'My heart just stopped': B.C. runner seeks redemption after heart failure at 2019 finish, pandemic postponement in 2020
The last time the starting gun fired for the Royal Victoria Marathon, Jason DeRuiter ran the best marathon of his life, and then nearly lost it.
On Thanksgiving long weekend in 2019, DeRuiter, a Nanaimo man in his mid-40s, crossed the finish line of the marathon often referred to as the Good Life Marathon.
Noticing something was off, he stumbled into the medical tent and crumpled to the ground.
"My heart just stopped,” said DeRuiter.
His cardiac trouble was serious, but also happened in the most ideal place for his survival.
A doctor from the Royal Jubilee hospital happened to be volunteering at the time and quickly began life-saving measures.
According to DeRuiter, his heart stopped for seven minutes, effectively leaving him dead for the short window in time.
"My last memory was about halfway through the race, and then three days later when I woke up in Royal Jubilee,” DeRuiter told CTV News Vancouver Island.
Following a battery of tests, his doctors were left with few concrete answers.
His medical team didn’t know why his heart failed at the finish line, but were seeing him gain strength.
After the drama of the heart-stopping finish, race organizers made a special visit to his hospital bed to deliver his race medal.
Holding it, Jason knew he had to race again, but the pandemic would soon step in his way.
Redemption would take longer than the Nanaimo runner thought. Two years, to be exact, but his time has come.
The Royal Victoria Marathon will be the first premier race to return amid the continuing pandemic.
"There is no normal about this year. After 20 years, I think this is the hardest one,” said race director Cathy Noel.
The race’s return comes in the form of a half-marathon, as the full version posed too many road-closure and health-related issues.
Still, organizers say despite some changes, the marathon’s ethos is the same.
"Running is a big community, so seeing people come together, that is what this is about,” said Noel.
This Sunday, DeRuiter will lace his runners tight and pound the pavement in an official marathon for the first time since his hospital stay.
"It's just a celebration: that races are happening, for being back, and that I can even do sports,” DeRuiter said in a FaceTime interview.
You can probably expect the Nanaimo runner to put down a good time Sunday morning.
Two years ago – despite dropping to the ground, his heart stopping for seven long minutes and spending several weeks in hospital – DeRuiter crossed the finish line with a fast enough run to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.