Couple celebrate weight loss with 14 event challenge for charity

July 23, 2014 // Rachel Ellis

Couple celebrate weight loss with 14 event challenge for charity

Newlyweds Stewart and Lauren McLelland, both 25 from Oxford have lost an astonishing 12 stone between them and will be celebrating by taking part in the Vitality Oxford Half Marathon as part of a self-propelled 14 event challenge.

Lauren and Stewart met whilst studying at Lancaster University and moved to Oxford in 2013. Last January the couple decided that they wanted to lose weight with a view of being able to take part in running events. Stewart said: “We started losing weight in January 2013, we cut everything bad from our diet, taught ourselves about good nutrition, and took up lots of exercise.

“We used exercise DVDs in the living room and by June 2013 we had lost enough weight to finally feel comfortable enough to venture outside and try running. Neither of us had run since school, and even back then we hated it, so we were both very anxious. We managed just over two miles on our first run, and although it was exhausting it already had us hooked. Running became our way of maintaining our fitness.”

The couple are aiming to take part in 14 official running events in 2014 ranging from 5k’s to 10k’s and half marathons, in order to raise money for the Rangers Charity Foundation who collate funds and distribute them to a number of great charities such as UNICEF, Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, SAMH and ENABLE.

Stewart added: “We consider the Vitality Oxford Half Marathon the pinnacle of our efforts this year. Last year we moved to Oxford the weekend before the Oxford Half Marathon. We almost tried to sign up but knew we weren’t ready for it and we immediately set ourselves the goal of completing the race in 2014.

“We have done a number of other running events in Oxford and have enjoyed each of them. Oxford is a glorious city with lots of history and architecture and we can’t think of anywhere more fitting to complete our first half marathon. The running community in Oxford is thriving and it’s very exciting to be a part of it.”

With 14 events in their sights this year, Lauren and Stewart constantly have races coming up, so keeping on top of their training is extremely important. Stewart added: “Our training is going well, we always run together. By doing the 14 runs this year we are keeping on top of training. It’s a big effort and a lot of motivation to wake up early most weekends, but the reward of finishing each race while raising money for a number of great charities is rewarding.”

If you would like to hear more about Lauren and Stewart’s chosen charity and to donate please go to their just giving page at:www.justgiving.com/14for2014.

The Vitality OXFORDHALF is a fast, flat single lap course that takes runners on a tour of the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside. Part of the 2014 route now includes the brand new Bannister Mile. Runners will be diverted to the famous Iffley Road track where they will complete 1 mile on the track following the footsteps of Sir Roger Bannister before carrying on the rest of the course.

For more information about the Vitality Oxford Half Marathon, training tips and to enter please go to www.oxfordhalf.co.uk.

ENDS

For more information or to arrange interviews please contact:
Chloe Chaplin or Kim Hampton at Perfect Motion
0115 9258777
[email protected] / [email protected]

Notes to editors:

• The Oxford Half Marathon is part of the Vitality Run Series, a new national series of eight leading UK road races including the Bath Half Marathon.
• The 4th staging of this popular event will be held on Sunday 12th October. Entries for last year’s race were sold out well before race day, and this looks likely to be repeated for this year’s event, on the basis of high demand for early entry sales to date, and an increased allocation of reserved charity places. So organisers are urging entrants to register quickly to secure their place.
• Oxfam have been confirmed as the official Lead Charity for the 2014 Oxford Half Marathon, and Helen & Douglas House have also been confirmed as this year’s official Local Charity.
• General public race entries open now at www.oxfordhalf.co.uk/entries