AREA MAN LOSES 100 POUNDS, GETS FIT

Ian Harding of London Grove is headed to national triathlon championships

LONDON GROVE » Ian Harding grew up as an overweight child. He endured some levels of bullying when he was young and admitted that he never wanted to run unless he was being pushed to do so.

Then in college, after a series of rude awakenings, he lost 100 pounds and got in shape. Now he is a muscular 220 and on his way next month to his second USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals.

“I’ll be racing on my birthday,” said Harding, 26.

Like many people who were too heavy throughout their youth, he had a story to tell.

He recalled that as a child in elementary school, a school counselor advised him that he should just cut down on his food intake.

“She said, ‘Instead of eating two cheeseburgers, just eat one.’ She didn’t address the problems of the bullying or that I was hungry,” he said.

Later on, when his family moved during his fourth-grade year from Lansdowne to the Avon Grove School District, he said things were better as he had a group of friends and played lacrosse in ninth and 10th grades. Still, he was on his way to more than 300 pounds, and people still made comments about his weight.

After high school he enrolled in Delaware County Community College for education courses and then went on to West Chester University to major in health and physical education. It was then that a series of events occurred that made him reevaluate his lifestyle and get on the track to health.

One of those events was his confrontation with overdrinking. He said he remembered making a fool of himself at a wedding, and then at a later date finding himself wandering on the outskirts of West Chester during the night and

“I love breads — bagels and soft pretzels are my downfall. But now if I eat junk food I feel horrible.” — Ian Harding

CHRIS BARBER — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Ian Harding trains for the upcoming national triathlon championship on his bike as well as in the pool and on the road.