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RICHMOND, Va. — 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 by diligently logging long runs on the weekend, and he felt that work pay off.
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, one a third-year medical student, the other an oncology nurse who had just renewed her CPR training, heard people calling for help and ran back.
The nurse practitioner organized the team of responders into a rotation so everyone stayed fresh while administering compressions, and a cardiologist who was also running hurried over and joined the effort.
'You died'
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 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 Griffin, running the half-marathon when her husband collapsed, then got a call from David Griffin's running partner, with Tracy Griffin staying on the phone as David Griffin got CPR.
Miles from their truck and with David Griffin having the keys, she frantically but 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."
Driven to the hospital with the officer's lights and siren on, Tracy Griffin was anxious about what she would find when she got there, whether her husband would be awake, if he would be able to communicate.
As Tracy Griffin arrived at the hospital, and as she was walking in, David Griffin said, "Where is my wife?"
She exhaled a deep breath of relief that he was awake and talking.
Still, the situation was tense. Griffin 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 Griffin all his passwords and account information.
The tests showed that Griffin 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.
'Let's get this kid rolling'
A doctor told Griffin 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, so in early December, he underwent the operation to have a prosthetic heart valve replace his bicuspid aortic valve.
And then came cardiac rehabilitation. Griffin's goal: to run.
His cardiologist backed him up, telling the rehab team, "Let's get this kid rolling."
'I can still run a marathon'
At first, Griffin was only allowed to do a few minutes of running on a treadmill, but by spring, he had worked up to a 10K during his 60-minute rehab session.
It proved to be a turning point; Griffin doubted whether he'd be able to run long distances again, but that 10K, and with his marathon training group preparing for the 2024 Richmond Marathon, he thought about his other goals:
Travel around the country to run new races. Celebrate his 50th birthday with a marathon. 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.
And now on Saturday, Griffin 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."
