CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A Chicago Police sergeant finished a 15 K race, helped save a life and proposed marriage. All in one day, Sunday.
At the Hot Chocolate Race in Grant Park, Sgt. Mike Nowacki decided to run because his girlfriend, Officer Erin Gubala, had to work the race.
And he planned to propose to her afterwards.
"Yeah, I had the ring in my pocket, in my cargo pocket. Next to all my First Aid gear.”
His equipment weighed 50 pounds, by the way.
On the way to the finish line, a female runner collapsed from a heart attack. He stopped to go to her aid.
"It was definitely a serendipitous moment. Because if I had run a little bit slower or a little bit faster, I would never have encountered the young lady,” Nowacki said.
Officer Gubala says she heard the call on Sgt. Nowacki's police radio about a woman in trouble.
"Lo and behold, before I knew it he was running at me, crossing the finish line. I didn't even see him. And then he got down on one knee. And it was a whirlwind."
"And she had to say yes then, after that," says Nowacki.
Police say the female runner is expected to recover.