Carter Holmes, 58, dearly wanted to compete in the pentathlon at the WMA world indoor championships in France. But life happened, and he probably won’t go. He’s just content to speak French, which he studied in advance of the planned trip. Carter has come out of a four-day coma following a heart attack. And Jim Ferstle’s amazing blog account tells his story. Equally wonderful is Jim’s report on how fellow University of Minnesota track alum Shani Marks helped save his life.

Here’s the first account:

University of Minnesota grad Shani Marks earned a spot on the US team for the World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain March 7-9. The triple jumper was second in her event. More impressive, however, was her role in helping save the life of another former U of M athlete, Carter Holmes.
Nearly two weeks ago, Holmes was training at the Gopher’s indoor facility when he told others that he felt ill. He left the track and, apparently, collapsed in the lobby. That’s where Marks found him: “Amanda Thieschafer, my training partner, and I were working out in the field house that day. We had parked at the meters in the back, and Amanda was rushing out the back door in front of me to try to get to her car before her meter expired. All of a sudden she turned back to me and frantically starts saying ‘Shani, there’s a man here! A man is lying here!’ I had no idea what she was talking about but I came out into the lobby to see Carter laying on his back, not moving, eyes staring wide open, and his face was purple.
“Amanda and I were really scared and panicky, but Amanda dialed 911, and I ran back into the field house to find Mark (the facilities guy). Mark recognized Carter because had been working out in the field house about ten minutes before, but he obviously had no identification on him so no one knew what his name was. Mark ran and got the AED(defibrillator) machine from the opposite end of the field house and, thank God, the ambulance was there within minutes. They started working on him immediately. By the time they took him off in the ambulance he had a faint pulse, so we were so thankful for that.”
Holmes is recovering in University Hospital, where he was taken after the incident, and his brother, Tom Holmes, says that Carter is responding to treatment and will probably be transfered to another hospital soon to begin rehab. Holmes had been training, and learning French, to prepare for the World Masters meet in Paris in March. The quick work by Amanda and Shani could very well have saved his life as , Tom says, one of the blood vessels to Carter’s heart was discovered to have a 100 per cent blockage. There is a family history of heart disease, Tom said, and Carter’s lifelong friend and training partner, Mike Moser, added that Carter had had a physical about a year and a half ago that revealed a high cholesterol level.
DtB will have more on Holmes later.
Regarding the USATF Indoor Championships, Marks noted that she had some problems getting to Boston because of the weather. “My travel started at about 9:30 AM on Friday. I was delayed four hours in Minneapolis and then four hours in Philadelphia. We spent an hour waiting to take off in Philadelphia, and then had to fly circles outside of Boston for about 30 minutes because there was so much traffic coming into Boston. I eventually got into Boston right around midnight. Very long and exhausting days.”
As for the meet, Marks said: “Shakeema (Welsch, who won the event) did pop off her big jump in the first round. I inched towards her every jump, but was not able to quite catch her. It was a good competition though. She made me work, so that was good for me. Although I wasn’t able to catch her, I did have an indoor PR and the most important thing I needed to get out of this meet was to make the World Championship team, so I was really excited about that. I will be leaving for World Champs this Sunday, and the first round of triple jump is Friday March 7. Going into the meet, I want to just have fun and keep things fairly simple and hopefully increase my Indoor PR.”

Here’s the follow-up story:

