Fleetwood man's incredible journey from heart attack to half marathon in one year

A year ago Peter Franklin was fighting for his life after suffering a massive heart attack while on his honeymoon in the Caribbean.

He was diagnosed with severe heart failure and said it felt like he had death hanging over his shoulder.

Starting off slowly by walking around his hospital ward, he then built up to running 5K, 10K and now is taking on a half marathon!

Peter, a Lancashire County Council Enablement Support Worker, will be running the Fleetwood half marathon this Sunday, almost a year to the day of his heart attack.

Kim and Peter Franklin

"I honestly don't know how I survived," said Peter, 53.

Peter and Kim had flown to the Caribbean for their dream honeymoon.

But 24 hours after they arrived, Peter was fighting for his life in hospital after suffering a massive heart attack.

"Due to the location we were in, I was having the heart attack for four hours before I got to a hospital," he said.

"I was taken in an ambulance from one hospital to another hospital 300 kilometres away, so it was 36 hours before I had an operation to have stents put in."

He flew back to Manchester Airport with a full medical escort and went straight from the airport to Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

After spending three days in hospital, Peter, who lives in Fleetwood, suffered another heart attack.

"Luckily that one was nowhere near as bad as the first and it was dealt with straight away," he said.

"But I was diagnosed with severe heart failure and told I would be on medication forever.

"It felt like I had death hanging over my shoulder, it was terrifying."

In December 2025, Peter had a S-ICD (subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator) fitted, so if his heart goes into Tachycardia, this will shock him.

He was also determined to do all he could to improve his health and started exercising.

"I started to work out, slowly at first, but then I started increasing the weights that I was using, then the intensity and the duration, and then I decided to start running," he said.

"I started off running really short distances, but before I knew it, I was running 5k, and then one day I kept going and 10k's started becoming a thing.

"I increased my distance and then decided to sign up for the Fleetwood half marathon on 23 August which is two days before the first anniversary of my heart attack."

County Councillor Tom Pickup, cabinet member for Adult Social Care, said: "Peter's determination to get fitter and improve his health is truly inspiring, but it's clear that he brings resilience and positivity to all aspects of his life.

"Peter works in our Enablement Team where he helps people with learning disabilities and autism gain the confidence to live as independently as possible by teaching them skills from cooking to travelling independently and managing their finances."