It’s now November 2019, I’ve run Leamington Half Marathon twice, Oxford Half Marathon, Portsmouth’s Great South Run, the Vitality Big Half in London, London Marathon, Bournemouth Marathon and I’m sat here with two days to go until I run Silverstone Half Marathon and I’m doing Liverpool Marathon in 2020. But why do I want to keep running?

Believe it or not, back in October 2017, I weighed 18 stone and was severely overweight. I was sat in a Bingo hall one evening, bored as anything, wondering what to do. Then suddenly my brain clicked, you know want, I’ll enter Portsmouth’s Great South Run. Now being 18 stone and having not run in five and a bit years, you might thinking why I am even considering entering a run, and this was not just a run, this was 10 miles.

So, that was it, I was signed up, I had eight months to train for a 10 mile run around Portsmouth. Now, I’m not going to detail all my runs and how I train, that will be in other posts, but what I am going to do is explain why I run and hopefully encourage you to start.

WHY I RUN? 

Okay, imagine you’re in control of an aircraft, you haven’t got a clue how to land, all you can do is fly, fly and fly. That’s running, except the aircraft’s you. Running allows you to benefit mentally as well as physically. It gives me a chance to leave all my worries at home and just focus on running. Breathing in that fresh air, it’s incredible, the scenery, the early mornings and plus you can eat anything you want after.

HOW TO START 

Right, it’s easy, run. Anyone can do it, it’s all in your mind. To begin with, start with a mile, if that’s too much, half a mile. I recommend running as far as you can as soon as possible. Wake up one morning and think “I’m going to run 8 miles this morning” and just do it, it really is as simple as it sounds. Tell your brain you can do this. As I have Aspergers, i could quite easily do this, if I’m going to do something, I will. That’s how I’m sat here having lost six stone with two days to go until I run my seventh race in three years.

By the way, once you start running, you’ll never stop. It’s like the BEST DRUG YOU’LL EVER TAKE!