An Army veteran from Hamilton is taking on a mammoth marathon challenge, starting next month.
John Hughes will be taking on the 26.2 miles of the London Marathon on April 23 before turning his attention to the Edinburgh Marathon on May 28.
The event in Edinburgh will be the culmination of a long fitness campaign for John who has lost an incredible 40 kilos (over six stone) since he started training.
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The 30-year-old, from Hillhouse, said: “Once I came out of the Army I didn’t do anything for three years. All I did was order takeaways, drink and eat deserts and I ballooned up to around 19 stone.
“In 2019 I joined a gym and started to enjoy it but then Covid hit. During the lockdown the gym started doing a 5k so that got me out running.
“I then did a challenge for Alzheimer’s which finished in a half marathon which I managed to do but I wasn’t losing a lot of weight because I hadn’t changed my diet.
“My uncle had died from MND so I then took on the full marathon last year and completed in four and a half hours.
“But it was such a struggle. I was still over 16 stone. It was then I knew I had to change everything.”
John decided return to the gym as well as pounding the roads running and calorie counting with his meals.
The results were drastic and he has now slimmed down to 12st6lb.
John believes he is now fitter than he was while he was serving his country.
“I served in the Scots Guards from 2011 to 2016,” said John.
“Although you have to be incredibly fit I was plagued with injuries to my shoulder and knees so there’s no doubt I’m fitter now than I was when I was 18.”
John, who works for Warburtons bakery, was given the opportunity to run in London for Cancer Research UK by his employer.
He is also grateful for the support he has received from his loving wife Kirsty.
John added: “The guys at work call me Forrest Gump so when the opportunity came along I jumped at the chance to put myself forward.
“When I first signed up for Edinburgh I was determined to take an hour of my time last year.
“I was based down in London when I was in the Army and not many people get the chance to run it so I was going to go and soak up the atmosphere.
“But now I’m going to go for it. The course is flatter than Edinburgh so London will give me the best chance to smash the time. I also want to raise £2000 for the charity.
“Kirsty is amazing, I couldn’t have done any of this without her.
“Our kids are seven, five and three so they take up a lot of time and she never moans if I go to the gym or if I’m out running for a couple of hours.
“It’s a big sacrifice but it has definitely been worth it.”
To donate to John’s fundraising page visit here. You can also follow John's progress on his Instagram account @johnruns
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