But just before Heikki died — when he wasn't running and spent most of his time walking the northern Arizona terrain with his dogs — he was drinking 10 beers and some vodka every day, according to his wife. He had been drinking in each of the cases reported.

"Hey, I don't doubt that in a drunken state that he didn't get in a fight or two," Gilliland said. "Unfortunately, he didn't tell anybody who he got in a fight with, and we'll never know."

Investigators also couldn't prove Heikki and Ana were harassed.

"We don't have anything to support that very general allegation that there was some racially motivated harassment going on," Gilliland said. "I don't see any foul play."

"In memory of Heikki Ingstrom, 1958- 2005. Long may you run." — Inscription on plaque at a memorial bench at the top of Memory Grove

Heikki's mother still lives in Salt Lake City's Avenues neighborhood. She is a proud, independent woman.

Senja Ingstrom declined to be quoted for this story. She is fiercely protective of her son. Like Heikki, she is an animal lover and a champion of underdogs. Like Heikki, she is an intensely private person, but she did provide background about her family.

Eventually, Senja Ingstrom will give away the rest of her son's trophies, but she wanted the first batch to go to the local friends who sweated, trained and crossed the finish line with him.

She attended a gathering of elite runners who met recently in Salt Lake City's Memory Grove to honor Heikki near a bench that has been installed in his honor.

"On behalf of the running community, we all owe a big thank you to Heikki," Bill Johnston told the others. "He was a wonderful person and a great companion."

Jon Harper collected $100 from friends and bought the sturdy bench where the hillside blocks the eastern morning sun and branches take over shading the area as the sun rises overhead. It's close to the collecting pool for City Creek, where Heikki and his oldest friend in Salt Lake City, Dwight Anjewierden, used to meet as children and throw balls for Heikki's dog.

Harper hopes the bench will become a landmark for Salt Lake's running community. He hopes it becomes part of the culture. He can imagine runners making arrangements to gather for weekend runs and coordinating with each other: "I'll meet you at Heikki's bench."

"He is sadly missed on this planet," said Richard Barnum-Reece, editor of Utah RunnerTriathlete magazine.

"I sure miss him," longtime friend and running colleague Tim Seminoff said. "I can't believe I won't see him running out of City Creek or popping out of some canyon."