Full circle moment in New York for South Yorkshire marathon man on weight-loss journey
“I found out twenty-odd weeks before the race so I had that time to lose a load of weight”
A South Yorkshire man has taken on the New York Marathon as part of a weight-loss journey which started in the city three years ago.
Elliot Ford, from Rotherham, first visited the big apple during a cruise in 2023, but at 26 st found himself struggling to keep up with the city.
He said: “From walking around, I came back and felt really big and heavy. I wanted to change my life a little bit regarding health.
“I’ve never really been sporty or anything like that and I’ve had issues with my weight for years.”
After the trip, Elliot, of Maltby, thought about his fiancée and children, and resolved to make a positive change so he could enjoy time with them as he got older.
He said: “I want to be around and be active for them.”
Since then, he has gone on a remarkable journey to lose weight, setting himself goals along the way.
After losing some weight through boxing and exercise, Elliot turned his attention to his ultimate goal of running a marathon and found the NYC Marathon fit perfectly into his plan.
He said: “I know they’re hard to get into. I thought ‘if I get a place I'm doing it but I probably won't’.”
As one of the eight Major marathons, the NYC race is notoriously hard to get into and Elliot had only around a 1 per cent chance of getting accepted.
Surprisingly Elliot was given a place and threw himself straight into a tough training regime.
He said: “I found out twenty-odd weeks before the race so I had that time to lose a load of weight.”
In preparation, Elliot lost around 10 stone and undertook epic 20-plus mile training runs.
Elliot was also running to raise money for Rotherham Hospice, who have supported people close to him during difficult times throughout recent years.
“I’ve got a few older family friends who’ve always had problems with weight throughout their life, and who’ve died early,” he said.
“As little respect as there is in the last few moments of your life, having a place not to lose that respect is great.”
One of Elliot’s relatives was supported by the hospice through a battle with cancer and during the last week of his life.
He said: “What they did in that last week, the whole family got an amazing opportunity to spend it comfortably.
“He didn't want to go but he got the best last week you could ask for.”
For Elliot, returning to New York was a powerful symbol of how far he had come, as he returned to the exact spot he had posed for a photo just three years previous when he weighed 26 st.
He said: “It was a weird full circle. There’s something quite poetic about it.”
He described the race itself as “magical” and a “crazy party”, despite his initial fears that it would be full of hardcore runners.
Elliot said: “Half the race I was dancing about. They're the most friendly group of people ever.”
“I was expecting people who could run it in under 3 hours, but they all want to help.”
He described seeing hip-hop stars Salt-N-Pepa performing ‘Push It!’ when he turned one corner, and Ariana Grande cheering him on from Central Park.
“Everywhere you turned there were people screaming your name and the most weird things happening.
“It was amazing, really amazing. I felt like I had fallen over at some point and was in a fever dream.”
The marathon man explains that he is not done yet, and is already looking for new ways to help out the hospice.
Elliot said: “Having a goal to achieve keeps me going so I need to pick something else.
“I’m going to have a couple of weeks rest first!”
To support Elliot visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/im-not-from-new-york-city-im-from-rotherham