Two Years After Open Heart Surgery, Erin Menefee Qualifies for Olympic Trials - runnersworld.com

Two and a half years ago, Erin Menefee didn’t know if she’d be able to run competitively again after having open heart surgery. But on December 8, the 27-year-old physical therapist realized her dream when she qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials at the California International Marathon (CIM) in Sacramento with a time of 2:43:10.

Surrounded by dozens of other women who qualified for the first time, Menefee basked in the accomplishment of a goal that motivated her throughout the long recovery. For the first time since she underwent surgery for a rare congenital heart defect in July 2017, she ran a personal best by more than eight minutes.

Setting a lifetime PR that beat the Trials standard by almost two minutes wasn’t just a running milestone for the San Diego native—it was a turning point in her life.

“Not having the definition of ‘post-heart surgery PR’ for this one just feels like a big weight [has been] lifted,” Menefee told Runner’s World. “I’m finally back to who I was before.”

Repairing Her Heart

Menefee was nearing the end of a long run in December 2015 when her heart started beating at an alarmingly fast pace and pain shot down her left arm. At just 24 years old, the former collegiate runner for the University of Arizona thought she was having a heart attack. Menefee could barely breathe, but she managed to get herself to the emergency room.

After a series of tests, her cardiologist discovered that she had partial anomalous pulmonary venous return, a condition where the veins that are supposed to carry blood to the heart’s upper left chamber instead carry it to the heart’s upper right chamber, or to other blood vessels. When this happens, poorly-oxygenated blood mixes with oxygen-rich blood, thus robbing the body of oxygen. The diagnosis meant that Menefee was only getting about 60 percent of the oxygen needed from her lungs to her body.

Because she was a healthy, young runner competing at a high level, the doctors decided to forgo the surgery option for periodic check-ups on the size of her heart. Eight months later, Menefee was getting lightheaded standing up from a chair and the tips of her fingers turned blue from the lack of oxygen traveling to the rest of her body. When she went in for more tests, they discovered that her heart was so enlarged that it required surgery.

On July 26, 2017—after she graduated from San Diego State University’s doctor of physical therapy program and days after she took her board exams—Menefee went in for surgery at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. During the nine-hour procedure, doctors built a stent and moved her vein into its proper place from her heart to her lung. In order to reach her organs, they had to saw open her sternum.

The surgery was a success, and six weeks later, Menefee was cleared to go on her first run: an 8:49 mile.

“It was the mile I’m most proud of, probably of my entire life, just because I didn’t know if I’d be able to do it again,” Menefee told Runner’s World in December 2018.

Using the Marathon as Motivation

Just five months before her surgery, Menefee had made her 26.2 debut at the 2017 Los Angeles Marathon, finishing in 2:51:31—within striking distance of 2:45:00, the 2020 Trials time standard. She trained for the marathon with the San Diego-based Prado Racing Team under Paul Wellman.

While running with the group, she met training partner Angela Moll, who also underwent surgery when she gave birth via Caesarean section for the second time one year prior to Menefee’s surgery.

During Menefee’s recovery, Moll, 42, told Menefee that she, too, would come back from surgery stronger than before. When Menefee couldn’t make it to practice for weeks, Moll made time to visit her and remind her that one day they’d look back on the ordeal as “nothing more than a story” of where she came from, Moll said.

“I just really wanted to be there for her,” Moll said. “We’ve had two very different surgeries, but at least she knew someone else had been through something semi-similar. And she came through it like a champ.”

During recovery, Menefee kept her running aspirations in the back of her mind, knowing she would have to start slowly and conservatively. For months, she continued to build fitness toward her ultimate goal of OTQ’ing.

“After the surgery, it became something that I wanted to prove to myself and prove to everyone that I could do it,” she said.

About a year and a half after the surgery, she ran her first marathon post-procedure and second marathon ever at CIM in 2018. She went into the race with the goal of breaking three hours, and ended up crossing the finish line in 2:52:37.

In June 2019, she completed Grandma’s Marathon in 2:51:38, just seven seconds shy of her career best. While she was grateful for the improvement over CIM—and thankful to ne running period—the competitive side of her yearned for a breakthrough that she didn’t have to call a “post-surgery PR.”

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Despite being six minutes away from the standard at Grandma’s, she still believed that she had the potential to achieve it by training consistently and paying attention to details that make or break a race, such as fueling strategy.

Heading into CIM this year, she practiced taking in more fluids and electrolytes on her long runs, and she trained with Moll, who shared the same goal of qualifying for the Trials.

By the time she reached the starting line in Sacramento, Menefee believed she was in shape to run just under 2:45:00. With more experience and strength from several healthy training cycles, she imagined she’d be one of the last women to sprint across the line with seconds to spare.

Working as a Team

Menefee and Moll warmed up together but parted ways before the gun when Moll started with the elite group and Menefee started in the next wave. The plan was for Menefee to catch Moll before the halfway point.

Moll was running 6:15-mile pace with the goal of finally beating the standard after two near misses (she finished in 2:45:23 at Grandma’s Marathon in 2019 and 2:45:16 at CIM in 2018). In the early miles of the race, Moll was approached by another runner who suggested they work together to hit the standard, and soon several more women joined them in the OTQ chase.

From the gun, Menefee felt strong and ran comfortably under pace. By mile 10, she caught Moll and joined the group. Unlike most races where top-tier runners are focused on beating each other to the line, the OTQ hopefuls at CIM shared bottles and encouraged each other along the way.

“You’re not trying to beat everyone around you, you’re working as a team,” Menefee said. “It doesn’t really feel like a race so much against the other women around you. Everyone is supporting each other.”

After soaking in cheers from their families at mile 20, Menefee and Moll knew their goal was within reach. “She [Moll] reached back and gave me a high-five, and I think at that point we knew we were going to do it,” Menefee said.

With one final kick, Menefee crossed the finish line in 2:43:10. The camaraderie of the pace group continued after the finish line as Menefee was greeted by dozens of fellow Trials qualifiers celebrating together in the chute. Seconds after she finished, Menefee turned back to hug Moll, who completed the race in 2:43:18.

“It was better than I could’ve ever dreamed because it was exactly what I wanted for us. I wanted us to do that race together,” Moll said.

On February 29, 2020, the two training partners will toe the line at the Trials in Atlanta, Georgia. As Moll predicted, Menefee’s surgery is now a story which has made her even more grateful for the next chapter of her life.

“It is a cool thing to know that I did it,” Menefee said. “As frustrated as I got in the two and a half years to get here, it was worth it.”

Taylor Dutch Contributing Writer Taylor Dutch is a freelance writer living in Chicago.

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