this extremely difficult time. We are grateful to Doug for his many contributions to Western Canadian Track & Field. As well, Doug was a long time member of the Rotary Club and the Calgary Stampede Pre-arade Committee and was a former president of the Calgary 55+ organization. Doug founded the Calgary Marathon, and was a founding member of the Calgary Track and Field organization (CALTAF).
“Doug will be deeply missed by all of us.”
According to Run Calgary, Kyle’s storied career included 14 Canadian Open Championships victories and he held Canadian Open records in 11 different distances.