Glossop man's weight loss journey ends with a half marathon for charity

A Glossop man’s weightloss journey will culminate in a half-marathon for charity. 

Robert Carpenter, aged 35, is an IT support worker who lives in Glossop. In April 2023, Rob reached his peak weight of 26 stone 7 pounds, and knew he needed to change. 

In just 13 months, he has lost eight-and-a-half stone through diet and exercise. “The main contributing factor has been running,” said Rob. 

“I downloaded the NHS couch to 5k  app in May 2023. I completed the nine week programme, and my graduation run was at Glossop Parkrun, which is my local Parkrun. 

“Since then, I have done nearly 40 Parkruns, and that has led me on to doing this half-marathon for charity.” 

Rob is raising funds for St Mary’s Maternity Hospital in Manchester and wants to raise £500.

This Sunday, Rob will take on the Great Manchester Run.

He has raised £428.10, plus £97.03 in GiftAid so far, he added "My wife is a midwife at St. Mary’s, and I see firsthand from her and her colleagues all the good work that they do."

“I wanted to highlight them, and give them the credit they deserve, hopefully raising some good money for them, the mothers and the babies.”

Rob is aiming to get a time of under two hours, in the city-wide 13.1 mile run and he has been supported along the way by Slimming World in Hadfield, Glossop running club and Pure Gym in Glossop. 

“Losing weight and getting fitter has made me feel a lot better," added Rob.

“I enjoy running, the sense of freedom, seeing the outside world, and getting fresh air, Especially when it comes to exploring the local area, because a lot of the beautiful areas in and around Glossop, I had never actually seen before. Despite moving here over two years ago.”

Rob is not done yet. He wants to lose a further four stone (which would take his final weight to fourteen stone, with a total weight loss of twelve-and-a-half stone) but Rob has the task of a half-marathon to get out of the way first. 

“I would like to say a very big thank you for supporting me and the charity”, added Rob. 

“It does give me a lot of incentive to carry on, and try and smash the run this weekend, you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.”

Viv Williamson, Events Manager at Manchester Foundation Trust Charity is thankful for Rob’s support. 

She commented: “We’re extremely grateful to Rob for his fundraising and we wish him the best of luck in the upcoming Great Manchester Run, Rob’s is an inspirational story and it’s great to see him incorporating fundraising into his pursuit of a healthier lifestyle.

“We hope that his story encourages others to get their trainers on, and get running for a fantastic cause. Fundraisers like Rob provide important support for projects across the Hospital and the money raised by Rob will make a difference to women and babies cared for by Saint Mary’s Hospital maternity services.”

You can donate to Rob’s charity crowdfunder on this link, or by Googling ‘Robert Carpenter JustGiving’.