- A man with an incurable lung condition completed a marathon with an oxygen tank on his back.
- Diven Halai, 37, has scleroderma, a rare autoimmune condition that has damaged his lungs.
A man with a rare, incurable condition that damaged his lungs completed the London Marathon with an oxygen tank on his back.
Diven Halai, 37, from the UK capital, completed the 26.2-mile race with an oxygen tank on his back, in eight hours 20 minutes on October 2.
Halai told Insider he hopes his achievement will encourage others, with or without health problems, to be more active.
Halai started struggling to breathe after coughing or sneezing
In March 2020, Halai could run a half-marathon (13.1 miles) in two hours 28 minutes. But three months later, he noticed he was struggling to breathe after coughing or sneezing. He started to miss the train on his commute to work because he had to regain his breath after climbing the stairs at the station.
"It was quite frustrating because a lot of people over lockdown were doing things like running, and I couldn't even run past a couple of houses," Halai said.
Doctors diagnosed Halai with scleroderma, a relatively rare immune system disease with an unknown cause where the body produces too much collagen, a protein typically found in the skin, muscles, bones, and connective tissues. Around 75,000 to 100,000 people in the US and 19,000 people in the UK have the condition, which mostly affects women aged between 30 and 50.
The condition meant that collagen had built up in his lungs, so oxygen took longer to get into his bloodstream.
However, completing the London Marathon remained firmly on his bucket list.
Doctors initially treated Halai with chemotherapy to suppress his immune system. The chemotherapy consultations coincided the period when people could apply for the race.
Halai asked his doctor whether it would be possible for him to take part in the race, and the doctor arranged for him to get an oxygen tank to facilitate the endeavor.
Halai needed three oxygen tanks to complete the marathon
The first time he went back to the gym after his diagnosis — with the oxygen tank — Halai felt "a sense of freedom."
He got back in touch with his personal trainer, and together they cobbled together a training program, by "trial and error."
"If I was to give advice to someone who was about to start, I would say start with a short distance and see how your body feels, and then slowly start increasing," Halai said.
The marathon also required meticulous planning.
Halai needed three oxygen tanks to complete the race, as one canister provided him with enough oxygen for about 12 miles. However, oxygen evaporates, so a storage tank was delivered to his house a week before the race.
While he was running with one tank on is back during the race, his wife filled up two more for friends and family to take to him, by train. Three teams, including charities, Halai's medical team, and the London marathon organizers, then helped him swap the tanks at miles nine, 19, and 23.5.
Halai said that the oxygen, which weighed between 15 to 17 pounds, didn't cause any pain or bruises, because he wore a backpack from a budget superstore, costing around $14, which protected his back.
Halai hit 'the wall' at mile 19, but kept going after he saw his friends
Halai said that the lowest point was hitting "the wall" at mile 19.
"I felt like my legs were just getting really tight and my head was dropping," he said. But then he saw his work colleagues and family friends, took an ibuprofen, and "just carried on" until the finish line.
The marathon and training didn't improve his breathing. But he said that the condition hasn't been getting worse like it was before. He continues to take a drug that suppresses his immune system, and a steroid.
Halai would like to do the race again, but acknowledged that training for the usual marathon date in April might be difficult.
"I struggle to train during the winter months, when it is a lot colder and it's harder for me to breathe in, denser, colder, air," he said.
Right now he's looking for a walking event, potentially with a shorter distance, so more people can be involved, including his family and friends.
"I think people should experience these things or these kinds of atmospheres, just to give them a little boost. It's good mentally as well," he said.