Julien Autissier, 33, died while running the Life Time Miami Marathon.
Photo by Nathaly Macomber
In early January, Julien Autissier spent days hiking volcanoes in Guatemala with his wife, pushing through high altitude and difficult terrain. The couple completed an overnight climb of Acatenango, a 13,041-foot stratovolcano, before tackling nearby Volcán de Fuego — a steep, physically demanding trek that brings hikers onto an active volcano.
“When we went hiking, I was the underdog,” his wife, 41-year-old Nathaly Macomber, tells New Times. “He was so strong and fast.”
Just weeks later, on January 25, Autissier collapsed around the 19-mile mark of the Life Time Miami Marathon in downtown Miami and was rushed to Mercy Hospital, where he later died. He was 33 and lived in Boca Raton.
Macomber says police officers told her that her husband vomited, collapsed on the course, and was transported to the hospital by paramedics. While doctors have so far described his death as a suspected “sudden cardiac arrest,” pending further examination, Macomber says she’s still searching for answers and has been unable to obtain hospital records or a police report detailing what happened.
She emphasized that her husband had no known heart or health problems. He was regularly active, trained consistently, and took care of himself. He did not take any prescription medications and rarely used even over-the-counter drugs like Tylenol.
“I never in my life would have thought this could happen to him,” she says.
Julien Autissier stands near the peak of a volcano.
Photo by Nathaly Macomber
Lt. Pete Sanchez, a spokesperson for City of Miami Fire Rescue, tells New Times that fire rescue officials “transported a male to Mercy Hospital from the race who suffered a medical emergency and was treated and transported enroute in critical condition.”
“Due to HIPAA privacy law regulations, we cannot provide any more details,” Sanchez wrote via email.
Autissier appears to be the first runner to die in the event’s 24-year history.
Life Time, the company that organizes the marathon, did not respond to New Times’ email request for comment. A spokesperson for the Miami Police Department also didn’t respond to an email request for comment. The Miami-Dade medical examiner’s office said an autopsy report is pending while the cause of death is determined.
Born in France, Autissier met Macomber in Miami, and the couple married in Amsterdam in 2019. Macomber describes him as a devoted husband and life partner, as well as a caring stepfather to her two children from a previous marriage, whom he regularly helped with homework and drove to and from school. He was also close with his extended family, including his grandmother, who is 96 and lives in France.
“Julien was such a caring human,” Macomber says. “He was always like, ‘Did you eat? Do you need anything?’ You know, going to the store, getting me things that I didn’t even ask him for.”
Macomber says her husband was “always trying to better himself” and achieve his goals. A financial analyst with Saxena White, a local securities litigation firm, he was preparing to take his second Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam.
“He was not gonna just sit there and just let life pass by,” she says. “You know we’ve really grown a lot from the time we met and married: professionally, personally, you know, with my kids. And now I feel like he lived life fast, maybe because this was gonna happen.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated as events warrant.