Roger Wright was morbidly obese his entire life, eventually reaching 325 lbs by his late
40s. Having failed at 100s of diets, food plans, nutritionists, etc and was one signed form away from having gastric bypass surgery, he came up with a completely unpredictable and "impossible" plan that shocked his wife, his friends and even himself.
Roger's father ran the Boston Marathon in 1969 and he promised to one day run it. Even
though he had never run a mile in his life, in June of 2008 at the age of 47 and failing health, he signed up for the 2009 Boston Marathon, running for the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation, a disease his 9 year old niece Julia has.
He had 10 months to change his life, had never run a mile in his life and didn't have a clue on how to train for a race, let alone a 26.2 mile marathon. In his first week of training, he was able to run 10 yards, before gasping for air, fear of a heart attack and having to stop.
But he never gave up.
On April 20th 2009, Roger lost almost 125 pounds (163 pounds) and ran all 26.2 miles of the 2009 Boston Marathon nonstop.
In order to raise money for CF, he made a video chronicling his weight loss, eventually
going "viral" with over 9 million views! Due to its popularity, he appeared on several TV shows including Dr Oz, as well interviewed for publication in numerous books, magazines and on websites.
Many that were inspired by the video (renamed/reposted "The Most Inspiring Video You Will Ever Watch" by a friend) reached out to Roger for help with their own weight
issues. Realizing he had an obligation to help others, he traveled around the world to run marathons with anyone willing to accept his challenge. In the 12 years since Roger ran his first marathon, he has completed 70 "Full" (26.2 miles) and Ultra (>26.2 miles) marathons.
In March 2021, right after completing his 70th marathon and training for his 71st, Roger felt a pain in his right knee, eventually reaching a pain level of 8.5 out of 10. After an MRI revealed that he had numerous issues including a torn meniscus, a ruptured MCL and osteoarthritis, his orthopedist broke the devastating news that his running days were over.
After a downward spiral that lasted well over a year, he did everything he could to find a solution and prove the doctors wrong. In a last ditch effort, Roger plunked down $7000
for stem cells in 2022. In May of 2023, Roger was able to run/walk 28.50 miles, again raising money for Cystic Fibrosis. Incredibly, the pain level in his knee after completing the 28.50 miles was essentially 0!
Now at the age of 62 and after a few more physical setbacks, Roger is now back training to run his 71st marathon in the fall of this year (2024)! Join us as he shares his inspirational story of overcoming obesity and proving that anyone can make an "impossible" change if they never give up and believe in themselves.
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Thank you to Matt Miller @ Smacky Media Group
41 mins