NBC News Transcripts 

SHOW: Today (7:00 AM ET) - NBC October 27, 2003 Monday

LENGTH: 772 words 

HEADLINE: Heidi Connal runs marathon in remembrance of her husband, a marathoner who died of a rare condition 

ANCHORS: KATIE COURIC 

KATIE COURIC, co-host: Their feet are sore but their hearts are full this morning in Washington, DC. At least 16,000 people completed the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday. One face in the crowd inspired others to keep going, even as she struggled to deal with a painful loss. 

Ms. HEIDI CONNAL: When I'm out there running, very often I think about Jon. It's something of Jon's that I now share. It's something that he loved to do, and now I love to do it too. 

COURIC: It's a passion that Heidi Connal now shares with her husband Jon, because for Heidi, running has become a way of keeping her love for him alive, a love that changed her in ways she never could have known. 

Ms. CONNAL: He loved to laugh. People who met him knew how easy going he was, and they liked to be around him because of that. Jon and I met, it was right after I graduated from high school. We were friends first, and then after awhile it--we fell in love. Jon and I were married December 5th, 1998. He was the best part about me, and I didn't want to live without that. 

COURIC: A year and a half after their wedding, Jon and Heidi left their jobs to travel the world, posting updates on their Web site for friends and family. 

Ms. CONNAL: It was quite a cult following. A lot of people were reading the journals, what happened when we tried to summit Mount Kilimanjaro or what the scuba diving was like in Thailand. 

COURIC: When they got back a year later, they were closer than ever. But nothing could prepare them for what lay ahead. 

Ms. CONNAL: On Thursday, February 13th this past year, Jon called me and he said, 'I--I'm coughing blood.' 

COURIC: The doctors thought it was pneumonia and told Jon to rest at home. That weekend, he seemed better, and then came Monday night. 

Ms. CONNAL: At about 10:30 is when the coughing began, and it was terrible. By the time I called 911, he had already had coughed up so much blood that they didn't know what was wrong, and I just kept saying, 'No, he's a marathoner. He runs marathons, he's 31 years old. Nothing like this has ever happened.' 

COURIC: At the hospital, Jon was rushed into surgery and Heidi waited. 

Ms. CONNAL: It was about 3:30 in the morning when the surgeons came into the room, and you knew from the looks on their faces that Jon didn't make it. 

COURIC: The medical examiner later said Jon's death was caused by a rupture in his pulmonary artery. His case so rare, it's almost unheard of, and there was no explanation why. 

Ms. CONNAL: I'll never forget that night or the--the horrors that it brought. 

COURIC: To share the terrible news with friends and family, Heidi turned to the Web site she had created with Jon. 

Ms. CONNAL: '19th of February, 2003. My beloved Jon died early in the morning hours of Tuesday, the 18th of February.' 

COURIC: Heidi's diary of grief became a kind of therapy, but with an unintended result. Thousands of complete strangers started hearing about her story, and logging on to read. 

Ms. CONNAL: I was getting e-mails from people who I don't even know, who said, 'Let me tell you why this has impacted me.' I think it was people's way of passing on the word to live today, to live life like it could be your last, because you just never know. 

COURIC: As hard as it was, Heidi kept up the journals for weeks, a reason, she says, to get out of bed in the morning. But then she discovered a new motivation, picking up the torch of Jon's other love, running marathons. 

Ms. CONNAL: Jon's friends got together and decided that they wanted to run the DC Marine Corps Marathon for Jon. 

COURIC: The idea quickly snowballed, and this Sunday, 23 friends and family, calling themselves Team Connal, gathered in Washington, DC. Like Heidi, half of them had never run a marathon. But they all came with a single purpose, honoring Jon. 

Ms. SHERRY McPHATTER (Team Connal Runner): His enthusiasm for life. The fact that he went out every day and made the most of it. I thought he died so young.

COURIC: Heidi knew the 26-mile course would at times be a struggle. But she'd already survived so much more. Five hours and a little over 15 minutes later, Heidi had reached her goal. 

Ms. CONNAL: I wish he could be here for my first marathon. He would give me a really big hug and tell me how proud he was. But I'm so happy with this gift that he left me. 

COURIC: And congratulations, Heidi, and to all of you who ran in Jon's memory