The kinetics of oxyferryl (Fe IV dO) heme reduction in horse heart myoglobin (Mb) by a 4 LRu II (a ) NH 3 ; L ) NH 3 , pyridine, isonicotinamide) bound at the surface His48 were investigated with pulse radiolysis. The observed first-order rate constants (k obs1 ) decreased with increasing pH and reduction potential for the a 4 LRu centers (E°/ Ru III/II) 77, 330, and 400 mV for L ) NH 3 , Pyr, and Isn). Rate-pD data obtained in D 2 O for the a 5 Ru derivative revealed the presence of an equilibrium isotope effect, and a pK a of 5.7 (6.2 in D 2 O) was obtained for the acid-base group, which is assigned to the distal His64. A mechanism where protonation precedes ET provides a good fit of the kinetic data for the three a 4 LRu derivatives. Marcus theory analysis of the k ET (0.74, 1.8, and 3.6 s -1 for L ) Isn, Pyr, and NH 3 ) extracted from the k obs1 values yielded a reorganization energy (λ) of 1.8 for Ru II f Fe IV dO ET in the a 4 LRu derivatives but a λ of 2.1 eV for the a 5 Ru derivative. From the latter, it is concluded that ET is strongly gated in the a 5 Ru derivative, and this is assumed to be the major reason for the low reactivity of Fe IV dO in Mb at high -∆G°.