MIKE Land was given a superhero’s welcome when he passed the finishing line of the half marathon after dressing up as Captain America.
Only two years ago the 47-year-old was overweight, tipping the scales at 17 and a half stone, but now thanks to a lot of hard work and determination to get fit, he completed the course in one hour 56 minutes.
As well as completing the course, Mike, who lives in St Andrews Ridge, also made his mark on the race having won a competition to design its logo.
As a member of the Slinn Allstars, Mike said: “The response running has been brilliant. Unlike before when it used to go out in the countryside we never used to have people along the route but today there was so many people.
“It was great to have the bands spurring people on and then to finish in the middle of town was fantastic.
“A couple of years ago I was 17 and a half stone but thanks to my personal trainer Lee Slinn I’ve managed to get down and now I love running.
“What made me want to lose the weight was when I would see photos of myself on Facebook and immediately want to untag myself.
“Then I thought there’s hardly any pictures that I do like so that is what made me get up and get fit.”
Mike, who raised money for the Prostate Cancer UK charity, added: “I have run for different cancer charities at other events and it is something that so many people are affected by especially in our running group.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here