Marietta paramedics recount saving life at Gobble Jog

MARIETTA, Ga. — A Marietta runner is recovering in the hospital this holiday weekend after firefighters say his heart stopped beating on Thanksgiving morning.

Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach spoke to the two firefighters on bikes got to him just in time to save his life.

He obtained iPhone video that shows the more than 11,000 runners taking part in the annual Gobble Jog Thanksgiving morning.

Firefighters learned Jeff Menard and Dave Hardin were on the course riding bicycles.

"Little bit of training, a little bit of luck," said Hardin.

About half way through the run, near Margaret and Cherokee streets, a man in his 40s went down.

"He fell behind us and some of the other runners were screaming to get our attention," Menard said.

Just after they got to him the man's heart stopped beating.

They say that's when their training kicked in and went to work.

"You don't really have much time to think about your emotions or how you feel. You're thinking about what you need to do to save that person's life," Hardin said.

The bikes have the same life-saving equipment found on the big fire trucks, just a lot more mobile.

The firefighters used a defibrillator to shock the runner's heart and gave him CPR.

"From the time that he went into cardiac arrest to the time we had him in the ER was eight minutes, which is unheard of," Hardin said.

The pair hasn't been able to find out much about the man they saved. But he's now in the hospital and alive.

The bike emergency response team officers use the two wheels during the Fourth of July, other big races and any large event on the square where they need to be mobile in big crowds.

WSBTV