Known to many locally as the founder of Westfield TT, a running group consisting of eight hundred and sixteen members, John has released a book, ‘Angel on my Shoulders’, in which Bristol Books, his publisher, describes it as: “John’s remarkable story of overcoming his physical and mental demons, inspired by the tragic loss of two of his closest family members.”
John, who suffers with a severe thyroid condition leaving him with seizures, has been the inspiration and driving force of local running since the early 2000’s. After John’s cousin, with whom he was very close to, tragically died in 2007, John set up Westfield TT to inspire and train other people going through similar losses and life changing medical diagnosis. This heart-wrenching book allows you to follow his inspiring journey into ultra-marathon running and remarkable fundraising efforts, to which he has raised an unbelievable £50,000 for CHSW.
John told The Journal: “£1 from each book I sell is going to Children’s Hospice South West, a charity very close to my heart, as the children I met when I was in hospital are the ones who inspired me to keep going and get better following my diagnosis and treatment.
“The book starts from 2004 when I was healthy and working full-time. Suddenly, my health declined and it really struck me how bad it all got.
“After being in hospital and seeing the children suffering on the wards, I told myself that if I get back on my feet, I would raise money to help them.
“I couldn’t continue to live the way I was after my treatment; I couldn’t even walk when I was normally so active before!
“I made myself walk to the greenhouse, it wasn’t that far but it took me hours to get there, I set myself a goal and I achieved it. I decided from then on that I was going to move forward every single day and never look back. It was, for me, about mind over matter and being positive.
“It took me a month to walk a mile, but that mile was my goal, it was my dream after being told I could not walk again. I did it, with the full support of my cousins, and I thought, look how far you’ve got!
“From walking my first mile, to running my first half-marathon in Midsomer Norton, I was constantly thinking of the money I was raising, and I think that is what got me through all the pain and helped with the seizures.”
John commented on the fact that there were days he could hardly stand up where his body was shutting down, almost as though it was trying to walk with a hand break on.
He remembers his first half marathon: “Midsomer Norton were advertising a half marathon in June, this was February, but I wanted to do it even though I could only just walk a mile. I put everything into training and I reached eight/nine miles in total before the day of the run. I describe in the book what it was like to actually take part in the run; physically I hadn’t trained enough, but I had come so far and had this balance from not being able to walk, to walking a mile and then eight/nine miles, but this was thirteen miles and I hadn’t done it yet. I couldn’t let anyone down so I persevered and when I crossed the finish line, I swore never to do one again.”
After a brief time of stopping running, John made the shotgun decision to sign up for the Bristol Half Marathon after hearing on Ali Vowles’ radio show there was a final slot for a runner to join a team raising money for CHSW. Not thinking he would get through; he got the phone call that changed his life. From June, he trained as hard as he could to achieve his goal again. John said: “When I trained for this half marathon, I was actually sleeping better and going through the nights better. It was helping with the pain!
“Running as a team was incredible, it distracted me from the pain and the distance. I just enjoyed the atmosphere and it was a totally different run all together. It made everything worthwhile and the running so much easier, we even got to visit the hospital and see the impact the money we had raised was making for the children. From then on I have never looked back, I knew I just had to keep running to help my mental and physical health!”
John has only grown stronger since his decision to persevere with running and has undertaken mammoth challenges, difficult for anyone, let alone someone who continues to overcome physical and mental demons such as his. ’Angel on my Shoulder’ highlights the incredible hurdles John has conquered as well as the inspirational non-stop one hundred, one hundred and forty and three-hundred-mile runs he completed all in the name of raising money.
John said: “My diagnosis and health scares taught me that you have to find good from bad and never give up, no matter what life throws at you. This is the message I want people to take from my book, I want to inspire people. All of the hours put in, all of the re-writes will be worth it if I can help and inspire others going through their worst.”
An all-round inspiration to all who know him, John has put his heart and soul into this book and bared all in the hope of helping others. Alongside John stands his wife Jo, who carries the same selfless attitude when it comes to others, standing with him every step of the way.
John and Jo will be signing copies of the book at The White Post Inn, Radstock, on Saturday, 25th June from 11am-3pm, where you can also buy a copy. Alternatively, ‘Angel on my Shoulder’ can be found on Amazon, or www.bristolbooks.org.