Running helped Sam Attwater, 44, lose 4st and deal with the terrible grief of losing her brother. When she started 18 months ago she could manage 30 seconds of running, now she’s training for her first marathon!

This is Sam's Story. 

Five years ago, whilst our family were on holiday in France my 24-year-old brother never woke up. He’d died from cardiomyopathy (sudden adult death syndrome) his heart simply stopped. It was a complete shock to the whole family.

I’ve always been a yo-yo dieter and with James’s death, inevitably I put on weight. I wasn’t in a good place. But when the scales topped over 12st (I’m 5ft 2in) I knew I had to do something, and not just about how I looked, about how I felt, too.

My dad Chris had been a world class runner when he was young (he held the world record for 3,000m at aged 14) and he decided that to help him deal with his grief he’d get back into it after 30 years.

Once he got going, he was very enthusiastic and persuaded me to get started with his personal trainer, Mike Ovens, who specialised in running, and also runs a running club in Eastbourne.

“I was the very last one in”

Just 18 months ago I went to the club’s running session and managed 30 seconds running, then some walking. Not long after this I took part in the club’s 5k. I was the very last one in, running 38 minutes (now I can run it in under 25 minutes). It was an emotional moment for me. Julie, one of the club’s coaches, ran to meet me as I finished and as I crossed everyone clapped and cheered, and I was so touched.

After that, there was no stopping me; I started walk-running four times a week, and doing personal training and circuits. It was hard at the start but I set myself small goals. I ate sensibly, rather than stick to a tough diet regime.

"Running gave me freedom and it was a release for all the emotion and grief I’d been holding in. When I ran I could cry!"

One of my first milestones was completing the whole of the seafront, which is seven miles. I did this just over six months after I’d started running from scratch.

I realised what I’d achieved when Mike attached ankle weights to me that added up to the weight I’d lost and then made me run up a hill! And in May last year I went on a running holiday to the Pyrenees with Chris. We loved it so much we went back in October and the coaches couldn’t believe how much I’d improved.

"I’ve lost a total of 4 stone."

I’ve gone from a size 16 to a size 6. Like lots of people I used to watch the London Marathon on TV every year and think, one day…

Well that one day has now come. It’s not London, but I’m entered into my first marathon in Milton Keynes in April this year.

Read The Running Bug's guide to Training For A Marathon.

“I’m not just running for fun these days, I’m training now and doing it for a reason.”

I used to be envious of the ‘good’ runners. I looked up to them and I wanted to be like them. Just recently I’ve noticed a change, and when I run on the seafront those ‘good’ runners give me the nod; they acknowledge me, I’m one of them, and I like it.

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