Martinus Evans does not fit the characteristics or the size of someone who runs marathons regularly, but not only has he run them — eight times — he has also started a club to encourage others to do so.
According to CBC Radio, when Evans, now 36, went to his doctor about 10 years ago to get a diagnosis of the pain he was having in his hip, that doctor focused on Evans’ 360-pound frame and said he needed to lose weight.
forwp-incontent-ad1">“I’m sitting there, and my doctor is like, ‘Mr. Evans, you’re fat. You need to lose weight or die.'”
Evans became frustrated and indignant with what the doctor said. “I said, ‘Screw that, screw you. I’m going to run a marathon,'” he recalled.
“And he laughed at me, told me that was the most dumbest thing he has heard in all his years of practicing medicine.”Being told a marathon might kill him that put Evans on track to not only run one marathon but seven more.
He detailed his journey on his Instagram account, aptly named 300poundsandrunning. He also launched what he called the Slow AF Run Club to start an online forum for those who felt they were in the same class as him.
Evans, who is now a certified running coach, recently released a book, Slow AF Run Club: The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Run.
Most of us know what AF (As F**k) means, but Evans said it’s open for interpretation in his club.
“It can mean Slow and Fat Run Club. It can mean Slow and Fabulous. I think ‘AF’ is for anybody to decide what they want it to mean.”
His story was so inspiring to others that he was featured, in the nude, in Men’s Health magazine.
With the success he has garnered after being motivated by his former
doctor, Evans has shown that anyone can fight the stereotypes and become successful at what they want to do.