Matthew Jones and his journey to the London Marathon

Recruit 12’s Owner, Matthew Jones refers to himself as ‘Enthusiastic, Experienced, Welsh and Chubby’ in his LinkedIn profile. And for the most part, this is true! But the chubby part tells a little bit more of a story that we would like to share with you.

Matt’s Story

Five years ago, when Matt’s beautiful son was born, Matt weighed in at just over 22 stone. What many of you may not know, is that Matt has asthma, and his weight has played a large part in how he has lived as an asthmatic, spending long periods in hospital. Overweight asthmatics can experience more severe symptom and respond less well to medication, and this is where Matt found himself at the time of the birth of his first child.

During a routine asthma check, Matt was told very frankly that if he didn’t do something about his weight, he may well not be around to see his son’s fifth birthday. A very sobering thought. Matt left the hospital on that day and vowed to change his life around. By the time he had reached 26, he had dropped his weight to 18 stone, and a year later he became the owner of Recruit 12. But Matt’s weight loss had stalled, and he knew he had to do something drastic to get himself back on track.

Matt decided that he needed to set himself goals to lose weight and improve his health, so decided to take up running, not easy for an 18 stone asthmatic, but his determination and cheerful optimism drove him on. Today Matt weighs 14 stone and has set himself the ultimate goal of running the London Marathon in April 2020 in aid of Asthma UK.

Asthma UK

Asthma UK is one of the unsung heroes of the charity world. Anyone that has had, or knows someone who has asthma will know how chronic this illness can be. Imagine breathing in, and nothing happens? No air can get into your lungs, and you are gasping to suck every bit of oxygen you can out of the atmosphere. It is terrifying, and you feel so helpless. Every 10 seconds, someone in the UK has a potentially fatal asthma attack. Every single day the lives of three families are devastated by the death of a loved one from asthma. Asthma UK funds research into finding better treatments and ultimately, to cure asthma.

Matt’s Goal

Matt’s goal is to raise £2000, and he is well on the way to achieving this but could do with a little bit more support. As part of his training, he is taking part in an event every other weekend, 10Ks, half-marathons, triathlons, and so on.

We are all behind Matt’s efforts to not only improve his own quality of life but the thousands of people in the UK that suffer from this terrible illness. We would welcome any sponsorship and support that you feel you can spare, and you can read more and see some incredible photos or Matt’s journey on his Virgin Money Giving page.24