Chef Joey Fecci died at the age of 26 after collapsing while running a marathon

Family and friends mourn the loss of Joey Fecci.

The Nashville-based chef died while running a marathon on April 27, event organizers confirmed on social media. He was 26.

Organizers say he was found unconscious during the St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series. He received medical attention at the scene before being transported to a nearby hospital, where he died, according to the event’s Facebook page.

Joey’s older brother Nick Fecci said they last saw him alive at mile 18, where they captured video of him smiling and giving high-fives.

“We were waiting for him to come down the stretch when we got the call that would destroy our lives forever,” Nick said in a statement, according to Nashville’s NBC affiliate WSMV. “We will never understand how something like this could happen. We will never understand why the brightest light of our entire lives was taken from us in such a horrific and inexplicable way.”