From Runners World for New Balance

Survivor: Here are a few such stories, including Byk’s

Savior: Michael Starghill, Jr

Running Shoes - Gear: Michael Starghill, Jr

Before she collapsed, Kristi Soule was talking about how lucky she was to be out running. Five years previously, an infection decreased her heart function. After that, she’d taken up running; her doctors cautioned against long distances, so she stuck to half marathons. A week after seeing her heart specialist, she went into cardiac arrest during a four-miler with her then boyfriend, Luke Goyette. Goyette flagged down a driver who called 911, then began rescue breaths—as a teacher, he was certified in CPR. Within 20 minutes, Soule was in the hospital. Three days later, doctors implanted a defibrillator in her chest and told her it was no longer safe to run—or to become pregnant. It was devastating. “The emotional recovery was way bigger than the physical recovery,” she says. Today, she walks and lifts weights. “Nothing gives me the same feeling as running. But breathing or running? I guess I’d choose breathing.” She and Luke are now engaged, and with the help of a close-friend surrogate, have a 5-month-old son. “Without Luke’s efforts and how quickly he responded,” says Soule, “I would have never known what it was like to be a mom.”

Survivor: Shawn O’Brien (red shirt in middle), 42, attorney, Lake Mary, Florida

Saviors: Jay Getty (blue shirt), 48, high school coach and athletic director, Oviedo, Florida; Jorge Fleitas (red shirt on right), 33, high school administrator and coach, Orlando, Florida

Running Shoes - Gear: These runners are alive today because fellow runners gave them CPR

“I literally died,” says Shawn O’Brien. The lifelong runner had just finished warming up with his daughter’s cross-country team before one of their meets. “That’s when I collapsed—just hit the dirt.” Coach Jorge Fleitas saw him go down and sprinted over. “It wasn’t a normal fall,” says Fleitas. “He landed on his face. I turned him to his side. He was still breathing at the time. I was saying, ‘Keep your eyes on me, look at me.’” O’Brien stopped breathing and started turning purple. By then, coach Jay Getty had run over and begun CPR while Fleitas called 911. It took 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive. In the hospital, doctors found no blockages in O’Brien’s heart; in fact, O’Brien was up and moving the next day. “I was the only patient walking around the cardiac intensive care unit,” he says. “It was a perfect quarter-mile loop, so I did laps with my nurse.” His doctors believed a virus may have caused the arrhythmia O’Brien suffered; fearing a repeat event, they implanted a defibrillator. Today, O’Brien runs about 50 miles a week, follows a vegan diet, and calls both Fleitas and Getty “great” friends. “I love them both,” he says. “They gave me a gift few people could ever ask for.” He’s also taken an online CPR course, and hopes to become a certified instructor soon so he can teach others—especially kids.

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Savior: John Bryant (right), 53, manufacturing advisor for ExxonMobil, Houston, Texas

Running Shoes - Gear: Beginner Running Gear

The teammates had just run the 3,000 meters at a regional track meet when Botto collapsed. Bryant, who had taken CPR at age 19, began the process immediately. “When I took CPR, I learned that people always look to someone else to perform it,” says Bryant. “The bigger the crowd, the harder it gets. Overcoming that inertia is the biggest challenge.” Botto had no heartbeat for 50 minutes, and doctors put him in a medical coma. Three months later, he was running again; six months later, he ran a 50K. January 1 of this year marked his 100th marathon or ultra. Doctors believe his cardiac arrest was the result of a genetic predisposition, and they told Botto he should be dead. “The reason I’m alive is because I run,” says Botto. “And John doing CPR—immediately—kept my blood flowing and my brain alive.” Botto has since taken a CPR course, and Bryant has become even more diligent about getting regular physicals. “If this could happen to Bob, it could happen to anybody,” says Bryant. “You can’t take anything for granted.”

Survivor: Ken Byk, 58, business owner, Menlo Park, California

Savior: Ruth Rodgers, 52, anesthesiologist, Corte Madera, California

Running Shoes - Gear: May 16, 2010

While he knew his dad had coronary heart disease and his mom also had heart issues, Ken Byk figured he was safe—he was a runner with a healthy lifestyle and no symptoms of high blood pressure or cholesterol. “But I had blockages in three arteries,” says Byk. “I had no idea I was a time bomb.” After crossing the finish line of the 2010 DAA Industry Opt Out in San Francisco, he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. Ruth Rodgers had also just finished, and she ran over to help. For 20 minutes, she gave Byk CPR. Bystanders and even the paramedics thought he was a lost cause, but, says Rodgers, “I thought, He’s a runner; he’s got a good heart. We’ve got to be able to bring him back.” Byk made it to the hospital, where he underwent quadruple bypass surgery. By the following February, he was back on the roads. A year later he tracked down Rodgers, and they have since run every Bay to Breakers together. It’s Byk’s favorite day of the year.