SEATTLE -- In the middle of the Seattle Marathon, a runner suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed just yards away from the finish line. Luckily, he lived to tell his story.

Mike Benson said he could see the finish line of his first marathon when he suddenly collapsed. He doesn't remember what happened next or how much time passed before he came to.

"I'd say probably 30 seconds or three hours," he said.

After he recovered, Benson pieced together his story from other runners' accounts.

"I did enter the stadium, kind of veered off to one side, collapsed, kind of fell into some railing and that's about it," he said.

Benson's wife Serita Benson watched him fall and, fearing the worst, rushed to his side.

"Then I was right there and I had to make sure I was touching his head because I thought to myself if I'm going to lose him, I don't want him to die without me touching him," she said.

But it turned out Benson had collapsed right at the feet of a retired cardiologist, who immediately began performing CPR and saved his life.

After Benson recovered, he received a finisher's medal for completing the marathon. He did come 50 yards short of the finish line, but the race director said Benson made up for those yards at the start of the race.

"Mike started so far back in the pack that I know those 50 yards were there," said Louise Long.

Long said all that matters is whether the runner completed 26.2 miles and, in Benson's case, he did.

It's probably safe to say Benson gave a lot more heart than anyone else.

"He finished in more ways than one," Long said.

Benson said he has a family history of heart disease. He said he takes medication, but have had no warning signs and was cleared to run the marathon.