Wolfgang Zech recently ran and finished his 44th consecutive Dipsea race, and, while impressive, that’s not the most amazing part of his story.
Wolfgang Zech recently ran and finished his 44th consecutive Dipsea race, and, while impressive, that’s not the most amazing part of his story.
The 72-year old man from the Bay Area did it while he was having a heart attack.
He started to feel far less than stellar before the race even began. While warming up he felt deep pains in his chest, which he self-diagnosed as acid reflux.
The 7-and-a-half-mile route is a rough one to begin with, dotted with hills and even a few flights of stairs, but he said he was having a harder time than usual handling it.
He finished far below his regular time, but manage to place in the upper half of all participants, and then he stuck around to watch the awards ceremony.
When he got home he popped a couple antacids but they didn’t help.
Finally, his wife convinced him to go to the emergency room, and he’s lucky he did.
Doctors found that Zech had suffered a heart attack and had severe artery blockage.
He’s on the mend now, and as soon as his recovery period is over, he plans to start training for next year’s race.
