Edward N. Thompson, a Penn State director of development who died Sunday while running the Tussey Mountainback Relay in Rothrock State Forest, was in good running shape but had a history of heart trouble, according to his brother.

Thompson, 58, had bypass surgery 13 years ago, but the lifelong athlete had continued to run three to four times a week for at least the past five years, said Sam Thompson, a Penn State law professor.

“He had prepared for this, and he was good about going to his cardiologist, who in September told him he was doing fine,” Thompson said. “I think he just got out there and put too much pressure on himself.”

Friend and fellow runner Tom Cali witnessed Thompson collapse around noon during the eighth leg of the race, a 2.8-mile section along Krise Valley Road. He and his teammates ran to assist Thompson. Other runners also stopped to help Thompson, including Kristie Kauffman, a physician at Mount Nittany Medical Center who administered CPR for eight minutes. An ambulance was directed to the remote area, but Thompson passed away before reaching the hospital.

“The easiest way to describe Ed was that he was just a great guy,” Cali said. “He was one of those people who always has a good thing to say. He smiled all the time and was always ready with a kind word or just to chat with you.”

Thompson is survived by his wife, Patricia Jackson- Thompson.

The Nittany Valley Running Club’s noon run Monday turned into an impromptu memorial for Thompson, with around 30 runners attending. In the future, there are plans to host another running-related memorial, Cali said.

Ed Thompson graduated from Steelton High School, then attended Harrisburg Area Community College for a time, until, holding a low draft number during the waning years of the Vietnam War, he chose to enlist in the Air Force.

Following his service, he received a bachelor’s degree from Drexel University. He worked for a time at IBM, then earned a master’s degree at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. In 1999, he went to work for Penn State, serving most recently as director of development for educational equity.

Thompson was a leader in Penn State’s Forum on Black Affairs and was an active member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in State College. He also kept ties with the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Steelton, where his funeral will take place Saturday.

“You don’t find many people who can walk on both sides of American society, who can be very active in a black organization or a white organization,” Sam Thompson said. “It’s a tribute to who he was.”

Sam Thompson said, that although his brother’s death is a tragedy, it is some solace that he died doing an activity he loved.

“We loved to go run, though there’s a difference between loving to go running and being great runners,” Thompson said. “He wasn’t great, but he loved to do it.”

Cliff White can be reached at 235-3928.