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Accomplished Distance Runner Found Dead In Yosemite Park Summit

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A champion distance runner was found dead in Yosemite National Park after going hiking and failing to return, the National Park Service said in a statement this week.

The body of Fred Zalokar, 61, of Reno, Nevada, was found and recovered July 20 near the summit of Mount Clark, the statement read.

According to the park statement, Zalokar was day-hiking on July 17, from Happy Isles to the summit of 11,522-foot Mount Clark using an off-trail path from Bunnell Point, and had planned to return to Yosemite Valley. 

MISSING PERSON: Fred Zalokar

Call 209/379-1992 if you were hiking off trail between Merced Lake Trail and Illilouette/Merced Pass Trail, north of Red Peak Pass, or were in the area of Mount Clark or Mount Starr King, on July 17 or July 18, 2021.

More: https://t.co/KZQX63nHF7 pic.twitter.com/NjtpO3ULuF

— Yosemite National Park (@YosemiteNPS) July 19, 2021

“This incident remains under investigation. No additional information is available. Our condolences to his family and friends,” the park statement read.

Zalokar was an accomplished long-distance runner, and the first ever to win his age group at all six World Marathon Majors races—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City, according to an interview with Runner’s World.

Zalokar was an experienced hiker, writing on his website that apart from running, his interests included climbing and traveling, and sharing those activities with family and friends whenever he had the chance.

He also wrote on the site that his goal was to inspire people to build confidence, set goals, and “reject the idea that they have to slow down and stop doing things they love, just because they are getting older.”

“I just want to keep going, trying to get faster, stronger and do the best every day, every mountain, every race,” Zalokar told Runner’s World in 2017.