37 Comments

I've been running for 40 years, and I went out for a run on 10.17.2023. While running, I had a widow maker heart attack and subsequently went into Cardiac Arrest. A 16 year old girl saw me collapse, called 9-1-1 and came out to start CPR until first responders arrived. The paramedics continued CPR, used a defibrilator 4 times and put me on a Lucas Machine. Spent the next 5 days in a coma and 15 days in the hospital. Had it not been for the quick actions of that 16 year old girl, docs said I wouldn't be here to tell this story. Had 5 stents placed in the LAD. I recently started running again and am committed to continuing to do so. I've completed several marathons and countless 10k's and 15k's over the years. I plan to resume racing with a 5k on the 4th of July and it will be the most important and meaningful race in my life. Thank you to the bystander, first responders and all the other medical personnel who have been there for me every step of the way.

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Wow, Bob! What a story, and what an incredible stroke of luck that the 16-year-old you mention was there when you needed her. This story seriously took my breath away — I’ll be rooting for you on the 4th! Be sure to let us know how it goes — where will it be run?

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Cincinnati, OH. I'll surely keep you posted. Thanks.

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Welcome back … may you have many more years doing what you love.

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Thanks. Great to be back! Every day is now a bonus!

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Amazing!

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Amazing! You are an inspiration! Please let is know how the 5k goes. I’ll be cheering from Kentucky.

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Thank You!

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On June 9 I ran the Fallen Heroes 5k up and down Mount Trashmore (a capped landfill now a beautiful park) in Virginia Beach. Hot, humid, hilly. I set a PR for slow. Worst time in memory for a 5k. I didn’t care. I finished and contributed to a worth cause.

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That's awesome, David!!

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I’ve always wanted a running shirt that reads: “PR … are just two letters of the alphabet!

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After being away from running since early August of 2023 due to a non-running injury I have just finished my first run of 35 minutes. It felt so good . I’ll take my time and slowly start to increase the time and distance. You forget how good it feels to be able to run.

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I know the feeling, Scott -- I once had to lay off running for an entire year b/c of an Achilles injury. Those first few steps coming back were taken *very* gingerly... it's so easy to lose that joy of movement. Glad you're back!

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I ran a 10K last weekend - my first proper 10K race, so I can't say I PR'ed per se, but my splits were WAY faster than I ever imagined I could pull off. And negative splits! I'm in the middle of marathon training so this race was just a little one-off, and I hadn't been training for speed, nor had I tapered for the race, so all signs point to being potentially even speedier the next time around. 50 year old arthritic knee me is very proud of herself!

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Nice!! Which marathon are you training for?

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The Detroit Freep in October. It'll be my 2nd marathon ever (first was Philly in 2019), so I'm excited to see if I can improve on my time (while crossing briefly into Canada at sunrise)!

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Good luck, and enjoy! I live in Michigan and have run Detroit eight times (and the international half more than fifteen times) over the years. My absolute favorite part of that race is watching the sunrise as you cross over the Ambassador Bridge into Canada. Always takes my breath away, and reminds me how lucky I am to be able to run these races.

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For my age, I'm more active than most, but too heavy and not where I want to be physically. So, working hard to change that. Started using the Vert.Run app and slowing building up my trail running (still a lot of run/walk).

Signed up for a 5K race this weekend. I'm a long way away from race ready but it was for charity so just going to use it as a training run so no pressure to kill myself out there. ha ha ha

Hoping I can find a few more 5K races this fall and want to work towards those. Next year, the 10K.

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Very nice, Jim!! I actually wasn't aware of the Vert.Run app -- will have to check that out. Where is your 5K this weekend?

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Jun 21Edited

Yeah, Vert.Run is totally new to me too. It's mainly geared to trail runners (your vertical gain is part of the training). I think most of the training plans are free but they do have personal coaching which sounded reasonable at $25/month. Will try the app for now but maybe next year I'll try the coaching. :)

My 5K is in the Botanical Gardens in Yerevan, Armenia. Not sure if it's going to be on asphalt or dirt. I guess we'll see. It's a 10:30 start so it's going to be a toasty one too!!!

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Ok wow — is that where you live? In Yerevan?

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I actually live in a small rural mountain village about an hour away from the capital of Armenia. I'm a US Peace Corps volunteer serving here for the next few years as an English teacher.

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I started running in 1977 at 28. I have rarely missed days except while undergoing chemo. I have completed 17 marathons (most after I reached 55 years) and at least 20 half and too many 10ks and 5ks to count. I just ran 4.7 miles today. This is my longest run since getting treatment at M D Anderson for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and a resulting stem cell transplant. I hope to run the Peachtree Road Race virtually this year. I have actually completed 15 consecutive Peachtree (1977-1991)

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Amazing! Keep going!

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Inspirational.🫡

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The first race I ever ran was the Peachtree 32 years ago. I was in the 8th starting group and ran a mile before I got to the “start” and the winner finished well before I made it half-way. It was the best experience of my running life and I have been hooked ever since.

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Physical therapist told me I could begin accelerating speed in my runs a little at a time. So on a three mile run, I can push the speed on mile two only, for example. Yesterday, I did that - I ran a slow first mile, then pushed mile two to a much faster speed than I've run since my hamstring injury. Felt good to push my heart rate up! Slowed down again for mile three and then decided to add a fourth mile (also at slow speed). I'm a little sore today, but within the bounds of reasonable soreness for how much I pushed the speed, so I'm still counting it as a win!

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Signed up for the Half Marathon in Athens on Nov. 3, 024. . . let's see what others do. The price of $75 is only good until June 30th!!

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I'm signing up too. See you in Athens!

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Awesome! That makes 3 of us so far.

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I’m signing up, too! I’ve not been running much since June of 2023 and I had my third baby 3 months ago so I need this gradual buildup. It would be so fun to meet up with you in person!

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I'll be there along with everyone else!

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My accomplishments recently have been waking up at 5:30 am to run and powering through high heat and humidity!

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Currently training for my first 10k in August. I've been running 5k almost every weekend since the start of December. I've improved far more than I expected, eight weeks ago I'd never run a sub-38 5k and now I've managed sub-34 three weeks in a row. Now building up to running for an hour or more, most recently managed 48 mins (6.4km) but my aim for the 10k is just to finish it regardless of time.

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Messed up the Chat somehow. I'll have to see if my daughter can correct it!

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Nursing a sore upper left thigh … so … swimming a lot.

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Perfect time of year to be in the water! :)

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