Before: 15st 5lbs
After: 11st
Until my early twenties I was fairly fit, I did a lot of judo and was about 12st 5lbs. I started putting on weight when I went into a training role in my late twenties, early thirties. I was travelling across the country, stopping in hotels with a generous allowance for food and drink. The weight slowly crept up on me.
For many years, my doctor had been telling me to loose weight and do more exercise to control my blood pressure. I had been a self-employed trainer for some time but in November 2011 my work dropped off. So, I decided to take the opportunity to do something about my weight. I weighed 15.5 stones at the time.
I started with slow, 100-yard jogs near our local brook. I was breathless at the end but challenged myself to go a little bit further each time; I also started to eat regular meals. Throughout my training years at work I had a tendency to skip breakfast and sometimes lunch as well.
I found training quite hard at the beginning; I hadn’t run for such a long time that I experienced a shortness of breath. But I kept going, and after a lot of hard work entered Bushy’s Great Southern 10K in August 2012. I completed it in 52:02, coming in 42nd place.
The greatest moment so far has to be running the Weston-Super-Mare Half Marathon. I did a lot to prepare myself for the run and had lost 4 stone, then weighing 11.5 stone. I actually ran it all the way, sprint finished and felt great. I came second in my age group.
The only setbacks I experienced on my way were typical runners’ problems. Initially, shin splints curbed my running for a short time, then ITBS. I had been running with a hernia from August 2012 and finally had my hernia operation last year, which meant no running for a couple of months.
I plan to get faster and run for longer amounts of time. I am looking at competing in next year’s Green Man Ultra. It’s a 46-mile, multi-terrain run around Bristol’s Forest Trails. I now feel a great a sense of freedom, and like how I can slip on a pair of running shoes at any time and just go where I want to. I run to places people can’t get to in a vehicle or on a bike.
