When Mark Smith stepped up to the starting line of the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile, 10K and Trail Run, he remembers thinking it was a beautiful day.

Smith, now in his 60s, had spent most of his life running. He liked the peace it brought him, and the opportunity to think.

But Smith didn’t get to enjoy running the way he usually does. In fact, after lining up to start he doesn’t remember much.

He started the race, ran for a while and then woke up in a hospital. What happened in between saved Smith’s life.

That’s not an exaggeration. When Smith came to, the doctors told him he should have died.

In fact, he did die. Smith went into cardiac arrest, but he didn’t stay dead. A group of 18 people took turns performing CPR for 24 minutes to keep his blood flowing.

On Saturday when the annual race takes place once again, Smith will get to shake the hands of the team of people that saved him.

“Feeling grateful is a great feeling,” he said. “I’m looking forward to meeting those people. Those people stepped up and did it. Some of them probably didn’t even know it was successful, because I was taken to the hospital. So, I’m looking forward to expressing my gratitude.”

Smith has already met one of his heroes. As soon as he was discharged from the hospital, Smith connected with Kathy Cheney. With an oxygen tank in tow, he and his wife met Cheney and her husband for dinner.

Since then, the two have enjoyed a close friendship. Smith has a nickname for Cheney, calling her “Kathy Lifesaver.”

Despite her insistence that saving Smith was a team effort, Cheney took charge that day. She corralled the other 17 people and guided them through the process.

“When we met I asked her how she was able to do this, and her husband said, ‘Well, Kathy can be a little bossy,’ ” Smith said with a laugh.

Good thing, too.

Neither one of them finished the race last year, for obvious reasons, but Cheney was able to collect a medal. Instead of keeping it for herself, she had it engraved for Smith. On the back, it says, “Thanks for staying.”

Smith says it’s impossible to pay someone back for saving your life. But he and his wife set up a college fund for Cheney’s daughter. They plan to make another contribution to the account on Saturday. 

Despite the near-fatal incident last year, Smith hasn’t given up running. He does more biking these days, but is excited to compete in the Trail Run once more. Smith says he will go slow. And he won’t be doing it alone. Cheney will be running with him. And she’ll be doing it in a brand new shirt that Smith had made, with her nickname — “Kathy Lifesaver” — written on the front and the back. Smith made gear for the other 17 people as well, and hopes they will all wear it during the race.

Despite his incredible recovery, Smith insists the story isn’t about him. It’s about Cheney and the other 17 people who went out of their way to help him.

“That’s the story. It’s about people getting down in the rocks and dirt and dust and giving chest compressions,” he said. “These people made a difference.”

They had no way of knowing how big of a difference at the time. They stopped history from repeating itself.

“My father died from a heart attack in 1968,” Smith said. “I understand really well what happens to a family. I stopped being a son way sooner than I wanted to, so I always wanted to be a father.”

Smith has two sons, and two daughter-in-laws that he considers his children as well. Thanks to 18 people’s selfless 24-minute act, he gets to keep up the fatherly duties for a while longer.

Mark Smith poses with Kathy Cheney, the woman who directed 17 people in CPR that saved Smith’s life during last year’s Garden of the Gods 10 mile/ 10 K and Trail Run. 

Courtesy of Mark Smith