People run for different reasons.
Some do it to stay fit.
Some do it to have fun.
Some do it because it gives them a natural high. Some do it because it yields a sense of accomplishment.
Dave Willits runs for what is perhaps one of the most poignant reasons of all ? to celebrate the fact he’s still alive after suffering a massive heart attack 13 months ago. He flatlined three times and had to have his heart shocked 11 times.
‘Just because you have a heart attack or a near-death experience doesn’t mean that life has to stop,? said the 54-year-old former Oxford resident.
On Saturday, May 2, Willits, who now lives in Waterford, will run the first 10-kilometer race of his life when he participates in the Wildcat Race, which begins at Oxford Middle School (1420 Lakeville Rd.).
‘I’m pretty confident that I’m going to be able to do it,? he said.
It still surprises Willits to hear himself say things like this because he never would have uttered those words prior to his heart attack.
‘I used to hate running. I just despised it,? he explained. ‘For me to even think of running in the first place is kind of abnormal. But now, I’m kind of getting addicted to it in a way. It’s a refreshing feeling.?
Of course, having a heart attack took him by surprise.
‘I was in fairly good shape at the time,? he said. ‘I had lost like 40 pounds and I was working out three or four times a week. I was eating pretty good.?
But none of that mattered on March 28, 2014.
It started out like any other day. Willits was doing his job at Pontiac Coil, Inc. in Clarkston.
All of the sudden, he felt ‘a strange tingling sensation? throughout his body. He was light-headed and began to perspire.
Willits asked a fellow employee to call 9-1-1.
When the paramedics arrived and checked his vital signs, they told him he was having a heart attack.
En route to the hospital, Willits was calm and comfortable. He wasn’t having any chest pains or feeling any numbness.
When he got to the emergency room, he updated his Facebook status to read ‘at ER? with the comment ‘just a little heart attack, it’s all good.?
How wrong he was.
When they wheeled him into the catheterization laboratory, he felt his entire body go ‘completely numb? and his ears were ‘ringing loudly.?
‘I felt death,? he said. ‘My heart was stopping. I was dying.?
The doctor told him to make himself cough, but he couldn’t.
Then he heard someone yell, ‘Clear!?
‘I remember thinking, ‘Crap, they’re going to shock me!? Sure enough, it felt like I had been run over by a semi-truck.?
That’s the last thing Willits remembers before waking up less than 30 minutes later.
Standing before him was his son, Mike, who wrestled for Oxford from 2011-13. He informed his father that he had flatlined three times, been shocked 11 times and the doctors had to place three stents in his arteries.
‘If I wouldn’t have been in the cath lab when that happened, I would have died,? he said.
Another stent had to be placed about a month later.
Willits knew he had to make some significant changes in his life to prevent this from happening again.
Through his research, he discovered the whole-food, plant-based diet, which is centered on whole, unrefined or minimally-refined plants.
According to the Forks Over Knives website, the diet consists of fruits, vegetable, tubers, whole grains and legumes. It excludes or minimizes meat, dairy products and eggs as well as things such as bleached flour, refined sugar and oil.
‘I started doing that probably five days after I got out of the hospital and I’ve been doing that ever since,? Willits said. ‘It’s been 13 months now. I haven’t had any meat, any dairy, any fish, any oil. I’ve eliminated all that from my diet and that’s one of the things that’s given me the energy that I’ve got. It’s amazing how good I feel.?
He explained that unlike many of the people around him, he doesn’t feel ‘full? or ‘rundown? after eating.
‘I just don’t experience any of that stuff,? Willits said. ‘It’s been a life-changing experience for me, for sure.?
According to Willits, there’s a ‘rule of thumb? that says once a person has stents or bypass surgery, they’ll need it again 10 to 15 years ‘down the road.?
‘That doesn’t have to be the case. It’s up to you,? he said. ‘Whatever you put in your body controls that. Heart attacks are 99 percent preventable based on my research. It’s a food-borne illness.?
Make no mistake, Willits loves rich, heavy foods like pizza and lasagna, but he loves life more and has absolutely no desire to repeat that frightening hospital visit.
‘I just don’t ever want to experience that again, so I’m not taking any chances,? he said.
That’s why when it comes to his new diet, he doesn’t compromise one iota. He’s 100 percent committed to it 24-7.
These days, Willits believes he’s probably in the best physical shape of his entire life.
‘I weigh 150 pounds right now. Four years ago, I weighed 227,? he said. ‘I weigh less right now than I did when I graduated from high school.?
‘Physically, I feel absolutely phenomenal,? he noted.
Willits celebrated the one-year anniversary of his heart attack by running a 5-kilometer race. Now, he wants to double-down with the Wildcat 10K, which equals 6.2 miles.
He’s been preparing for it by running miles at a time on a treadmill three days a week.
Willits plans to run a half-marathon (13.1 miles) at the end of July and perhaps run a full marathon (26.2 miles) to commemorate the two-year anniversary of his heart attack.
‘I’m just going to keep on going,? he said.
In the meantime, Willits is encouraging people to join him for the Wildcat Race.
‘It’s easier to run when you’re not the lone soul out there,? he said. ‘The more, the merrier.?

Wildcat Race info
The Wildcat Race will take place on Saturday, May 2.
Participants will gather at Oxford Middle School (1420 Lakeville Rd.).
Race fee is $20 per person and proceeds benefit the Senior All-Night Party (Project Graduation).
Same-day registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Or folks can register via the internet at runsignup.com/Race/MI/Oxford/THEWILDCATRACE
There are three ways to participate:
? Wildcat 5K ? The course will loop around Oxford Lake and finish at the OMS track. Race begins at 9:15 a.m.
? Wildcat 10K ? This course will loop around Oxford Lake as well, but there will be a slight variation. Runners will finish at the OMS track. Race begins 9 a.m.
? Bobcat Race ? A 200-meter race for kids on the OMS track. Race kicks off at 8:45 a.m.