An 18-year-old Nova Scotia woman who died while running in a weekend marathon in Toronto was an honours student who came from a family of runners, her principal says.

It is still not known what caused Emma van Nostrand to collapse as she ran along Lake Shore Boulevard, just a few kilometres shy of the finish line at Sunday’s GoodLife Fitness Toronto Marathon.

Attempts were made to revive the Cape Breton teen, who was competing in her first full marathon, but she was pronounced dead in hospital.

Van Nostrand was in Toronto with her parents, who are both marathon runners, said Joe Chisholm, the principal of Cape Breton’s Riverview High School.

Van Nostrand was a Grade 12 student at the school, where she played on its soccer and basketball teams, and was set to graduate soon.

“Emma was a free and independent spirit that was a leader among her peers and she was a great student and a great person to have around,” Chisholm told CP24 on Monday. “It’s a great loss to our school community.”

Chisholm said grief counsellors and staff were speaking to students at the school Monday.

In one of the final tweets posted to her Twitter account Friday night, van Nostrand wrote, "Made it to TO." She included a smiley face in the message and a link to a short video showing clips of the CN Tower, Rogers Centre and condo towers.

In addition to her parents, van Nostrand is survived by two sisters and a brother, Chisholm said in a telephone interview with CP24 anchor Nathan Downer.

Because Cape Breton is a small community, Chisholm expects its residents to rally around the van Nostrand family during their time of grief.

Last month, van Nostrand’s father, Steve, ran in the Boston Marathon, which was marred by explosions that killed three people and wounded dozens.

With files from CTV Toronto reporter Ashley Rowe.

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