Biddulph man says running has changed his life

Richard Hay said he would run early in the morning as he felt to embarrassed in front of other people

A Staffordshire man said running has changed his life after losing more than six stone (38kg) since taking up the sport.

Richard Hay, 57, from Biddulph, started going on runs when he was 51 and has now competed in multiple marathons.

He said he slowly realised he was unfit and overweight but decided to do something about it and is now "overjoyed" at his transformation.

"It's changed my life. I'm simply a much happier person," the carer said.

Before taking up running he said he had lost his "pizzazz", was drinking too much by "getting sozzled" three or four times a week and often felt tired.

"I'd get tired very early all the time and people just made some little comments," he said.

"It all started to add up. I was a couch potato and I knew and I didn't want to be that way."

'Much happier'

After decades of doing nothing, he decided to take up running and get fit.

"What I found out was that it was very hard," he said.

The first attempt did not last but he made a second attempt a few months later by starting to run at 06:00.

"It was so I wouldn't feel embarrassed. I'd do one easy run - less than three-and-a-half-minutes - much less than half a mile, but I could do it," he added.

"The following week I just ran to the next lamp post.."

Over the following six months he was able to run for an hour which seemed like "an absolute miracle".

"I was simply overjoyed at the transformation," he added.

He said he now feels fitter than he was in his 20s.