Beloved Alexandria teacher, marathon runner dies at 33

A middle school teacher in Rapides Parish is being remembered as someone who impacted kids and had a passion for distance running.

Erin Smith taught eighth-grade science and coached cross country at Scott M. Brame Middle School in Alexandria four years. The 33-year-old died Tuesday of apparent heart complications after collapsing during a run.

"One of the things that I was very impressed with always was the level of expectation that she had for her students," Brame Principal Mollie Fontenot said. "She was very goal-oriented as far as making them set goals and helping to support them to reach them, whether that was in the classroom or as a cross country coach."

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Eric and Susan Smith said their daughter was working toward a personal goal of running a marathon in all 50 states before her 50th birthday. She already had completed at least 50 marathons in more than 30 states and had one scheduled in Virginia later this month.

"At the back of her classroom at Brame, there are a thousand sticky notes … it looks like to us she made every student at the beginning of the semester come up with a life goal and a school goal," Eric Smith said. "It was inspiring to see what some of their life goals are."

Eric Smith said he plans to run a marathon in the states Erin didn't make it to in her memory. He said the family also will look for ways to honor Erin's legacy by paying it forward. 

"She had a megawatt smile and was always positive and funny and liked to dress up in wacky clothes," Smith said. "One of the reasons she loved Brame was they let her wear flip flops year-round."

Brame gave students permission to wear flip flops to school in their teacher's honor Wednesday, which was an out-of-uniform day to raise money for expenses the Smith family will face. With the help of donations from community members and other schools, Fontenot said Brame raised about $3,000.

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The school also set aside a time for the student body to meet in the gym and talk about what Smith meant to them.

"Yesterday was a big part of the healing process," Fontenot said. " … Students were the ones who did all the speaking, and they did a wonderful job. They demonstrated the impact that she had on their lives."

Not all students who spoke knew Smith as their teacher or coach.

"They knew her from the hallway and how encouraging she was to them just in passing," Fontenot said.

The Smiths went to listen to what students had to say. They're still reading all of the sympathy cards written by students, which talk about Erin's outdoor science experiments and how much they learned from her classes. 

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"All of them talked about how she inspired them to do the best they could in school or in running cross country," Smith said.

Fontenot said Erin grew Brame's cross country team from about 10 students to 50. 

"You didn't have to try out to run cross country," Fontenot said. "She would allow anyone who was willing to put in the work to join the team."

Erin grew up in South Carolina where her parents still live. She ended up putting degrees in anthropology and geology from the College of Charleston and the University of Georgia to use in the classroom.

"To know Erin, she could have done anything," Smith said. "We saw that. She was an excellent student. We weren't going to be too surprised wherever she ended up."

Erin started her career in education in Clinton, Louisiana, after joining Teach for America, a nonprofit that recruits educators to teach in schools in low-income areas. She worked on her master's degree in Georgia between her teaching jobs in Clinton and Alexandria. 

Smith said Pam and Steve Ayres, Erin's neighbors in the Garden District, adopted her as their own when she moved to the area. Erin was close to her Brame colleagues as well. They recently voted her Teacher of the Year. 

"We can very much see why she didn't want to leave this area," Smith said. "They were all like family to her."

Throughout her adult life, Erin combined her love of distance running and travelling through marathons, which took her across the country. Whether through working at Mount Rainier National Park for the summer or travelling across Europe, Smith said his daughter's life was filled with "all kinds of adventures."

"She lived three lifetimes," he said. 

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