COVER STORY

xx Irish Runner Irish Runner xx

Hannah Nolan was shocked into takingaction about her weight four years ago.Now eight stone lighter and with a3:33.58 marathon under her belt,she tells Frank Greally how shereclaimed her life.

PHOTOS: PAUL MOHAN SPORTSFILE.COM

HANNAH NOLAN got a big shock whenshe looked in the mirror one day inOctober 2008 and saw a reflection ofwoman she hardly knew any more.

The shock factor ran even deeper whenshe looked at a photograph of herself andher month old baby boy William. Sheresolved there and then to take action anddo something about her weight whichhad ballooned over just a couple of yearsto 16 stone.

“When I looked at that photo of meand William back in 2008, I thought O myGod, what do I look like,” she says. “I hadlost all my vitality. I felt stupid and unsureof myself and my self-confidence was onthe floor. I had gradually put on thepounds without taking much notice ofwhat was happening to me but I wasshocked into taking action to reclaim mylife that October day.”

Four years later she is a transformedwoman. She ran a highly respectablemarathon personal best of 3:33:58 inDublin last October as part of the SPAR-sponsored SPARTAN Team, and when Imet at her family home in Tinahealy in theWicklow hills, Hannah is a trim 8 stoneand radiates health and confidence.

Hannah Nolan first noticed that she wasputting on the pounds shortly before herwedding in 2007. A native of Nottingham,

she had met her future husband Gerrywhen he was over in England with friendson a Stag weekend.

“I had difficulty getting into my dress onthe day of the wedding and I suppose thatshould have sounded the first alarm bellsfor me,” she says. “However, it was not untilI put on even more weight (ten and a halfstone on wedding day) and had a baby thatI saw what was happening to me.”

She started her first tentative stepstowards fitness and weight loss in thelead-up to Christmas of 2008 – the startof a journey that would eventually takeher down the marathon road to aninvigorating new lifestyle.

“When I look now at the picture of meand William I can see how grey anddepressed I looked,” she says. “I was 26years of age, 16 stone and feeling everypound of it. “I had to force myself to smileand I felt trapped inside my own body. Iwas drinking too much and smoking aswell and the weight was just piling on.

“It had got to the stage where I couldnot talk to people when I went out to theshops. I was just depressed and felt sostupid – it was a terrible feeling to becarrying around.”

Her pathway to fitness and weight lossbegan when her husband Gerry boughther an early Christmas present of a cross

trainer in 2008. “Gerry could see howunhappy I had become because of mycondition and he bought me an idealpresent which helped get me started inthe right direction. It was a painfully slowprocess as I could do very little to beginwith, five minutes of exercise at most.”

She also started monitoring her dailycalorie intake and she found a programmethat suited her on the internet – theNutracheck Online Diary. She followed thisprogramme diligently in tandem with hernew exercise regime.

Nine weeks after her son was bornHannah had shed one and a half stoneand she was already feeling a little betterabout herself.

She had lost two and a half stone aftereight months, but she was still finding itdifficult to realise that she was makingserious progress. “It was hard going withthe exercise and the calorie counting, but Ihad great support from Gerry along theway,” she says.

Shortly after her daughter Chloe wasborn in December 2009 Hannah extendedher exercise regime to include long walks,pushing a twin buggy along the way. “Itwould be some time yet before I got tothe running stage, but the walking I did atthat time was a big help in getting me fit.”

The Nutracheck programme was

a womanreborn “I had lost all my vitality. I felt

stupid and unsure of myselfand my self-confidence was onthe floor. I had gradually puton the pounds without takingmuch notice of what washappening to me.

“

goingwell too even though she found itfrustrating when she got stalled at the sameweight for a number of months. “I wasstuck on 10 stone for about four monthsand this was a particularly challenging timefor me in keeping faith in what I wasachieving and staying with the plan.”

She eventually progressed to runninglast March and then ran her first race inMay, a 10k event in Rosslare where sheposted an impressive beginner’s time of 48minutes. “I had only been running eightweeks and I was delighted with myself, “she says. “I had hit my goal weight of eightstone in February and I cried all day when Iachieved that target. It was a very confusedfeeling – a sense of loss but also anoverwhelming good feeling of greatachievement. I had the person I was meantto be back again – all my depression waslifted and I was wonderfully happy.

It had been a hard road up to that point,hard on the family too. Hannah had beenmade redundant from her job with HalifaxBank, and a debilitating back injury thatrequired many surgeries made itimpossible for Gerry to work.

