Redemption run: Nanaimo marathoner returns to race where his heart literally stopped
Running a half-marathon is usually about some type of goal. Getting in shape, or maybe beating your fastest time.
For one Vancouver Island runner, this weekend's return of the Royal Victoria Marathon came with a different goal – not dropping dead at the finish line.
“I walked right up and right beside me was a couple of stretchers," said Jason DeRuiter. "I said, ‘Ha ha, not this time.'"
In 2019, DeRuiter finished the Royal Victoria Marathon in an impressive time, and then his heart ceased to beat.
At the finish line of the pre-pandemic race, which was cancelled in 2020, DeRuiter wandered into a medical tent feeling odd, dropped to the ground and in medical terms, died.
Doctors told him his heart stopped beating for an incredible seven minutes.
His medical emergency happened, if it can, in a perfect place.
An emergency doctor was steps away and immediately began life-saving measures.
He was rushed to the hospital and underwent a successful recovery where doctors found nothing significantly wrong with the middle-aged Nanaimo man.
The clean bill of health came as the world plunged into a pandemic and races were cancelled. His redemption would have to wait.
This past weekend, his time finally came.
“Felt good, felt strong, ran through and felt great,” said DeRuiter at the finish line on Sunday.
Returning from its pandemic cancellation, the Royal Victoria Marathon looked a little different than when Jason last saw it.
The route was reduced to a half-marathon instead of a full due to road closure issues, and masks would be required at the start and finish.
“Water stations were giving out full bottles,” said race director Cathy Noel.
“All those little details had to be adapted.”
Thousands crossed the finish line, but few with the gusto of DeRuiter.
His cardiac comeback came in the form of an impressive one-hour-and-forty-minute finish. Just three minutes shy of his fastest half-marathon time.
DeRuiter does have a souvenir from his 2019 ordeal.
Doctors implanted a small defibrillator in his chest and connected it to his heart in case it stopped beating.
Luckily this time, Jason’s heart kept right on ticking as he received his race medal. A major improvement from his last marathon in Victoria, where race staff delivered his hardware bedside at the Royal Jubilee Hospital.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.