West Wareham resident Howard Staples, who ran in the Boston Marathon on the Perkins School for the Blind team, finished with a time of 5:09:09.

Staples, 58, received a cardiac pacemaker implant last June after his heart stopped twice in one day earlier in the year. It was his first time running the marathon, which had always been a dream of his, he said. For more about Staples, click here.

"It was quite an experience," Staples said. "I'm not sure just yet if I'd like to do it again, but it was a lot of fun."

Staples works for a group home in Plymouth for deaf and blind young adults. He said he was inspired to run for Perkins because the gentleman he primarily works with, Michael, receives low-vision assessments and likes to borrow digital books from the school.

"The best thing was all the encouragement from people along the course," Staples said. His wife and sister, as well as Michael and his mother, were cheering him on.

Staples was originally placed on the Perkins team waiting list, but he found out just last month that he would be running when two team-members dropped out of the race. He had a fundraising goal of $3,250 and anticipated that he'd surpass that goal by about $1,000 once all donations are tallied.

"I'm doing great," he said. "I'm walking and talking, and I survived."