Biker sees life differently after defying death

A biker who was on the verge of death has said he now looks at life differently three years on from a race that very nearly became his last.

Allan Lain, from Inkberrow, in Worcestershire, had been competing at Mallory Park Racing Circuit in Leicestershire when, without warning, everything went black.

When he woke up three days later from an induced coma he was battered and bruised, not from the fall, but from the frantic efforts to keep him alive after he suffered a cardiac arrest.

"I lifted up my gown and my chest was completely black and blue but that was from the CPR," the 53-year-old said.

"That means someone had fought for me, so it was a good thing.

"I look at life differently now because there's nothing worse that can happen. I try and really fulfil my life and enjoy my life and try and be as happy as I can."

Lain's cardiac arrest happened as he entered a corner on the track, and he believes if it had occurred five seconds earlier he would have been reaching speeds of 100mph.

He said he had no idea what had happened to him when he woke up in hospital.

"I don't remember anything, I don't really remember the night before. The memories kind of disappeared first."

Lain was told the cardiac arrest had been caused by a left artery blockage, which was restricting blood flow to the main pumping chamber in his heart.

After an operation to remove the blockage, his surgeon cleared him to race, but he admits he feared a similar incident could happen again.

"I was pretty certain every night before I went to bed, I wasn't going to wake up the next day, because I thought my heart would just stop," he said.

It took him a while to overcome the anxiety around racing again, but after support from his friends, he was able to get back on his bike.

Lain talked about his first time back at Mallory Park in April 2024, at the same track he had his accident.

He said he lined up on the starting line and thought: "I've got nothing left to lose, because I didn't want that track to beat me."

He won both races that day.

"I went over to the man who did the CPR, and said 'these two trophies are for us'.

"He said 'go and win the championship now'.

"And that's what I did."

Lain went on to become the 2024 Rookie 1000 Champion.

He now wants to raise awareness about the importance of CPR and lifesaving skills.

Lain said: "People might be scared to attempt it [CPR] and you might worry that you're going to hurt that person more".

However, he said acting quickly could save someone's life, adding that more people needed to learn the technique.

"Don't stop until an ambulance gets there. Breathe, you're doing good, at least try."

He thinks the incident occurring on a race track was a blessing, as trained members of staff got to him immediately.

"If this would have happened to me in a supermarket, I probably wouldn't be here now," he said.

A defibrillator was also used on Lain three times before his pulse was restored.

"I was lucky I had the cardiac arrest in front of an ambulance on a race track.

"If I hadn't have been looked after so quickly, then a lot of things could have gone a lot worse.

"I probably wouldn't have been able to ride, I might have had brain damage.

"It's important to act very quickly."

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