So after starting to document my thoughts and running journey religiously for 3/4 months last year I fell out of the habit…life got in the way!! So before I blog about my training for Edinburgh Marathon in May a round up of my previous exploits was needed to fill in the gaps.
As 2016 came to a close I made it my goal to reignite my musings in the form of this blog. So still as an amateur blogger I will attempt to make a coherent and legible attempt at secreting my thoughts from my brain onto ‘paper’
A bit of background first is that I am a 38 year old fella who has previously struggled with not only my physical health but my mental health as well. I started to run to lose weight but also to keep my thoughts the right side of positive which is a massive task at times for me. After shedding the weight and running my first marathon in 2015 I decided 2016 I was to push on slightly more…slightly more ended up with me running 19 races in 10 months. Every PB was broken, some multiple times, and I ended the year covering a 1039 miles which I am immensely proud of.
2016 in numbers
19 races
3 marathons
1 ultra marathon
6 half marathons
6 10ks
2 5ks
1 15k obstacle course
1039 miles covered
Most importantly for me was that over the course of the 19 races I ran people were kind enough to sponsor me. Together we managed to raise £1250 for the fabulous charity I hold dear to my heart, Bolton Hospice. This was extremely humbling and a very proud moment for me.
2016 PBs
10km (40:49) St Helens 10k
21.1km (1:31:36) Vitality Liverpool Half Marathon
42.1km (3:25:26) Vienna Marathon
86.1km (14:11:20) Race To The King (53.5 miles)
As I think back to last year I managed to achieve things I could never have imagined 2 years ago let alone 5 years ago. This was a time when I was 5 and a half stone overweight, Bordering on clinically obese extremely unhappy in my own skin…A time I have vowed I will never return to. The larger days were extremely dark days for me.
Running aside 2016 was a year my life changed on a personal note and I became a father to a little boy, a little boy who would be one of my main driving forces in all I achieved last year. He brought purpose, smiles and pride to my life he also became a permanent fixture in my finish to races. None more so when at the end of my home town (Bolton) half marathon. With my wife, my son, a friends wife and his children waiting as I was 200 yards from the finish I turned the corner where my eyes met my wife’s and then a sight a will never forget, my sons excitement at seeing his daddy. I grabbed my excited son off my wife and crossed the line holding him in my arm, much to his and the crowd delight. For a split second time stood still and the official photographer captured the moment perfectly. A proud moment captured in a fabulous picture which now adorns the wall at home in the form of a canvas.
Running has given me some fabulous memories and through the power of social media it seems a few people have watched, read about and enjoyed my progress. For this I am extremely humbled and it has kept me going in the dark times when everything hurts. 2017 is set up to be just as epic as I push on with a wild, outlandish dream…I’ll explain in later posts and I’ll again be running 3 marathons in 3 different countries. I always get emotional finishing a race but I suspect I will slightly more so when finishing the year running Chester marathon. I shall be 1/5 of a band of merry men (and one woman) who have all either reignited their running or started from scratch in the last 18 months. I promised one particular member of that group I would get him through his first marathon, I’ll get him round…safely. I’ll get him that awesome feeling I got when I crossed the line if 2015 rock and roll marathon in Liverpool. His and our groups months of hard work, discipline and a final 26.2 miles round Chester will be celebrated however I’ve yet to decide if I let any of them cross the line before me…Will my competitive side allow it?? We will see
16 of my 19 races of 2016 depicted. Every major distance from 5k to 86.1k
I saved all my numbers from races in 2016 and after a a bit of DIY I was able to produce a canvas display to place on the stairs. Makes me smile every day I walk down the stairs to head out to work. Great memories 
Instagram-dwarfmash9
Twitter-angrydwarf9
From fit to fat and back again. The ramblings of a runner trying to push that little bit further 