‘RUNNING HELPED ME GET HEALTHY FOR MY DAUGHTER’
SHARIF ABOELNAGA, 48
After an annual physical in January 2016, I received my usual bad results: I was overweight by more than
2st 2lb and my cholesterol was high. I had a six-monthold daughter and realised I needed to do something about my health if I wanted to see her grow up.
I was doing the occasional 5K and half marathon, and I’d been telling myself for 10 years that I needed to run more consistently, but never managed to do it. That year, I made a resolution and started running five or six days a week, about four miles a day, slowly building to six. The weight started coming off and I started feeling and sleeping better.
The key to staying with it is finding a time to work out that works. Initially, I tried to run at lunch, but my runs would get thrown off by work, so I began running early in the morning. That means getting up around 4am, but it works. I can count on one hand the number of runs I’ve missed in the past few years. I now do marathons and ran my first ultra in November 2020. It helps me stick to a schedule and gives me time alone to think about things, such as how to be a better person, husband and father.
I’ve lost almost 2st 7lb, and my cholesterol is back to a healthy range. The key to being consistent when you’re starting is to just get out there frequently.