He is 84 years old and has run more than 100 races with one lung

The world is full of stories that prove running is a healthy activity, just like running. Donald Cantrellan 84-year-old American citizen who has had one lung most of his life but has managed to run more than a hundred races, including five marathons.

His dramatic story began when he was 2 years old and had pneumonia where he was hospitalized and spent a week in a coma. Although he overcame this, his health declined and throughout his childhood he suffered from severe colds and coughs.

At age 17, a doctor examined him and discovered that his left lung was damaged by an abscess and that The best option is to remove it.

It was 1957 and still at that time lung transplants did not exist. The first operation of this type was performed 6 years later, in 1963.

“The transplant never crossed my mind. In fact, I never considered myself disabled,” Cantrell said in an interview with GWR. “After learning of this possibility, I was healthy and strong, and ran many road races, including four marathons,” he added.

After the surgery, Cantrell played various sports such as basketball, softball and golf, until In 1969 he discovered his favorite activity: running.

At first, he couldn’t even run a lap around his block, but with time and practice his physical condition improved.

“My overall health improved a lot when I started running and I became more active all the time,” she said.

Don, as famous as he is, discovered that running had a positive effect on his health and began signing up for popular races.

“My sports competition only brought me benefits. I was not injured and I did not train for a race that I did not run and finish. It definitely strengthened my lungs,” he said.

In 1984 he ran the Columbus Marathonat Ohio State, which he finished with a time of 3 hours 37 minutes and 2 seconds.

“Only my family and close friends knew about my lung removal. During competitive races I didn’t tell anyone. Even now most of my acquaintances don’t know,” he commented.

Don continued to run well into his 70s., when a nervous breakdown forced him to stop. His last race was a 10K in Venice, Florida.

“I rarely get sick in the last 40 years. The Lord has blessed me with running,” he said.

Now, at the age of 84, he walks more than 3 kilometers every day and He holds the Guinness record for the longest surviving person with only one lung (67 years).

“My pulmonologist said my right lung had expanded, so my lung capacity was 3/4 of a man with two good lungs,” concluded Cantrell, who now lives quietly with his wife in city ​​of Fairfield, in the United States.