The Finishing Line

Have a look at how the day unfolded...


Also LISTEN AGAIN to our look back on the whole project with Jon Cuthill.

The dark horse...

A final note from my Mum...

"I was talking to Matthew's Nana this morning discussing the race and Matthew's excellent time when she said " Isn't he a dark horse. Running such a good time after he told everyone how slow he was going to be " I thought 'yes, he has pulled the wool over our eyes again' and I was pleased that I wasn't the only one taken in by him. Matthew is very modest and doesn't brag but he often undersells himself as well. He had all of us convinced that he would be lucky to finish the race so we were all surprised by his finishing time.

He doesn't like letting people down, so if he had said he could run the race in 1 hour 20 mins and did it in 1hour 30 mins that would be a failure. So he says he hopes the finish line will still be up by the time he gets there and then on the day rushes through it in 1 hour 6 mins!

Many many thanks to his friend James and to Jono from B.M.F. who kept him going past the 7Km mark.

Just keep the fitness up with the training and work for for a couple of months while we all recover from your/our ordeal.

Congratulations and lots of love,

Mum."

The Results

WOW - what a day we had on Sunday.



The Big Day!



.. and I did it :)

not only that, but I smashed my expected time. I am over the moon!

I was hoping that if I worked really hard that I would do it in 1h 30m. The official timings have just been posted on the Ropley website and my offically recorded time was 1h 6m!!! AMAZING!

I need to thank everybody who helped me, from the BMF team, to the advice from Portsmouth Uni, to the team at the BBC and of course my friends and family who have been through a fair old bit too.

The future? Well, I certainly want to carry on training and trying to maintain my fitness - the benefits far outweigh the hard work that it requires. I will certainly keep my eyes open for another 10k later in the year and work hard to see if I can equal that time again (and prove it was not a lucky day!).

Thank you for following me for my 10k adventure.

Reporter Matt

Pre-race nerves

Alun's pre-race message

Final Stats

Seems like a long time ago since I first went to Portsmouth University to visit Dr Clare Hencken and her PhD student Nikki Brown in Portsea.

Their weight management programme - BodyMorph - had taken me on as part of their academic study, and they agreed for me to share the results of my tests with the world.

Originally I was almost ashamed of posting my results for the world to see - it's not normal for large people to go around saying how large they are. However, here is the update:

Weight: WAS - 22 stone / NOW - 20 stone 8 pounds
Height: 6ft 4.5in - no change there!
Body Mass Index: WAS - 38.8 / NOW - 36.0 This means that I am still obese, but whereas before I was teetering on the edge of clinically obese, I'm now plain old obese. There's still a long way to go: I need to get nearer to 18stone before I can have the pleasure of being called merely 'overweight'!
Body Type: Endomorphic-Mesomorph (Basically I've got muscle, but also a lot of fat).

However, whilst my body type definition hasn't changed, it does show that I have maintained my muscle mass and that my weight loss is due to a decrease in fat mass. If you don't believe me, have a look:

This diagram shows how I have lost most of my size from my tighs and tummy.

Finally you may have a heard the good luck messages on the show. If not, do LISTEN AGAIN.

So it's Ropley on Sunday.

11am start.

I just hope I make it round before they start taking the finish line down.

Wish me luck.

Reporter Matt

The Final Countdown

So this is it then?

After all those weeks of talking about it the weekend for Matty to actually do it is upon us.

I have to admit I'm slightly nervous for him. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster for the last 10 weeks for all of us. Granted for myself, Lewis and Al it's been very much a mental rollercoaster as opposed any physical sort - but we're shattered nonetheless.

I know Matt's had his ups and downs but as for having to work with the grumpy so and so when he's on a down - talk about draining!!

Newman's taken to his normal role of being chief wind up merchant. He's done his usual teasing for the past 10 weeks despite the fact he's less than half the width of one of Matt's thighs. It just goes to prove what a patient and lovely chap Matt is as he's graciously taken it all in his (quite immense) stride without even the smallest suggestion of physical violence.

It's fantastic to hear and read Matty's got all the support of family, friends, workmates and even (although he probably won't admit it) Alun. Don't under estimate the challenge and the commitment MT has shown for the past couple of months. It has been a total change for Matt - and he's been putting everything, and I literally mean everything, in the public spotlight for all to see.

The good bits, the bad bits and the wobbly bits.

When he crosses the finish on Sunday ironically I reckon it could mean the start of something else for him. It's corny but having proved to everyone and more importantly himself that working out of your comfort zone can get big results I'm sure he'll take it further - although not necessarily wearing trainers.

His confidence has rocketted. Let's just hope it lands somewhere near Ropley.

Good luck buddy - we'll all be there to cheer you on come Sunday.

I might even buy you a pint.

You'll have earned it.