Northern Virginia mom runs marathons worldwide despite heart condition

Maddy Campbell’s running journey began in her teenage years, but five years ago, as a Northern Virginia mom, a routine doctor’s visit for her daughter uncovered both had long QT syndrome, a genetic heart disorder.

“Sometimes you can feel it, sometimes, you can’t,” Campbell said. “What’s happening in the heart is that the electrical signal is misfiring.”

The mother-daughter duo began treatment, and for Campbell, that included a pacemaker.

After treatment, she returned to the sport she loves. With her doctor’s blessing, she was off to the races again.

Campbell ran the Chicago Marathon last fall and then set her sights on a global challenge: the Tokyo Marathon. There, Campbell completed 26.2 miles amid Tokyo’s cherry blossoms earlier this month.

Abbott, the company that made her pacemaker and millions of others, created a support network for people like Campbell, allowing patients to encourage each other through their heart journeys.

Among the cheering crowds in Tokyo were Campbell’s daughter and Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin, who was revived after his heart stopped during a game in January 2023

“It actually was more profound than I expected,” Campbell said. “I work in foreign affairs and often feel that the world is really small and that anything that happens on the other side of the world can affect us here the next day or maybe the same day.”

“I definitely walk around D.C. and marvel at how global our city is,” she said. “Seeing the cherry blossoms now reminds me that we are literally connected in what’s growing here.”