Run - To throw your weight around

Last month - I ran in Tughlaqabad with a group of folks and I started chatting with one of them - Shivam, about why he was running. He was really fit at 70 kilos and what I thought would be small talk, literally floored me.

He told me he was 145 kgs earlier - I did not believe him! And then he told me he was 145kg exactly a year ago and that 'today' was his anniversary run. Totally incredible!! I asked him to email me his story and his pictures and here they are - they tell the story better than anyone else can. Read this and then check out the pictures of progress

"All I needed was to be free, to be free, to be free…

One Year earlier, I was 146 Kg when I first stepped onto a dusty, red dirt track in the Park looking for a way to shed the embarrassment that I'd felt most of my life.

At that time, I was the boy who ate until my stomach hurt, who slept like there was no sun-rise, who preferred to lie down rather than sit, whose favorite apparel brand was Plusss Size. I used to think that I could not go on and life was nothing but an awful song. I was stuck with a poor self-image.

That day, on the track, I felt like an Alien. At 5'7" and 146 Kg weight, I thought I didn't belong. I was full of doubt and I was cold. I was worried about what the future holds.

The night before I saw tears in my Father eyes because of his overweight son. I was rudely awakened by the rejected feelings that surrounded me that night. Somewhere the hurting must stop...and I was determined to take myself to the limit.

But I soon realized that it’s not going to be easy.

I said to myself - "take it easy and don’t look into the people eyes who were looking down at me." As I ran my first round of park, I found nothing broken, nothing burst, heartbeat steady. So I tried another. And another.

There were days when I felt like I got knocked down but I got up again. I Ran, I Swam, I Gymmed .I got support from my mother for dieting.

I ended up weighing 115 Kg within two months. It was then when I decided to meet this biggest challenge head on and not only overcome my obesity,but conquer it in such a way that I could never look back and say it disabled me. My heart was on fire, I had the strong belief that now no force on earth can stop me from achieving my dream. I fought with my weight by running, Gym, dieting just to kill that bloody fat to survive. I pushed myself until the end but never lost the grip on my weight loss mission.

Now I have found a joy that jumps over sadness. I have found a strength that stands like a mountain. Now I know the meaning of life. I'm leaning on the everlasting Fit life.

I‘ve achieved 70 Kg weight something that for me was once only a distant dream reserved for the world of miracles.

I have found, I've found Myself!

I am Running And Living"

Shivam Goyal

This is inspiring - many of us have a health issue or something that is holding us back, and have a story to tell, where running has made a difference. Go ahead and post your story. Inspire othrrs to change their lives.

Or email me with your story and I will spread it for you.

For more about the benefits of running -
http://runningandliving.com/running_living.html

Have fun on the run

Rahul Verghese

(an accidental runner)