Even a heart attack couldn’t slow this Tely 10 runner down
At the awards ceremony for the 91st annual Tely 10 on Sunday, there was one woman in the crowd who had no idea she’d be winning an award.
Last year at the beginning of June, Helen Mackey spent three weeks at St. Clare’s Hospital after having a heart attack. Within a month, she was not just back on her feet, she ran the Tely 10. And she did it again this year.
In an event in which success is judged solely on how quickly you reach the finish line, there’s one award that looks past the numbers to the individual stories behind why a person runs.
The Dr. John Williams Award has been given out every year since 2005 to “someone who inspires people to participate in the Tely 10 and become active to overcome some kind of a physical disability or challenge,” said the award namesake’s daughter, Patricia Williams.
“The first time Dad walked the Tely 10, he was 66 years old and had been recovering from a heart attack,” said Williams.
This year’s award winner shares some similarities with its namesake.
Goulds resident Raylene Mackey nominated her mother not just because she completed the race after having a heart attack, but because her mother’s active social media presence also inspires others to become active and compete in the Tely 10.
As the emcee began telling Helen’s story on stage, she said with every detail she wondered — are they talking about me?
“Then I saw my daughter, and then I put two and two together,” she said with tears in her eyes.
As she approached the stage with her daughter, her mouth was open in shock and her eyes brimmed with tears.
Helen said she was very determined to do the race last year and this year.
“When I got to St. Clare’s, I looked up at the room window where I was in the hospital a year ago,” she said, stopping to wipe tears from her eyes. “And I said, you’re not taking me back there, and I just went.
“I beat my time from last year, according to my daughter. I didn’t run a lot, but I jogged and walked, jogged and walked.”
In her nomination letter, Raylene detailed her mother’s recovery.
“After spending three weeks in St. Clare’s Hospital my mother was allowed to return home and back to work, with regular checkups, medical tests, low stress, and taking various medications as top priority,” Raylene wrote.
Helen said her “left ventricle had shut down” but her doctors credited her active lifestyle – running and rowing – for keeping her heart “strong enough to survive.”
“I was quite concerned when she told me that she had decided to continue to participate in the race,” wrote Raylene. “She had informed me that she was provided with an OK from her doctors to participate in the race, but only if she took the proper precautions (such as keeping nitroglycerin with her at all times).
“Many people, including myself, were shocked, but we became even more motivated than we ever were before simply from her actions. My mother inspired many other family members and friends to get more physically active, and to live life to the fullest.”
For Helen, just seeing St. Clare’s Hospital was her motivator.
“You’ve just got to think about where you could be, really, right? How fortunate I am to be able to get out today and do it.
“I still take four pills a day, and one of them is slowing down my heart,” said Helen, adding sometimes when she starts the race she’s “a little bit scared, thinking I’m doing too much, but then I ease right into it.”
She said she was shocked and surprised to be recognized, and called it an honour.