The running world is packed with inspiring stories, but Steve Way’s is in a league of its own. How does someone overweight, who’s never played sports and smokes up to a pack a day, turn into a 2:15 marathon runner and earn a call-up to the England team? Who knows, you might be a hidden champion too, or the next person to fall in love with endurance running.
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The turning point for Steve Way
At 33, Steve Way weighed over 100 kg. He had a stressful job and smoked up to 20 cigarettes a day, which left him coughing hard at night. His only connection to sport was watching football on TV, pizza slice in one hand and a beer in the other.
Steve Way finally decided to change something: “I didn’t have a goal in life. I needed to find something that could help me lose weight and stop smoking. I needed the opposite addiction, I needed a passion.” That passion became running.
Steve Way runs his first marathon in 3:07
In 2006, Steve Way signed up for the London Marathon and, after only three weeks of training, managed to run just over three hours. Not bad for a first attempt.
Then he put his trainers away and slipped back into his old habits for a little over a year.
He got a grip again and decided to train seriously. In seven months, Steve Way discovered talent he never knew he had. Suddenly, he was 100th at the London Marathon in 2:35:26, no small feat. His friends barely recognised him, running made him genuinely happy: “Now I’ve got the best of both worlds. I still enjoy a social life, even if I don’t go clubbing anymore, but I have passion and excitement in my life.”
Selected for Team England 8 years later…
It sounds easy, doesn’t it? But to get there, Steve Way had to make sacrifices. He left a very well-paid IT job with punishing hours for a less demanding role.
That allowed him to push his training volume up to 200 kilometres a week (about 125 miles): “I’m a bit selfish because training takes a lot of time. When I got married, I wasn’t the person I am now, but my wife is very understanding. She sees how happy it makes me, and the passion it brings to our relationship.”
In 2014, Steve Way even earned a spot on Team England for the Commonwealth Games, thanks to finishing as the third Brit (behind Mo Farah and Chris Thompson, seriously…) at the London Marathon, running 2:16. He placed 10th in the Commonwealth Games marathon and dropped his personal best to 2:15:16. That same year, he ran 100 km in 6:19:20, a new British record.
Steve Way was a great runner who had no idea what he was capable of. His rise is unreal, and this love for running completely transformed him. It’s never too late to start. If you want better health, more energy, and a real training goal, what are you waiting for? Lace up and run.
RunMotion Coach offers training plans to quit smoking or lose weight by running. Trust the digital coach by downloading the app. Then there’s only one thing left to do, go run.