Local nurse to run in Pittsburgh Half Marathon after recovering from heart attack

PITTSBURGH — Marathon weekend is taking on a special meaning for one of the runners in this year’s half marathon.

It’s part of Kristen Jordan’s road to recovery after a heart attack.

The 43-year-old nurse from Belle Vernon picked up running in 2019 for a more active lifestyle.

When she finished a half marathon that year, she was hooked.

“I just run my whole neighborhood,” Jordan told Channel 11. “I have a flashing light that I wear. Everyone knows who I am.”

On the outside, Jordan was in peak shape, but a life-threatening condition went undetected on the inside.

She found out about it one day in 2022. She was working from home and initially by herself.

“It felt like someone had both sides of my jaw. So, when it hit my jaw, I knew. I knew I was having a heart attack, even though I tried to convince myself I wasn’t.”

A quick 911 call got her help, and later, a diagnosis. Two clotting disorders required blood thinners that put her on the road to recovery.

“I think I could have easily just blown off how I was feeling and not called 911 and not done anything about it,” she said. “I’m thankful that I convinced myself to do that.”

Even after she was medically cleared to exercise again, it took Jordan much longer to learn to trust her body again. So, for about a year, her Belle Vernon roads had one less runner on them.

“I didn’t run for a long time because of it,” Jordan said. “The fear of being by yourself and then something happens, you’re on the side of the road.”

Eventually, Jordan ran again, becoming more empowered with each step.

With the Pittsburgh Half Marathon ahead, she left the decision to fate.

Her employer, UPMC, raffles marathon bibs every year.

“I thought I will do it if I win a bib, and I did.”

Jordan will be at the starting line on Sunday. She’ll be 13.1 miles away from a finish line that represents the end of a much longer road.

“I feel amazing,” she said. “I hope I make it. I keep telling everybody if I’m there with the sweepers at the end that’s okay. I hope I’m not, but if I am, so what?”

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