On February 9th 2024 I turn 47 years old. My 50ish is in the post. At 16 stone I am way overweight. I've stopped playing 5-a-side football. I no longer swim every morning like I used to. My gym membership is lapsed. I enjoy drinking red wine and eating cheese.

And so lifestyle changes are needed!

One of my favourite phrases is that if you reach for the stars you might hit the ceiling. And so, instead of committing to something easily achievable- like starting a diet or renewing my gym membership, I decided to make a bigger commitment and entered the London marathon (April 21st 2024).

Since the start of December I've been running every few days and can now do a 10k at will but the thought of running 4 or 5 times that distance is still pretty daunting. To give myself a chance I've accompanied the running with some other lifestyle changes such as drinking beetroot juice (surprisingly tasty) giving up alcohol (except on my birthday) from Jan 1st until after the race as well as regular weight training and swimming.

No weight loss yet but watch this space.

People who have ran the London Marathon often tell me it was the best day of their lives. I am lucky that I was able to secure a place at will because I work for a charity and I am raising money through sponsorship to support our YMCA, and more importantly the young people who live here.

There is a lot of talk these days about young people's mental health and we support lots of young people who suffer with theirs. In the same way that I've been doing, we utilise exercise and promote healthy living to improve physical and emotional wellbeing. I get to see first hand the significant difference to these young people's moods that a run, a cycle ride, or a game of football can have. Therefore if you would like to support my personal journey, and help fund more of this important and impactful work with young people who need our support then please do so here 👇 All help most gratefully received.

Thanks for reading (a bit of a marathon in itself) 🤣