By james art 
Neil bendski likes to joke that he is half of the man who was before.
This is because he weighed 450 pounds before losing 261 pounds during what he calls a “miraculous running”, in which he overcome the sudden cardiac death and a cancer duel.
The 67-year-old Benwes, a long-time CEO of Sports Marketing, who lives in Phoenix, will join thousands of runners and walkers on Sunday on the Rock ‘N’ Roll Running Las Vegas Half-Marathon series and 10-kilometer competitions.
The 10k will be the 37th bendski race, including a marathon and 17 half-marathons, as in 2016 it survived the widow.
“In principle, I went from the couch to the concrete. This is my scenario in doing these competitions, “he said. “I was a prisoner of my one foot in the grave, 450 pounds and I worked in sports, but I didn’t look part. But I stubbornly.
“I was sustainable and switched from an unfavorable situation – my weight – to a triumph and now I celebrate these triumphs when I came to these events. … I don’t have to be here. “
A native of New Jersey, who had lived in South Florida for more than 20 years, berski was a row on a ring when working at Miami Heath, then Florida Marlins and the University of Miami. He said he would work late, and then sometimes he would emit two large extra force, extra-pizza alone.
“Someone asked me,” Neil, how did you get to £ 450? “It’s quite simple,” he said. “Fan food is not fuel food. I would go to a stadium (for work) and either take fast food or fans food, which is pizza, hot dogs and other things. “
Married with two elderly children, beanski was inspired for the first time to become healthier than his son Justin, who worked in a pizza salon in 2014, visited by his father, who was the heaviest weight.
“One of my spin points was when my son came out with a salad and he looked at me and said,” Dad, I think it’s time for salad, “he said. “Like many of us, I heard, but I didn’t listen.”
“Are you Santa?”
Another turning point took place in 2015 at the OrangeTheory Fitness Room in Phoenix, where Benski works for Arizona, who enjoy the Arena Football League.
“At that time, they allowed the children to wait for their parents. There was a small 3-year-old child on his iPad. His name is Max and I call him my guardian angel, “he said. “He looked at me, and I wore a 5 -time red top and he said to me,” You’re Santa? “
“My first reaction was not PG-13. Then I went to the coach and said, “What should I do? I need to learn nutrition. Then I continued on this miracle. After less than two years, I lost over 199 pounds. “
Benski, who became known as “199Guy”, made a television interview on weight loss on August 2, 2016 at OrangeTheory – where he had completed 2818 classes in the last 10 years. Then he literally fell dead.
“I fell face for 30 minutes after the crew left. I had a sudden cardiac death that was widow. I died. I stopped breathing, ”he said. “So they turned me. Less than 50 percent of people come out of it and less than 10 percent come out of it alone. I did both. “
After he miraculously returned to life, Benski was taken to the hospital. The next day, he had two stents inserted into his heart for what he said it was a hereditary question. Nine days later, he returned to the gym.
“The cardiologist told me that if I had not done my program, I would still not be on this land,” he said. “I decided from that moment to move on, that I would start racing. That God left me on this earth to help inspire other people.
“Then I started doing rock -n -rol events.”
He manages his first rock-n-rol half-marathon in San Diego 10 months after the heart attack survives and did not look back. He comes to the Rock ‘N’ Roll Las Vegas competition since 2017
“This is their Super Bowl,” he said. “As a person who has learned nutrition, as such as thousands of people who come to this event, we are rewarding for the formula, which for me is 80 percent meals and 20 percent exercise.
“This is final lines, not time to finish. This is the way I look at it. Rock ‘N’ Roll, for me, is a holiday for the success of the lifestyle. “
Bendesky said he used the Myfitnesspal meal tracking app to count his macronutrients.
“I learned how to moderate my life and nourish my body for my workouts by learning for nutrients,” he said. “How many protein, carbohydrates and fats do you have in a day.”
“It’s never late”
He conquered prostate cancer last year after being diagnosed with the disease in 2022.
“Cancer beating was not crazy about radiation treatments,” he said. “But I finished this and the side effects were not good.”
Bendesky said he had a rare reaction to his hormonal therapeutic photos after radiation, which made him win 50 pounds. But he is back on the return path, losing 33 pounds from November.
“It’s almost 11 years (since I was 450). The most I was 189,4, “he said. “I’m not 189 now. I’m in the lower 200s. At the end of the day it was a real challenge.
“When I worked for Marlins, I lost over 100 pounds. This time I lost over 199 pounds. I want to be Mohammed Ali from weight loss. He was a world champion three times. I want to be the world weight loss champion for the third time. “
After years of work as a sports director, bendski now works as a defender of wellness, motivational speaker and author. He wrote a book of self-help-“Never2late: How reimagating lifestyle can save your life!” – This was published last year and is available on Amazon.
“I had to be another statistics. Instead, God gave me a second chance. If you are here, so do you, “he said. “Your past doesn’t determine you. Your mistakes do not disqualify you. It is never too late to become who you were intended to be. “
Contact the Todd Dewey reporter at tdewey@reViewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 at X.
Rock ‘n’ roll schedule
Sunday
Lunch: Lululemon Yoga on the strip, New York-Niu York
14:00: The starting village of village opens in Toshiba Plaza
16:30: 10K and half -marathon, Las Vegas Boulevard
20:00: Officially after a party in Liv Las Vegas, host Fontainebleau