'I did the Great North Run after a heart attack and three stents': One man's incredible story
World record breaker Gary Craig has told how he took on the Great North Run - as part of his recovery from a heart attack.
The Whitburn man, who once held the world’s best time for underpants wearing, spoke to the Sunderland Echo.
A heart attack and six stents
He chatted for the latest episode of our Wearside Echoes podcast, sponsored by Mobility Care Solutions, and told how the rigours of being an active person had finally taken its toll.
It was during the Coronavirus outbreak that everything changed for the man in his mid-60s.
Gary was always someone who liked to keep himself busy and worked from home during the Covid lockdowns. He was kept busy with making house extension plans for clients, and even did some manual labour for his own family.
‘The combination of all these things together just became a bit too much and I started to feel a bit sickly one day,’ he admitted.
‘I could not spend the rest of my life wondering if I could do anything more’
Gary had suffered a heart attack, but he had no idea what had happened. He even drove himself to Sunderland’s hospital and said: “A week later, I came out with three stents in my heart.
“I had to go back later in the year to have three more stents put in.”
Gary was sent to an exercise rehabilitation class, and then decided to step up his own health with monitored gym sessions.
But he added: “I decided that I could not spend the rest of my life wondering if I could do anything more. I needed to know if exercise safely but the only way to do that was to do something unsafe’.
‘This could be an exclusive. I am trying now to do retirement-y type things’
Gary signed up for the World Gravy Wrestling Championships, and for the Great North Run even though he was told his heart rate could not go above 134 beats per minute.
His heart rate climbed beyond the safety point but he kept going to the end of the GNR.
“It ended up where my finishing position was something like 33,000. I finished in just under three hours.”
It meant that Gary, whose starting position was in the 50,000s, had run faster than 20,000 Great North Runners at the age of 65 and after a heart attack.
Shortlisted for a national award
Normally, that would have spurred Gary on to greater things but he told us ‘I am now 66. I am trying now to do retirement-y type things. This could be an exclusive. This could be the retirement of the Pantsman.’
To catch the full episode, visit here.
Wearside Echoes - which has been shortlisted for the National Publisher Podcast Awards - is available to listen to here.
Wearside Echoes series 2 is available on all major podcasts platforms and we are delighted to have Mobility Care Solutions on board as our backers.
For all your mobility needs
If you’ve been looking for a mobility shop or mobility scooters near you, you need look no further. The team at Mobility Care Solutions are on hand to meet all of your mobility aids related needs.
Make sure you follow Wearside Echoes here. Gary’s podcasts episode will be available to listen to from Tuesday, June 3.
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