My Dad: a transformed man

People change over time; it is inevitable, whether it be that you become happier, you fall in love or you grow older. However, from a distance, people cannot notice the change. Changing your physical appearance is a challenge and something that can be inspiring and motivational to many different people. My dad, Scott Godley, accepted the challenge and has made a difference to not only his own life, but mine too.

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It all began when I decided to try a new sport, rugby. To me, this was a nerve-racking decision as I would be trying a sport I had no experience in, with different people whom I would have to cooperate with in order to play effectively. Dad has always been interested in rugby, in fact he was the sole reason I was giving it a go (turns out it was a very good idea!). As my interest grew, and my achievements in the sport progressed, dads support flourished and continued to keep me on track. Little did I know that he felt different. 

Yeah, there’s no denying the fact that he loves being involved in my rugby interests, but I never knew he felt uncomfortable. And no, I don’t mean socially uncomfortable around fellow spectators or parents, I mean uncomfortable in his own skin. I guess I never understood or saw why because he had previously lost 3 stone doing Slimming World, so I assumed that he felt happy with the way he looked. And to me, he looked perfectly fine before doing this. All that mattered to me was that he was still the caring and supportive dad he had always been.

NV Health and Fitness ran a bootcamp class on a Saturday morning in Pitney, so dad decided to try it out. He came back home after the first few sessions tired and worn out, realising that, in his eyes he had far to go in order to reach his goal. Dedication meant that dad attended the class every single week for the next 3 months and each time becoming fitter and more experienced. Soon his determination boosted his confidence and he began running; he started running 1 or 2 kilometres per run, maybe once or twice a week. At this stage, I could see that stopping for him would be a long way into the future. 

Weeks progressed alongside the distance of dad’s runs, 1k turned into 8k within the blink of an eye. Sometimes I would join him and I soon realised that his mentality towards fitness and running had changed; he became like my very own motivator- spurring me on when I was struggling and trying to distract me if I wanted to give up in order to keep me running next to him.

All thanks to NV Health and Fitness dad has managed to lose another stone in weight.
Now dad attends every bootcamp class that he can fit into his busy schedule of work and running around after me (sorry dad, but thank you!!). He recently ran the Langport 10k in an impressive time of just under 50 minutes and is soon to be a part of the NV Health and Fitness team tackling the Grail Quest. 

Becoming fitter is a rewarding thing for yourself and for the people that have seen your journey. I am so proud of my dad.

The moral of this blog and of dad’s story is that anyone can change themselves for the better; you just have to start somewhere.
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