Lost 120 lbs and run a marathon in 14 months.

This is a article that was done up on me after i completed my first marathon in goose bay, Labrador Canada. call the trapline marathon.

The sport of running is on the rise in Labrador and the 2011 Trapline Marathon produced several great stories from Labrador City. Labrador City isn't Kenya but it is inland past the area trappers referred to as the Height of Land!

In 2011, Chantale Rice from Labrador City burst onto the scene by winning the Half Marathon with a time of 1:42:00. Then there was Doug Kean who completed the marathon in 3:24:14. That was a 45 minute improvement from 2010!

While some runners where blazing through the Trapline route, others like Tim O'Brien from Labrador City were providing their own form of inspiration to runners far and wide. After Tim completed his first marathon in a time of 4:53:40 there were not many spectators who hadn't noticed and few were more proud than his family members who cheered him on throughout the morning. Below is his story:

I started trying to get in shape in August of 2010 after starting a new job here in Labrador City. With my family so far away and long evenings ahead of me I looked for something to keep me busy. Upon looking in the mirror I did not like what was looking back at me nor did I like the fact that everything took so much effort for me to do because I always felt so tired. So I decided to do something about it. What did I have to lose besides a few pounds? Over the years I watched myself get bigger and bigger and used work or something else as an excuse to nothing about it. But suddenly here I was in a new town, with a new job, and an opportunity to go to the gym so I took it.

I began working out in the gym but after six weeks I didn't notice much difference. I was 380lbs and it seemed those pounds were still there. In talking with some people at the gym they suggested I start running so I decided to give it a try with the key word being try. The first week I wasn't able to run for longer than a few minutes and not able to complete a mile run. I didn't let this get me down, it was the opposite. It made me want to run longer, harder, faster. Not really knowing what I was doing, I continued to run. After about a month I began to notice I was finally starting to lose some weight. So I kept at it! Albeit slowly, I was able to run longer and with less effort. By December I had lost about 40 lbs and I had no trouble running 5 k. This after only a month and half of running. I continued training on MY OWN. At this point I was not training for anything other than to get healthy.

By the end of January I ran my first 10 k distance finishing in 1:15. 3 weeks after that I finished 15k. I was feeling great! I was able to run 5 k in 30 mins or less. It was at this point (March) that I decided to run the half marathon in the upcoming Trapline Marathon. I continued my training but moved it outdoors and started running on the road. This was something I was never able to do because it used to hurt my knees. But all the training I did in the gym on the treadmill made my body able to handle the abuse of beating the pavement. At the beginning of June I ran my first half 21.1k distance at a time of 2:18. This was the farthest I had ever run! It was at this point that I changed my mind half marathon and decided to run the full marathon instead. Later that summer I ran a second 21.1k and did in 2:08 …. ten minutes faster than before. My training for the trapline picked up in earnest. To date I have lost 110 lbs but ended up gaining a few pounds back before the marathon from carb loading. This is pretty much my story. The rest is history as they say it. I came to Goose Bay and set out to do what I never thought I could do a year ago and that was to finish a 42.2k. But I DID!!