Given that i was morbidly obese 16 months ago, the prospect of running a marathon sounded absurd this morning. But why not try. I drove the 7.5 miles from my house to the start of the Hambletonian Marathon (www.HambletonianMarathon.com) and met my running partner, Michele. Now, I had multiple advantages here. First, the marathon started 7.5 miles from my house – no crazy drive in the AM. Second, it ran the last several miles – the hardest mentally – on the heritage trail, which is my regular running trail – so it really felt at home. Third, I had an honest to goodness real doctor, Michele, who my wife and I went to college with (along with her husband) and had been a good friend for over 20 years. Hey, if you are going to run a marathon, you might as well do it with a doctor by your side!
I was blessed to have my wife, parents, in-laws, heck, even the County Executive, who happens to be my client and a good friend, showed up to cheer me on, along with other running friends. How lucky I was. Here are a few pictures from that day. I figured it would take me about 6 hours (the course time limit) to finish. In the end it was 4:39. I was thrilled. To have gone from morbidly obese to marathon runner in 16 months – just through diet and exercise – no surgery, was an amazing feeling.
Morbidly Obese to MARATHON Runner 