Man suffers heart attack during 5km Parkrun - but still finishes the course
Keen runner Glenn Davies suffered a heart attack in the middle of a race – but refused to stop until he had crossed the finish line.
The 51-year-old knew something wasn’t quite right during the 5km Parkrun event and while he slowed to a walk, he was determined to complete the course.
It was only when he was grabbed by his wife, who had also just completed the same run, that he realised something was wrong.
“I was about half-a-mile from the end when I started to feel a bit strange,” said Glenn.
“I would say I felt a dull ache, not a sharp pain.
“I slowed down to a walk but I was determined to finish.”
Wife Samantha, 47, a clinical podiatrist who works for the NHS, became worried when Glenn hadn’t finished and went back to meet him.
He was “grey” and complaining of discomfort in his chest and seemed more breathless than usual.
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Knowing her husband was due to take part in his first marathon a week later, Samantha insisted he went to hospital .
An electrocardiogram (ECG) came back clear and his blood pressure was fine, but doctors at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary in West Yorkshire insisted he stay for further tests which revealed his heart muscle had been damaged.
Glenn, from Lindley, Huddersfield, was immediately transferred to the resuscitation area and that night taken by ambulance to the coronary care unit at Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax.
He underwent surgery to insert two stents into an artery on the Monday and was back home the following night at the beginning of May.
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Samantha said: “It was just gut instinct. He could have just ignored it because in 45 minutes everything was fine. But I just wanted to get him checked and I am so glad I did.”
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Glenn said he never thought he had suffered a heart attack and added: “Everyone’s image is of someone clutching their chest and collapsing on the floor.
“When the blood test results came back it was a surprise to say the least.”
Glenn, who has two stepsons, made a quick recovery and went for a 10-minute walk – as recommended as part of his rehab – shortly after returning home.
Astonishingly, he was back at Parkrun on May 30 – he completed it in a fast walk – and on June 20 he ran it.
Man suffers heart attack during 5km Parkrun - but still finishes the course
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