MENTOR, Ohio — This week is Heart Failure Awareness Week, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports more than six million adults in the U.S. have this serious condition. 

What You Need To Know

  • Jay Osborne is one of six million adults living with heart failure

  • Osborne also has Crohn's disease, but he said he doesn't let either condition slow him down

  • Heart failure is when the heart struggles to pump enough blood and oxygen throughout the body

  • Osborne estimates he's run 21 marathons in his lifetime, and he expects to do more

But one Ohio man living with heart failure refuses to let it slow him down. 

"I'm a caboose runner," said Jay Osborne. "I'm usually like — I usually rank the last 10 people in the marathon or something like that, but you know what, I finish. That's the important part."

Osborne is a long-distance runner. He considers it a peaceful pastime — one that really became a passion in his 40s. 

"My time away and stuff like that, that's the part I enjoy," said Osborne. "And I like the scenery of Ohio, you could say."

Osborne estimates he raced in 21 marathons in his lifetime, and he has big goals to really go the distance by competing in major ultramarathons someday. 

But for a period of time, he couldn't even walk. And when he runs, he has a colostomy bag at his side because Osborne has Crohn's disease. 

"It was to the point where it was sore just to even walk around, let alone do anything else and stuff like that," Osborne said. "So that was a tough time and everything like that. That was before I had my surgery and stuff like that."

The marathon man's world came to an abrupt halt two years ago when he moved his son into college. During the drive, he collapsed suddenly and was hospitalized for a week. 

Turns out, Osborne suffered a stroke and was diagnosed with heart failure. 

"Out of nowhere," Osborne said. "Absolutely nowhere."

Despite the name, heart failure does not mean that the heart has stopped beating. The CDC reports the serious condition happens when the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to support other organs in the body. 

"You know, I've been a runner all those years," Osborne said, "I thought my heart was fine. Never thought there was an issue or anything like that. Never had shortness of breath or anything like that."

The 51-year-old Mentor man is taking it all in stride and hopes to lead by example for his children. 

"You can never stop accomplishing no matter what you do in life," Osborne said. "Hopefully I can inspire my kids to do the same thing, too."

He is thankful for his team at the Cleveland Clinic, who swapped his life vest with a pacemaker. 

"It's been awakening and everything like that. I take everything very gratefully now because I realize that you know, I'm here and I've got a chance," Osborne said. 

Osborne is once again off to the races. Since the procedure, he's run in several events including a 50K ultramarathon. 

The thought of crossing the finish line again is what motivated him to keep going throughout his recovery. 

"Don't let your struggles be your downfall," Osborne said. "We can always pick up after ourselves."