When Meghan Roth recalls running the Boston Marathon in 2021, thoughts of the 7.4-mile mark brings an emotional flashback. At that point in the run, Roth, then 34, suddenly experienced cardiac arrest, becoming unconscious before hitting the pavement. Fortunately, an impromptu rescue team surrounded her, starting hands-only CPR as emergency personnel arrived in a flash and shocked her heart back to a normal rhythm. She was then promptly taken to a hospital. Having since resumed running and coaching the sport, Roth plans to run the Boston Marathon in 2024, but she has been in Boston this past weekend, helping race organizers with a campaign that intends to empower others to save lives the way hers was saved in 2021. Every weekend before the race, the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) demonstrate how to perform hands-only CPR. Roth also recorded an updated version of the instructional video, which the BAA send to all 30K runners and 10K volunteers annually. Roth, whose son was only 10 months old at the time of her cardiac arrest, remarks: "I'm so blessed because it's so scary what can happen and the survival rate is so low [9% when experienced out of a hospital] that I really am just grateful that I'm okay. ... Everyday with my son, I just feel so, so fortunate to be with him."
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