A Killingworth man is set to achieve his dreams of running the London Marathon after losing five stone.
On top of a milestone of achieving his dream weight, 43-year-old Craig Falcus is set to represent Slimming World as part of their 17-person official marathon team later. Between them, the team of Slimming World members, consultants and head office staff have lost a grand total of 105 stone - and are running to raise money for Cancer Research UK, the Irish Cancer Society and Alzheimer's Research UK.
Craig will run for Cancer Research, and aims to raise awareness of how keeping a healthy weight can help improve people's well-being while reducing the risk of some forms of cancer. It comes after in the North East alone, around 19,500 people are diagnosed with some form of cancer each year.
- Read more: Ashington optician to run the London Marathon in aid of sight loss charity
- Keep up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East with our free newsletter
After struggling with his weight since his teenage years, Craig was afraid to speak up in case it upset his mum - which only made bullying at school for his weight worse. He explained: "Things that should have been easy for me took so much effort and I was always so out of breath.
"It used to pain me to see my friends getting nice designer clothes meanwhile I hid under baggy t-shirts. I realised I needed to take control of my weight for good after a series of events took place. First, I was late for a bus and had to run to catch it. I became so out of breath after a short distance that I vomited on the street – I was absolutely mortified!
"I then decided to join a fitness class to try and improve my activity levels. During the class I made an excuse to visit the toilet where I fainted. Lastly, as I’ve gotten older, I started to suffer from a bad back and a slipped disc, which stopped me from being able to do anything with my three children.
"I decided to join Slimming World as I had seen how successful my wife had been getting to her target weight and running her own group as a Slimming World Consultant. What I love about my Slimming World group is the atmosphere – it’s so warm and welcoming, and I never feel judged.
"I have gone on to become a Consultant myself and run my own weekly group in North Shields."
By following Slimming World's Food Optimising healthy eating plan, Craig learned the skills to make changes to eating patterns while not missing out on some of his favourite meals. He added: "Sharing ideas and tips within group has helped me enjoy trying new recipes which my whole family can enjoy.
"Some of my favourites include sweet chilli salmon with plenty of veg, bolognaises, and homemade burgers."
As he lost weight, the slimmer grew in confidence, deciding to explore Slimming World's magic physical activity support programme - which helps people embrace and integrate active habits into their daily routines. It supports all ability levels and budgets, and can be done at any pace a member feels fit.
Craig went on: "Before joining Slimming World I was not active at all. I would drive to the local shop, and I’d take the kids to school by car too. When I heard about Body Magic it was a revelation to me.
"I slowly built my activity levels up by exploring different machines at the gym and then going for runs out and about - seeing my progress made it easier to keep going. I want to raise as much money as possible by running the London Marathon in aid of Cancer Research UK, in honour of my mum, who had cancer.
"I want to say thank you for the amazing care and treatment my mum received."
Money raised for Cancer Research UK, the Irish Cancer Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK helps fund life-saving research. Anyone who would like to sponsor the Slimming World Marathon team can do so by visiting: https://justgiving.com/campaign/sw-londonmarathon2024
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Story Saved
You can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.
