A life-threatening condition left long distance runner Alex Hunt fearing he might not see his two daughters grow up.
Now they are as proud as punch of their hero father who has become a Guinness World Records holder.
Alex, 37, underwent open heart surgery three years ago to correct a potentially fatal condition.
He had a bicuspid aortic valve inserted into his heart.
The aortic valve allows blood to flow into the aorta without flowing back into the ventricle, but Mr Hunt’s valve had only two flaps instead of the usual three. Left untreated, it could have led to heart failure.
You might have thought the brush with death might be enough to convince the lawyer, who specialises in preparing wills, to take things easy.
Not a bit of it. And, in an extraordinary feat of courage and conviction, the legal eagle from Cambridge ran the Stevenage marathon in a blistering time of three hours and six minutes.
Guinness World Records, the Bible for documenting and celebrating superlative achievements, confirmed he ran the 26.2-mile slog in the fastest-ever time for a person with an artificial heart valve – smash ing the previous record by 45 minutes.
The father-of-two had an artificial valve fitted at Royal Papworth Hospital, one of the world’s leading specialist heart and lung centres .
He ran the Stevenage Marathon in Hertfordshire three years after a crack at what he described as “one of the toughest physical challenges I had ever taken on”, b uffeted by winds of up to 40 mph and some “soul-destroying climbs”.
After an anxious wait for verification, Alex’s world record has now been confirmed by officials at the British reference book which is published annually and chronicles world records of human achievements and extremes of the natural world.
He said: “Before the operation I was a keen runner. Thanks to the amazing staff and treatment I received at Royal Papworth Hospital I can return to my love of running and am delighted to have broken the world record at the same time.”
Alex used his record-breaking marathon run to raise more than £1,700 for the hospital where his life was saved.
Steven Tsui, a consultant in cardiothoracic surgery at Papworth, said: “Alex breaking the world record is testament to his strength and determination to get back on his feet after a major operation.”
