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Ironwood man finishes race despite suffering heart attack

IRONWOOD - Last Saturday, Gary Engstrom of Ironwood finished the Calumet Great Bear Chase cross country ski race naked and prone, registering a fourth place finish in his age bracket. That's pretty good for someone who is 70 years old and had been clinically dead for 10 minutes.

Most people would get arrested for finishing a race naked, but Engstrom, who was carried across the line like a true king in the prone position, was given a free pass. Engstrom's clothes had been cut off by emergency personnel because he had a major heart attack about two kilometers from the finish line. Emergency personnel revived him from death's door.

According to Scott Erickson, Ironwood city manager, Jonathon Rulseh, a physical therapist at Aspirus Ironwood Hospital and another man in the race performed CPR on Engstrom for about 10 minutes after he collapsed. They kept the airway open and blood flowing until emergency crews arrived and shocked Engstrom back to life, before he was flown to Marquette and taken into emergency heart surgery.

Engstrom does not recall much of the event, but was informed by the doctors he was dead for 10 minutes after suffering a "widow-maker" heart attack which results in about a 99 percent death rate.

Engstrom, in talking to the Globe, was very thankful for everyone involved, from the people who kept his air and blood flowing on the course, to the doctors in Marquette. He is very happy to be alive today.

When describing his running career over the past 40 years, Engstrom pointed out how he quit drinking and smoking 40 years ago, which just happens to be the same time-frame he decided to pick up running.

Over the years he has run 203 marathons, more than 400 races in general, and about 26 Paavo Nurmi marathons. Engstrom says his total count is 73,250 miles run, with almost all of the expenses borne out of his pocket, except for some money he was provided in 2001 to run the Boston Marathon.

When asked about preferred footgear, Engstrom says he likes Asics running shoes, which he attaches hex nuts to in the winter to run on the ice and snow without falling. In 2011, Engstrom wore out 23 pairs of shoes..

The doctors said his running career may not be over.

Engstrom was informed the heart is a muscle and the doctors said it could either repair itself all the way and allow him to run again, or not.

On Wednesday a group gathered at McDonald's, where his wife, Rose, works and he often meets with friends.

His freinds welcomed him home.

 
 
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