Katie Rames never imagined she’d be preparing to run nearly 40 miles in organized races—especially after what happened in 2011.
“I was on the treadmill and I couldn’t catch my breath,” she said. “And that’s when all of this kind of started.”
That frightening episode—later revealed to be an unexplained cardiac event—sent Rames to the hospital, where her heart rate soared beyond 230 beats per minute. Emergency responders shocked her heart with defibrillator paddles to stabilize her condition. More than a decade later, doctors still have no diagnosis.
“There’s no clear explanation,” she said. “Something triggers the heart rate to skyrocket. They don’t know how to stop it, but they know how to protect it—through the device.”
The device she’s referring to is a defibrillator-pacemaker combo implanted after that emergency. But even that lifeline came with complications. In May of last year, an internal wire splintered. The implanted device began sounding an alarm.
“It sounded like a British ambulance,” Rames said. “And I had to send a remote transmission—basically a fax from your heart—to my doctor. That’s how they figured it out.”
What followed was a risky, last-minute surgery to remove the fractured lead wire buried under more than a decade of scar tissue. The operation went well—until blood clots formed in her arm just three days later.
“My arm was twice the size of the other,” she said. “And I was just fed up. Angry, honestly. I’m trying to get into something healthy, and this happens.”
That frustration turned into motivation.
“I kind of wanted to show my heart who’s boss,” Rames said. “It was like an unfair grenade thrown at me for something I didn’t do.”
Rames, a former competitive swimmer, began training with purpose. This Sunday, she’ll run her first-ever Bank of America Chicago 13.1—her longest organized race to date. And she’s already registered for the full Chicago Marathon in October.
She’s keeping a close eye on her health using her Apple Watch—and soon, a Garmin—to track her heart rate during training and races. After all, as she puts it, “if I ever feel too out of breath or anything, I make sure to stop and rein it in—because it’s not worth it.”
Rames said her training has brought unexpected joy, like exploring different neighborhoods around the city. “If I have errands across town, I’ll park my car and do my eight miles around that area,” she said. “I’ve gotten to see more of the city than I ever expected.”
Despite everything she’s faced, she’s excited to cross the finish line—twice this year.
“It feels kind of cool to say that I’m going to finish a marathon by the time I’m 40,” she said. “Some people say that’s a sign of a midlife crisis—instead of buying a car, you sign up and do some race. So maybe that’s what it is.”
But for Rames, this is more than a race—it’s a statement of survival, strength, and resilience.
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