Stéphane Demers returns to Montreal marathon year after ‘dying’ at finish line

Just a year after suffering a cardiac arrest and collapsing 50 metres from the finish line of the half marathon, Stéphane Demers returned to the Rock ‘n Roll Oasis Montreal marathon to run the five-kilometre race.

Demers was one of more than 35,000 runners who participated in five different races ranging from the marathon, which  started on the Jacques Cartier bridge,  to a one-kilometre fun run for children.

READ MORE: Runner who ‘died’ at Montreal marathon finish line returns to run with doctor who saved him

Last year the New Brunswick native suffered a cardiac arrest and was without vital signs for seven minutes before he was resuscitated.

This year he came back for closure.

“It’s been a long year for me for sure,” Demers said. “The re-adaptation took a while, just to start back to walk and then to start to run, go back to work. So it’s a great accomplishment for me.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's been a long year for me for sure," Demers said. "The re-adaptation took a while, just to start back to walk and then to start to run, go back to work. So it's a great accomplishment for me."

Demers said he had mixed feelings at the beginning of his race. He was nervous, but he was also excited and happy.

Demers ran with François de Champlain, the marathon’s medical director who also responded to Demers’ emergency a year ago.

“It’s rare that we get a chance to meet and even become friends … with our patients and really with Stéphane I discovered an amazing individual,” de Champlain said. “His way of seeing life now is something we can learn from.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's rare that we get a chance to meet and even become friends … with our patients and really with Stéphane I discovered an amazing individual," de Champlain said. "His way of seeing life now is something we can learn from."

While the pair did not break any records crossing the finishing line, Demers says he got a chance to re-write his story.

De Champlain added that Demers shifted gears after his cardiac arrest.

“He doesn’t run with a watch anymore, he doesn’t look at his time,” de Champlain said. “He told me ‘I don’t know in how many minutes I am going to run this.'”

The finishing line wasn’t the only thing waiting for Demers.

The first responders who came to Demers’ rescue last year — paramedics Michele Frenette Del Passo and Robert Rousseau —  paid him a surprise visit.

“It brings some emotions up, I’m happy to see him, I’m happy to see what he’s become and he’s still running,” Del Passo said. “It’s fun to see that somebody that was close to a near-death experience come back to run afterwards.”