AT 30 stones Michael Steer’s ambition of running a marathon was just a pipe dream - but after shedding more than half his body weight in just three years he’s set to turn those dreams into a reality next month.
The 40-year-old from Wombwell admits that he’s struggled with his weight for all of his adult life and at the age of 13 he already weighed over 20 stones.
He’d tried to lose the weight before but in 2022 decided to give it another go - and it’s certainly paid off.
He told the Chronicle: “I’d been pretty heavy my entire adult life, ever since I was a teenager.
“I’d tried to get the weight off loads of times over the years but it never really stuck for whatever reason.
“By the end of the pandemic, like most people I’d put even more weight on.
“I had type two diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and I clocked in at 30 stones.
“I started to get a bit paranoid about my heart and decided that I would try and do something about it.
“At first I just started walking every single day.
“I discovered that technology had made it a lot easier to track calories and, it turns out, removing that guess work was a real game changer for me.
“I started to make progress that I hadn’t really expected.
“After a year or so I’d lost the best part of ten stones.”
And after a year of putting in the work, Michael decided to see if he’d be able to run.
He added: “I’d never ran before in my life but I thought I’d try and see if I’d be able to do it and tried to run 100 metres.
“I couldn’t.
“But I think because I’d already made so much progress I was a lot more optimistic about what I could do.
“I started Couch to 5K and at first it kicked my ass but eventually got the hang of it.
“I was able to go for longer and longer.”
It’s always been a dream of Michael’s to run a marathon but due to his weight he never felt that he’d be able to do so.
But he’s determined to and his dream will finally come true on October 19 when he runs the Yorkshire Marathon.
He said: “When I was a really big lad, I always thought ‘wouldn’t it be ridiculous if I was able to do a marathon one day?’.
“I’ve done 10K races and various rowing fundraisers for charities, and it was always in the back of my mind.
“I was a bit anxious about it but I booked it though I’m paying for it now.
“I can do a 10K in under an hour but then you realise that the marathon is doing that four times.
“I’ve got to the point where I’m doing 30K at a time and I’m pretty sure at this point I’ll be able to get round.
“I might be dying but I know I can do it.”
And he’s trying to raise money for a charity close to everyone’s hearts in the town - Barnsley Hospice.
“My family have always had a real appreciation of what the hospice stands for.
“I know that they don’t get much in the way of funding.
“Barnsley absolutely needs that service in place and without people trying to support it from charitable donations it won’t exist.
“So it seemed like a great cause to run for.”
Follow the link to donate to the fundraiser:https://justgiving.com/page/york25?fbclid=IwY2xjawMvUR5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFWUGNRWUtUdThVbUZUR0l6AR4H—UamfyezKiF8Z5IThd0PSJ5g9Nz55ycc2BdTOnx5kLzJSc87wFYV9wxvBw—aem—m4A9-CMVfoTjTFx4N719jg
