Last year towards the beginning of July I weighed nearly 300 pounds. I was the biggest I had ever been in my life and pretty much all around miserable all the time… I woke up one day and as I was driving to work it literally just hit me out of the blue, I was tired of being fat and tired of feeling like crap and tired of being lazy. In addition to not working out AT ALL, I ate and drank nothing but junk. I stopped at the store and bought some healthy stuff to take to work, joined a gym the next morning on my way home from work and started both eating healthy and working out. After about 2-3 weeks of this I finally bought a scale and weighed in at 256 (my jersey number in LSS) for my first weight. I know I had to be well over 275 when I started… Over the last 10 months I have constantly pushed myself as hard as I possibly can to get where I am now. In the beginning I couldn’t run 1/4 of a mile without stopping. I ran my first 5k in September of 2013 and it took a little over 36 minutes. In December with the support and help of my amazing friends in the LSS’s I completed the 15+ mile Spartan Beast! This year I have done several races from 5k-1/2 marathons up to a full marathon in addition to 10 Spartan races and a few other OCRs. These races both road and OCR give me the motivation to keep pushing forward. I love getting out there and meeting so many amazing people all the time it truly is addictive! The people I have gotten to know here are some of the best people I have ever met in my life. I love the positive attitudes and how everyone is willing to help anyone. It’s what really keeps me going. I am now down to 180 and never felt happier or healthier in my whole life. I plan to continue down this path for the rest of my life and can’t wait to see you all out there either in training or at races! If any of you ever need anything on or off the track, don’t hesitate to ask, you are all my family and I know we all have each others backs!