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David Griffin was on a mission when he lined up for the Richmond Marathon on Nov. 11, 2023.

He wanted to finish the 26.2-mile race in less than four hours and 30 minutes, a time that would be more than 30 minutes faster than his 2022 run, when sweltering heat made it hard for him to race to his full potential.

Griffin was relieved that heat wasn't going to be an issue for the 2023 race. It was a crisp fall morning when the 48-year-old walked to the start line.

The race took off and Griffin stuck with his friend and training partner as they ran through the streets of Richmond, Virginia. Griffin had trained hard for the run, diligently logging long runs on the weekend, and he felt that work pay off. As the miles flew by, he kept feeling great.

Every mile was under his goal pace. His goal time was in sight.

And then, just after mile 13, he said to his friend, "I don't feel good."

Seconds later, he collapsed. Griffin's heart had stopped beating. He was in cardiac arrest.

Another runner sprinted to his side and started performing CPR. As an emergency room nurse practitioner, she quickly understood what was happening and what needed to be done.

Two runners just ahead heard people calling for help and ran back. One was a third-year medical student, the other an oncology nurse who had just renewed her CPR training.

The nurse practitioner organized the team of responders into a rotation so everyone stayed fresh while administering compressions. A cardiologist who was also running hurried over and joined the effort.

A nearby police officer radioed in a call for help. Ten minutes later, an ambulance rolled up and a first responder used an automated external defibrillator, or AED, to restore Griffin's heartbeat.

Griffin was loaded into the ambulance and rushed to the hospital.

He woke up in the ambulance and heard the sirens wailing. He had no idea why he was in an ambulance. He looked up, wide-eyed at the people surrounding him and asked, "What just happened?"

"You died," one of the first responders said.

Griffin's wife, Tracy, was also out on the course, running the half-marathon, when David collapsed.

David's running partner called Tracy and said, "David went down."

She stayed on the phone as he got CPR. She frantically tried to get to him. She was miles from their truck and he had the keys.

She finally found a police officer and said, "My husband is getting CPR on the course. I need to find him."

He gave her shoulder a squeeze and said, "I know exactly what you're talking about. Don't worry, we'll get you to your husband."

A police officer drove Tracy to the hospital with his lights and siren on. She was anxious about what she would find when she got there, whether her husband would be awake, if he would be able to communicate.

When she got to the hospital, she found his room. As she was walking in, she heard David say, "Where is my wife?"

She exhaled a deep breath of relief that he was awake and talking.

Still, the situation was tense. David had to go through a number of tests to examine both his heart and brain. Fearing that he'd never leave the hospital, he spent the time between an MRI and echocardiograms texting Tracy all his passwords and account information.

The tests showed that David had been born with a bicuspid aortic valve. That means his heart had two cusps, or leaflets, in the aortic valve, which controls the flow of blood leaving the heart; a normal heart has three.

A doctor told David he needed open-heart surgery to replace his aortic valve and should immediately get the procedure. But he wasn't ready.

First, he wanted to go see his sons, who at 9 and 11 weren't old enough to visit him where he was in the hospital.

So, he left with an external defibrillator, a device to regulate his heartbeat, and went home for a couple of weeks. He began feeling good – so good that he started questioning whether he wanted to go through with the surgery, especially if it meant sacrificing things he loved.

He asked his doctors, "What will I be able to do after surgery? I want to stay active and run again."

His doctors reassured him that the procedure wouldn't slow him down. In early December, he underwent the operation to have a prosthetic heart valve replace his bicuspid aortic valve.

Next came cardiac rehabilitation. His goal: to run.

His cardiologist backed him up, telling the rehab team, "Let's get this kid rolling."

At first, David was only allowed to do a few minutes of running on a treadmill.

By the spring, he had worked up to a 10K during his 60-minute rehab session.

Going into surgery, David had told all of his friends, "I'm never going to run long distances again." He thought a 10K would be his max.

But when he felt good running that 10K and his marathon training group was getting ready to start training for the 2024 Richmond Marathon, he thought about all of the goals he'd had before surgery.

He wanted to travel around the country to run new races. He wanted to celebrate his 50th birthday with a marathon. And he wanted to inspire his sons.

He decided he would rather try to run a marathon again and fail than not try at all. So, he joined the group for another round of marathon training through the summer and fall.

On Saturday, David will stand on the start line of the Richmond Marathon again. He'll still be a runner on a mission, but this time, it has nothing to do with how fast he goes.

"I don't need to set any records," he said. "I just want to show myself – and my kids – that I can still run a marathon."

Stories From the Heart chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.