Over 36,000 people ran the London Marathon this year and all of them had to overcome some personal demons and issues to get there. On April 25^th Martin Hughes was no exception as he has had to lose 8 stone simply to get to the position where he could train to run the London Marathon. 

Two years ago Martin weighed 26 stone and couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs without being out of breath. His weight ballooned up and down for years he tried dieting and going to the gym but nothing was working. Last year Martin watched the London Marathon and was feeling rather sorry for himself, thinking how much he would love to be a part of something like that but how unrealistic it was.

His sister could see that he was feeling down and convinced him to sign up which he did. When he first approached VICTA he said ‘to run the London Marathon is a personal achievement and lifetime goal. To achieve my goal and to help others would be an honour. If I can raise money to help those children smile then I would have achieved so much’.

 Martin has surprised us all he has lost 8 stone, completed his first London Marathon in 5 hours and 53 minutes and raised over £1,100 for VICTA charity.

Just after completing the London Marathon Martin said ‘This journey with VICTA to complete the London Marathon has been a pleasure and the most amazing experience ever. I hurt everywhere at the moment but it is so worth it, you have helped change my life beyond anything I could ever have imagined!’

A week later Martin signed up to run for VICTA again in the 2011 London Marathon!  This just shows that anything is achievable once you put your mind to it!

Are you inspired by Martins story and want to achieve your dream and run the London Marathon. VICTA still have places for the 2011 London Marathon. Register your interest to Krista at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it