Mark Black

Mark Black is the only Heart and Double-Lung Transplant Recipient in history to become a 4-Time Marathon Runner.


A resilience expert, coach, and author, Mark helps people break through limitations and develop resilience so they can thrive through challenge and change. Mark doesn’t just teach resilience, he embodies it.


Born with a life-threatening heart defect, Mark underwent two open-heart surgeries before the age of one. He battled his condition and its limitations for twenty-two years until he was forced to deal with the biggest obstacle of his young life. His doctor informed him that his heart was failing, and without a rare and dangerous heart and double-lung transplant, he would not see his 25th birthday.


In 2002, Mark was fortunate that a suitable donor was found. He not only survived the surgery, but less than 3 years later, Mark became the only man in history to run a marathon with someone else’s heart and lungs. Then he did it three more times.


Mark is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), a designation held by less than 800 speakers in the world. He has inspired more than 175,000 people in more than 850 presentations, and has worked with global brands including ExxonMobil and Mercedes-Benz, as well as many national and regional associations.


Mark lives in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, where he spends as much time as possible with the most important people in his life: his wife Marise and their three children, Emma, Matteo, and Caleb.