INDIANAPOLIS — For the last 13 years, Indianapolis radio personality Jake Query has run in the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.
But after he suffered a massive heart attack on Oct. 22, Query's tradition was in jeopardy.
"My buddy drove me to the hospital," Query recalled. "I walked Into the ER saying, 'I'm having a heart attack.'"
Query underwent emergency surgery at Community Heart and Vascular Hospital, performed by interventional cardiologist Dr. Benjamin Maatman. It was successful and Query had questions for his doctor about his future.
"I said to him, 'Look, give me an idea here. Will I be able to do the Mini-Marathon in six months?' And he said, 'Well, there's a lot that goes into that.'"
Even in the midst of a medical crisis, Query had his mind on the annual Mini-Marathon. He also asked Maatman to run it with him.
"I foolishly agreed to it," the doctor said.
Query worked to get back to full health and was cleared in January. He decided to run his version of this year's virtual Mini-Marathon on April 21 — six months after his heart attack.
Maatman kept his word, joining Query on his milestone mission. On Wednesday, the pair met on the Monon Trail and ran 13.1 miles together.
"I set out for a goal to get back to this point and it was important he do it with me as well, because there's a symbolism there," Query said.
"He truly has been one of the perfect patients. He's taking all of his medications and doing everything he should do," said Maatman. "It's just great to see someone out there advocating for healthy hearts and doing all the right stuff."