80-Year-Old Manhattan Runner Set for 20th NYC Marathon After Heart Scares

An 80-year-old Manhattan woman is preparing to run her 20th New York City Marathon on Sunday, just weeks after doctors treated her for a second heart arrhythmia in as many years. Laverne Johnson, who moved to New York in the 1990s and began running the marathon that year, will compete alongside her daughter, Lori Milhaven, 60, a two-time cancer survivor, as part of a mother-daughter team. Johnson has set a personal goal of finishing 20 marathons before turning 80. Last year, Johnson was hospitalized at Mount Sinai West on the Upper West Side after suddenly struggling to walk just a few blocks to dinner with her daughters. Doctors diagnosed severe heart failure caused by an irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, worsened by her intense training. Cardiac electrophysiologist Dan Pugliese performed an emergency procedure to stabilize her heart rhythm but cleared her to keep running once she recovered. She went on to complete her 19th marathon weeks later under a run-walk plan. Doctors recently caught a second arrhythmia earlier and treated it with another cardioversion procedure. This time, Johnson says she has no restrictions and plans to run the entire course. Johnson, originally from Missouri, took up running as a young single mother and now also runs a corporate training business in the city.