22 months after double-lung transplant, Ken Douglas completes Ottawa 10K

In one of the most remarkable stories of Ottawa Race Weekend, Ken Douglas, who had not raced in more than 20 years, completed the 10K in just over 80 minutes on Saturday.

In July 2015, Douglas, whose lungs were reduced to less than 20 per cent of their regular working capacity, had a double-lung transplant in Toronto. Since the transplant, Douglas has slowly increased his runs to as far as 8-9K with the 10K on Saturday, in a race setting, being the farthest he’s run in years.

Prior to the race, Douglas told Canadian Running that he was hoping to break 90 minutes. Splitting 40 minutes for each 5K, he came in well under his goal clocking 1:21:27. His son Lachlan ran 1:00:39.

Originally from Scotland, Douglas moved to Canada following time with the British Army. First experiencing trouble breathing in 1997, Douglas was placed on the transplant list in 2012. He had pulmonary fibrosis, a disease in which the lungs become damaged and scarred.

Douglas ran the Ottawa 10K in support of BeADonor.ca.

If you want to hear more about Douglas’ backstory, make sure to listen the most recent episode of the Shakeout Podcast which featured Douglas as a guest.

Canadian Running is reporting live from Ottawa this weekend so make sure to follow along, both online at runningmagazine.ca and on social media.

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Useful links

– Video interview with Natasha Wodak
– Canadians to watch at the Ottawa Marathon
– Canadians to watch at the Ottawa 10K
– Eric Gillis before the Canadian 10K Championships
– Lanni Marchant on signing with Under Armour
– Canadian 10K Championships recap