Carter Holmes, a Universitry of Minnesota and Washburn High grad, is facing a new challenge. On February 13 while working out at the University of Minnesota field house, Holmes (shown in this photo taken at the US Masters Championships in Eugene, Oregon by fellow Masters runner, Thom Weddle) had a heart attack.
Holmes was discovered collapsed on the floor of the lobby of the University of Minnesota Field House by triple jumpers Shani Marks and Amanda Thieschafer, who immediately called 911. “Carter was lucky that it happened where it did,” said his brother, Tom Holmes. “If he’d been doing a run to or around the Lakes, like he’s probably done thousands of times before, who knows how long it would have taken for somebody to find him.”
According to Tom Holmes, Carter had told others at the track that he wasn’t feeling good. Some recall Carter sitting down next to the track. The next anyone knew, he had collapsed in the lobby. As Marks recalled, Carter was on his back, eyes wide open, and face turned purple. The ambulance arrived within minutes of the 911 call, Tom Holmes was told, and Marks recalls that the medical personnel that loaded Carter into the ambulance had been able to detect a “faint pulse.” Carter was transported to the University of Minnesota Hospital and treated with drugs and ice to lower his body temperature, Tom Holmes said.
In a coma for four and a half days, Carter can now talk and has some movement, but is facing a potentially lengthy rehab. When he’s ready, Carter will be transfered to nearby Fairview Hospital or another rehab facility, said Tom Holmes. Tom said that doctors told him that one of the blood vessels to Carter’s heart was 100 percent blocked. Another had undergone angiogenesis, which is the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones. Apparently Carter’s body was attempting to compensate for the blockage, but couldn’t do it.
Mike Moser, a lifelong friend and training partner of Carter’s, said that about a year and a half ago Carter had a medical check up that revealed high cholesterol. He was advised to make lifestyle changes, but since he was already exercising more than average with his training and job as a sports referee, that left modifications in diet and/or medication. The high price of the medication and the fact that the doctors told him once he started taking it, he would be taking it for the rest of his life, seemed to sour Carter on the idea, said Moser.
Heart disease also was a family trait, as his father had had two heart attacks, one when he was about Carter’s age(58) and the second that ended his life after he had turned 80, said Tom Holmes. Other family members had also died from heart disease, Tom Holmes said. What works in Carter’s favor is the fact that he has been very active, is otherwise healthy, and has the discipline and determination of a successful athlete. Though the slurred speech, short term memory loss, and lack of full use of his limbs do indicate that the recovery process will be challenging.
Carter is used to challenges, Moser says. For several years Carter has wanted to run in France. He developed a love affair of sorts with the country, has a model of the Eiffel Tower in his home, and taught himself French. “He would drive other people crazy by talking to them in French,” said Moser. “He was practicing, but we couldn’t understand a word he said. When I visited him in the hospital, his speech was slurred, so I had some trouble understanding, but I swear he was talking to me in French.”
After trying for several years to arrange a trip to France, Carter had booked his flight for March to compete in the indoor pentathlon at the Masters World Indoor Championships in Paris. “He felt he’d done what he could in the hurdles, long jump, shot put, and high jump,” said Moser. “The event he thought he could improve on was the 1,000 meter run. That’s what he was training for, to improve his chances in the 1,000.”
As he booked his tickets with frequent flyer miles, Moser said, Carter couldn’t choose his travel dates, he had to work with what was available. So a short trip became a planned several week visit to France. Carter, Moser said, was at his best finding historical spots, scouting the country, finding things others would miss. “He probably knew the city of Paris as well as he knew Minneapolis, if not better,” said Moser.
Carter, as Moser’s comments illustrate, is a man of many passions, a unique character. Another illustration of this being what can be found in the front yard of his house in South Minneapolis, the steeplechase water jump barrier from the Bierman Field track at the University of Minnesota. “He just happened to be there when they were ripping apart the old track,” said Moser. “He asked if he could take it(the steeple barrier), and they let him have it.”
Wood work is another passion of Carter’s, as described by Jay Morgan in a 2003 article in Minnesota Running & Track. Though he lost part of his middle finger in his right hand in a lumbar yard accident, he turned his back yard into something of a display case for his own unique art. Carvings of baseball teams, cartoon characters, and a homage to his parents are all there to be enjoyed by neighborhood kids, family, and visitors.
All this despite the damaged finger and having a 75 per cent hearing loss since childhood. Carter, it is evident, has handled many challenges. Now he has another one.

It would be nice if the meet organizers in Clermont-Ferrand formally noted his absence and sent him some well wishes.
Hang tough, Carter! You’ll be back!