The heart of runner can mean many things. Such as having the capacity to continue running, or, enjoy running so much, that you have the heart for it.
For Matthew Morales, it’s a bit different. He was born at 25 weeks with a structure of heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. Matthew has open heart surgery this past summer and after laying in a hospital bed for a month, he knew that he didn’t want to feel ‘trapped’ anymore. So, Matthew decided to join track his freshman year of high school at Veterans Memorial.
He did what he could to train and prepare to be on the team, and ended up running a 7:55 mile his first go round. Currently, track season is over for the Veterans Memorial team, but Matthew runs every other day in preparation for Beach to Bay.
This summer, he’s supposed to have another open heart surgery. But, Matthew just hopes that he’ll get clearance from his doctor soon so he can start lifting weights and be able to join Crossfit, again.
As for Matthew, he really enjoys running, even if he doesn’t show it. As for his heart, Matthew says, "it doesn’t make a difference I mean, I don’t think about it."
