Avid runner needs heart surgery after finish-line collapse

Chris Edwards was running 75 miles a month and had no health problems, until his 'legs stopped working' at the end of a 10K race.

- Holly Morgan reports

An otherwise fit and healthy 39-year-old man has described his disbelief after being told he had suffered cardiac arrest after collapsing during a 10k race.

Chris Edwards, a retail manager and avid runner from Newport, suffered cardiac arrest just metres away from the finish line of Porthcawl 10K on July 5, and ever since, his life has been put on hold.

Despite feeling “totally normal” in the moments before and “the most prepared” he had ever been for a race, Chris had no idea that competing would leave him in hospital needing major heart surgery.

However, if Chris had not signed up for that 10K, he wouldn't know he was living with a seriously rare heart defect, which almost claimed his life.

Chris said: “I probably run around 75 miles per month, so 120-125km, so quite a lot for the average person.

“I used to run in the summers mainly, jogging home from work, but back in 2024 I went out on New Year's Day and set myself a goal of committing myself to running, doing 100km per month.