Andrew sheds 5 stone and is now ready for the Sheffield 10K

At the start of last year Andrew Boulby was overweight, unfit and coming to terms with being diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic.

Today he is five stone lighter and looking forward to taking part in one of Yorkshire’s most popular charity road runs.

On Sunday 22^nd September Andrew, 36, will join thousands of other runners on the start line of the Asda Foundation Sheffield 10K.

His diagnosis followed a period of feeling very run down. Taking his wife’s advice, Andrew went to see a doctor and had some blood tests. Soon after he received a telephone call informing him that he had type 2 diabetes.

Andrew, who lives in Rotherham, said: “Not long prior to this I had started to do some walking  rather than use the car just to start making a difference but clearly that and diet change weren't going to be enough.

“I fully accepted that I was where I was because of me and I was the only person who could change it.”

After discussions with a friend who took part in triathlons, Andrew started on the couch to 5K programme and hasn’t looked back. He has run a 5K in Rother Valley and completed the Rotherham 10K in 1:05. A week after the Sheffield 10K he is taking part in the Yorkshire Coast 10K at Scarborough.

He said: “It is my intention to seriously consider moving up to 10 mile events at some point next year, with the view to a half marathon before I am 40-years-old.

“When I found out I had diabetes I weighed 20 stone but carried it well so you never really noticed, or I just ignored it shall we say. Currently I am just over 15 stone and since diagnosis I have halved my blood sugar and kept it stable.

“I fully accept my predicament was probably self-inflicted, given working nights and a poor diet.  That meant only I could make positive changes and it's not been easy, still isn't now, but to consider back then I couldn't even run for 90 seconds and now I can do a 10k.”