Peter Hilton used to be a keen marathon runner. But when an injury obtained while serving in the police stopped the 59-year-old from doing the activity he loved, and saw him being pensioned off from the force, everything changed.
Suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Hilton took a long time to recover physically and mentally from his injury before he began his search for a new career. The Londoner settled on teaching, but the studying, assignments and desk-based learning resulted in his lifestyle becoming sedentary and unhealthy. Overwhelmed by his workload, Hilton prioritised his coursework over exercising and eating healthily, and when he stepped on the scales during the Covid pandemic, he was shocked to discover that he'd gained six stone. 'I thought, maybe I'm about 13st or 14st – I just didn't realise I had got up to 16st 7lbs and it shocked me and worried me a little bit at my age.'
Jen is Membership Director at lsquo;I lost 10 stone in just over a year. Not only did he start to shift the weight but says his stress levels significantly reduced. 'You don't realise the impact it has not doing exercise,' he says. 'Even just a 20-minute walk outside initially really helped me mentally because I was breathing in fresh air. I was bumping into people and stroking a few dogs and getting some sunlight. It just gives you that boost.'
What everyone's reading
He's since lost six stone, is back running marathons again and is clocking the same 5K times as he was 24 years ago.
Now the headteacher of a primary school, Hilton says running serves as the perfect antidote to a stressful job and that he's feeling happier and healthier than ever. Here, he tells RW Peter says losing weight has boosted his self-esteem...
When and how did your weight-loss journey begin?
'I started to put weight on when I went into teaching. I became more inactive as I was studying and working at a desk more. But sometime during the Covid pandemic, I jumped on the scales and I was weighing 16st 7lbs. It sort of shocked me and, at that point, I decided that I would start the Couch to 5K. I did that with my wife, she was a big part of it. And then from there, I entered a couple of Running and body type: which one are you Best running apps for weight loss.'
What was your running experience prior to that?
'Ive lost 6st and now Im running marathons London Marathon and New York Marathons but got pensioned off with an injury and couldn't run for a while. Because I'd run marathons before, I knew I had the mental capacity to push past what my body was telling me I could do. Your mind tells you that you're tired but you know you can do more. So I just kept pushing.'
How did you lose the weight?
'Obviously I've made changes to diet – I'm very careful with what I eat now – but it is more the exercise and the running that's got me to this place. I started the Couch to 5K and thought, I'll see where this takes me, and as I got to the end of the programme and decided I wanted to continue the running, I realised that I need to be refuelling myself properly again and not eating pizzas and takeaway every night because it's easier.
After completing the Couch to 5K, I set a challenge with somebody on Twitter to do a 10K – neither of us had done one yet – and we just did it virtually together. We were both on Zoom and just encouraged one another and we've never met so it was brilliant. If you can do 10K, you know then you can do 12km and then 15km and then you just keep going.
I lost 3st straight away. And then in the last 18 months, I've lost a further 3st because I've started doing longer distances and I'm also going to the gym as well. I'm now 10st 7lbs and I'm running marathons again. Since I started back in 2020, I've done four marathons and 10 half marathons. In total, I've run 110 half marathons – I used to run an awful lot – but I'm now racing most weekends in London, doing a 5K or 10K or whatever is available, so I'm enjoying my running again.'
What's changed for you since losing the weight?
'When I was at my heaviest, my wife and I went on a cruise, and we went to Rome. We were walking up some steps and I had to stop halfway up because I felt dizzy and faint. I was just so unfit and everything was just hard work. Now, I would just be able to run up them!'
How has getting back into running and losing weight improved your mental health?
'When I first started running again, I had a stressful job, and at that time, there was the Covid pandemic, which was stressful for everybody. But the minute I started being able to get back out in the fresh air, and I started being able to do something that I used to really love and enjoy, it started to release all those endorphins again. It really did help with my mental health and certainly helped with my work ethic, as I became a lot more able to concentrate at work.
I did suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when I left the police, and that was partly due to the injuries that I'd received, and it took a long time to recover from that and get back into studying and finding a new career. And from that, I think you're susceptible to being depressed at times, if things aren't going quite right. With the running, that's really helped and it burns off all the negative thoughts.
I've now got a more stressful job – I'm the headteacher of a primary school – but nothing worries me. I've been to the gym this morning and I'll go for a run tonight, and it just helps me to be able to see things more clearly. I'm not feeling depressed or worried or stressed any more. I'm now in a really good place.'
You're writing a book at the moment – what's it about?
'It's called Running and body type: which one are you. It's for the SANE charity. It's all about different people, in different professions and their own personal journeys with regards to mental health and how running has helped them. Lots of people have written to me and sent me their stories. When it gets published, all the money will go to the charity.'
Has your confidence or self-esteem improved as a result of losing the weight?
'Absolutely. People keep saying, you've lost so much weight, how have you done it? People can't believe the transformation. The amount of people I've met through my Twitter account, TheRunningEduc1, at races in London, is amazing too. Initially you just swap messages on there and then you end up seeing people at races and they'll come over and chat and you have a selfie with them. It's just really encouraging, you just encourage one another and that's kept me going.'
How has your running improved since losing the weight – and what races have you done this year?
'I'm running 5K in 25 minutes now, which is what I was doing in 1999 – almost 24 years ago – it's brilliant and I'm really happy. I do everything from 5Ks up to marathons. I did the London Marathon this year. For the last two years, I couldn't get in through the ballot so I did the virtual ones. And this year I decided I would do it through a charity place. I had such a brilliant time all the way round – I loved it. I was running for Great Ormond Street Hospital because one of the children in my school goes there for treatment and they've done some fantastic work for him. I've got a couple of half marathons lined up for later in the year but, in the meantime, I'll do some 10Ks and 5Ks.'
Summer running gear sale Runner’s World, overseeing RW’s new membership programme, set to launch later this year. She has been with the brand for close to three years now – previously working as deputy digital editor, where she covered all manner of running topics, spanning training, health, injury, nutrition and gear. Over the years, she’s interviewed an abundance of awe-inspiring athletes, from top-tier ultrarunners and Olympic champions to everyday runners who have accomplished extraordinary things. Jen has been a sports journalist for 10 years; she is the former editor of Women’s Running magazine and has also worked as Sports Editor at Red Bull. She started running a decade ago and likes to dabble in triathlon a little, too. You’ll find she’s happiest plodding down the Thames path or chowing down on a post-run pastry.
