One lucky runner’s story

I lost track of time.

I felt myself letting go, immersing myself in a state of comfort. Through my window I saw how the leaves fell from the trees; they began a dance to the swaying of the wind and inexorably fell. So I felt my life falling gently, a mental and spiritual state where my mind and my conscience were only concerned with having the strength to be able to chew small pieces of food with intervals of 10 seconds, then waiting 10 seconds to gain strength and be able to swallow, I observed the blue sky and the clouds with astonished pleasure. I listened to the wind, I saw the flight of the birds and I tried to breathe – but I could only get a very small part of the air into my lungs, which were almost full of mucus.

My wife Marthita and my son David Ayrton became infected shortly afterwards. That hurt, and I was very worried. It made me question my actions: how did I treat them? Was I good to them? A thousand questions swarmed in my moments of lucidity. I have four children, a grandson and my eternal refuge – my beloved wife Marthita. Everything else disappeared from my mind. I survived like this for 30 days.

In the early days of rehabilitation, the doctor was surprised that I was alive and told me I should be dead, because out of every 20 people my age 17 die (I am 67 years old). Tell me, the doctor asked, what do you do? I told him that I had practiced Karate, Kendo and Iaido for almost all my life, that I had been running approximately 50km per week for 28 years and I had completed eight marathons. He looked at me carefully and said: “Without knowing it you have prepared for this moment for your whole life. If you had not been so physically active you would be dead.”

I went to cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and started walking one kilometre a day. I gradually increased my physical activity until I returned to 100%, I have no lasting negative consequences from COVID 19.

I hope this life experience serves as a recommendation for other people to discover the benefits of distance running.

Now our team is fully engaged in organising the non-profit Marathon Varmex Tehuacan on 16 October 2022 for the benefit of the Asilo de Ancianos de Tehuacán A.C.