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Runner breaks world record after heart surgery

Martin Heath
BBC News, Cambridgeshire
Royal Papworth Charity Alex Hunt with short brown hair and beard, He is wearing a medal on a dark blue ribbon around his neck. He is holding the medallion in his right hand, while his left is resting on his hip. He is wearing a yellow running vest, which has a face on the front with large eyes, a small nose and a smiling mouth with two teeth. His number, 2247, is on the vest in black writing. He is standing on grass with trees behind him.Royal Papworth Charity
Alex Hunt completed the Stevenage Marathon in three hours and six minutes

A runner who had open heart surgery has broken a Guinness World Record.

Alex Hunt, from Cambridge, ran the Stevenage marathon in three hours and six minutes.

The publishers of the famous record book have confirmed that Mr Hunt has completed the marathon in the fastest-ever time for a person with an artificial heart valve.

He beat the previous record by 45 minutes.

Getty Images Diagram of the heart with a red section at the top labelled as the aorta, a blue pipe labelled as the pulmonary artery, and a straight line pointing to the mitral and aortic valves.Getty Images
The aortic valve enables blood to flow into the aorta without flowing out again

Alex Hunt, who is 37, had a bicuspid aortic valve put in his heart.

The aortic valve allows blood to flow into the aorta without flowing back into the ventricle, but Mr Hunt's valve had only two flaps instead of the usual three.

If left untreated, the condition could lead to heart failure.

Worried that he might not have lived long enough to see his daughters grow up, he underwent open heart surgery three years ago at Royal Papworth Hospital to have an artificial valve fitted.

Royal Papworth Charity Alex with dark hair and beard, wearing a light=coloured shirt and holding a certificate in a frame, is flanked by Ms Grant, who has medium-length dark hair and is wearing a blue jacket, and Shelley Green, with long blonde hair wearing a black T-shirt. They are standing in front of a hospital building which has mainly glass on the ground floor and a blue wall with narrow windows on the first floor.Royal Papworth Charity
Alex Hunt has been thanked for his efforts by Krystyna Grant (left) and Shelley Green from the Royal Papworth Charity

He ran the Stevenage Marathon three years ago and said it was one of the toughest physical challenges he had ever taken on, with winds of up to 40 mph and some "soul-destroying climbs".

After waiting for verification, he has now received official confirmation that he holds the world record.

He said: "Before the operation, I was a keen runner.

"Thanks to the amazing staff and treatment I received at Royal Papworth Hospital, I can return to my love of running and am delighted to have broken the world record at the same time."

Nadia Gyane/BBC Steven Tsui with short dark hair and black-framed glasses looking at the camera and wearing a dark blue jacket with white shirt and blue tie with lighter blue spots. There are people behind him walking across a large foyer area of a hospital. There is a blue pattern on the wall to Ms Tsui's left. Glass doors can be seen in the background.Nadia Gyane/BBC
Steven Tsui, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Papworth, said Mr Hunt's world record was a "testament to his strength and determination"

Steven Tsui, a consultant in cardiothoracic surgery at Papworth, said: "Alex breaking the world record is testament to his strength and determination to get back on his feet after a major operation."

Mr Hunt raised more than £1,700 for the Royal Papworth Charity by running the marathon.

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