Steve Way was a 230lb smoker 6 years ago and now he is an international runner
Steve Way was a 230lb smoker 6 years ago and now he is an international runner
If that's not impressive enough he
a) Turns 40 this year and
b) Was in training for a 100km race, which he did a 50 mile training run for a few weeks ago, and entered London on a whim.
His blog's an entertaining read that I'd highly recommend:
Damn impressive... kudos.
Very cool, reminds me a little bit of Ben St Lawrence
Also great to see another ultra runner taking scalps in a marathon.
You guys see he did a 3 mile shake-out the day before London at 5:18/mi pace? Man.. how many kids would even think about doing that!
dayamm, serious talent. Wonder what he could have done if he ran in his 20's?
Right, it's all about talent.
There are lots of people who have had an epiphany, stopped smoking, lost a bunch of weight, and taken up running, seriously...but which of them has qualified for the Commonwealth Games other than this guy?
Fantastic. Sure he puts in a lot of work, but can you say native talent. If he's clean, my hat is off to him--but if I were him I would seriously be wondering what I could have done earlier in life.
Speaking of which, was he always a 230-lb smoker? You would think that with that kind of native talent, he would have been on a school team at some point, and had some decent results.
Reminds me of the great Priscilla Welch, I think the Brits just make 'em extra tough:
She had a most unlikely career in international athletics, having been a smoker of a pack a day until she began running competitively at age 35 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priscilla_Welch
Peter Maher
Former 256!lb ; 60 cigarettes/day ! ; drinking machine ... runs 2:11:46!
http://www.mahersportstherapy.com/born-again-runner-irish-runner-feature-article/
Keith Anderson, whose story should be enough in itself to convince anyone what running can do. Anderson, a former chef, did not take up the sport until he was 30 when, by his own admission, he was "a 14-stone slob, who drank too much and smoked 20 fags a day". Within three years, he was British fell-running champion and he ended his international career by finishing 10th in the 1998 Commonwealth Games marathon in Kuala Lumpur.
good one John. I just looked that up.
Yes the talent is apparent, fast runner, progression. What should also be said is his talent for training and just not getting injured. To go from that weight, training high mileage with Ultras and weekly 50milers thrown in and not have any significant injuries is a major talent in and of itself.
The UK record is held by a former smoker and punk.
Jzs wrote:
Peter Maher
Former 256!lb ; 60 cigarettes/day ! ; drinking machine ... runs 2:11:46!
http://www.mahersportstherapy.com/born-again-runner-irish-runner-feature-article/
Yep! When I read the title, Peter Maher was the first name that entered my mind.
On that "taking scalps" reference, you do know it's now 2014, right? Not PC and insensitive.
Yes, but Maher was a good runner before he got fat and smoked. He probably still had a decent base lurking under the blubber.
Jzs wrote:
Peter Maher
Former 256!lb ; 60 cigarettes/day ! ; drinking machine ... runs 2:11:46!
http://www.mahersportstherapy.com/born-again-runner-irish-runner-feature-article/
Sair wrote:
If that's not impressive enough he
a) Turns 40 this year and
b) Was in training for a 100km race, which he did a 50 mile training run for a few weeks ago, and entered London on a whim.
His blog's an entertaining read that I'd highly recommend:
http://www.steveway.co.uk/
Just read his some of his blog entries. He had planned to run London in 2:30 as a hard training run in preparation for a 100k. It looks like his 50 mile training run was 14 days out from London. About a week out, he felt that he was in the best shape of his life. Decided that if the race day weather conditions were right, he would race the marathon, if not, he would stick with his plan of running the 2:30 hard training run. Did an emergency taper for London, starting with cutting a planned 40 mile training run to 20 miles.
The blog is indeed a great read. Including the added color in the comments.
squeezeme? wrote:
On that "taking scalps" reference, you do know it's now 2014, right? Not PC and insensitive.
You realize it is a message board, right? If you take what an anonymous poster writes seriously then you have issues, nigga.