“It was not easy with two children andneither of us working,” she says. “Thesaving grace was that we had managed tosell our apartment in Sandyford and moveto this house in Tinahealy shortly beforethings came crashing down in the propertymarket. I love living out here in the countryand the quality of life here is great.”

Shortly after that first race in RosslareGerry Nolan heard an advertisement on theradio about SPAR recruiting a SPARTANTeam to train for the Dublin Marathon inOctober. One runner from each county inIreland would be chosen for the projectand each runner would be given 16-weekpersonalised marathon plan by trainer KarlHenry and nutritionist Paula Mee.

“I applied for a place on the SPARTANTeam as I thought it was just the type offurther motivation I needed to progress myrunning,” says Hannah. “I made itsuccessfully through the initial interviewand screening process, but then I had tocanvass for votes on facebook to gain mefinal selection. There were two of uschosen from Wicklow from the firstinterview, but only one of us would make iton to the team – the one who received themost votes. That was a big challenge initself but I made it through in the end by avery small margin.”

Hannah stuck to the training schedulelaid down by Karl Henry. Week 1 involvedfour training runs: 3 miles, 4 miles, 4 miles,and 7 miles. By Week 7 she was running 8and 9 mile sessions; by Week 12 she hadprogressed to a 20-mile training run.

“I gradually built up the training mileagein small increments and that worked verywell for me,” she says. “I found too that I

had a very competitive streak and mymotivation for completing the marathonwas high.”

Hannah ran 2:34 for the three quartermarathon distance in Athlone in earlyOctober, and she also used the Dublin RaceSeries events as stepping stones towardsthe marathon.

Of course it was not a totally smoothroad, and she had to contend with weakankles and a few knee niggles along theway. But she persevered and was delightedwith her finishing time on MarathonMonday, even though she believes shecould have run a little faster on the day.

Hannah’s running has also brought her

an additional bonus as she has now set upher own company, Why Weight Ireland – afranchise of the very successful Nutracheckonline programme that helped her lose eightstone.

“I am feeling happy and positive and I amnow hoping now to help other people reachtheir Weight Loss goals through my newcompany,” she says. “I really enjoy workingwith people and helping them achieve theirindividual goals”. Her dad Roy has been oneof her first clients and he has lost 3 stone injust four months.

She is passionate about her running andher next big goal is next month’s Kildare.She has now joined her local athletics club,Parnell AC, and club coach Billy Porter isproviding her weekly training schedules. “Ifind it very motivating to be part of an

athletics club and Billy Porter is a really goodcoach, “ she says. “The competitive side ofme is really coming out these days and I amsetting new goals and targets for myself.”

Hannah Nolan is today a wonderful rolemodel for her children William and Chloe. Herhusband has seen a miraculous change in thewoman he loves since that day in 2008 whenhe bought her the early Christmas present ofa cross trainer – the catalyst for Hannahstarting on the road to a new life.

“Hannah is so much a happier andfulfilled woman since she took up exerciseand lost the weight,” says Gerry. “Runninghas been wonderful for her and it is greatfor us as a family to be now following herprogress as a runner. She has some along way in a relatively short time and weare all very proud of her achievements.”

xx Irish Runner

COVER STORY

“ I had the person I was meant to be back again – all mydepression was lifted and I was wonderfully happy.

Swapping junk food and irregular eatinghabits for a simple nutritious diet helpedHannah Nolan lose eight stone. Sheoutlines here ‘before and after’ eatinghabits.

OCTOBER 2008Snacks – Crisps (1-2 packets) andChocolate bars (1 – 2) sometimes a sliceof cake or muffin with my afternooncoffee.

Breakfast – Usually very little or nothing.A coffee when I got to work sometimes.On days where I did have breakfast itmight have been a breakfast roll.

Lunch – Burger King or McDonalds duringthe week while at work. Sandwiches andcrisps, sometimes oven chips on the sideif at home.

Tea – Oven cooked processed foods suchas southern fried chicken breast, ovenchips and beans.

Evening snack Slice of toast with butter.“I look back at that typical daily menunow and it makes me feel sick andashamed – very little fruit or vegetables,nothing really nutritious. No wonder Ilooked so pale and my skin was almostgrey it was so unhealthy!”

MARCH 2012Snacks – Apple, Banana, Low fat fruitYoghurt, crackers with low fat creamcheese

Breakfast – Bowl of porridge and a cupof tea (sweetener instead of sugar)

Lunch – Soup and a roll, or ham saladsandwich or yummy hot chicken bagelwith low fat cream cheese

Tea – Rice, chicken and vegetable stir fry(using low cal cooking spray not oil), orMeat Boiled potatoes and vegetables.

Treats – A chocolate bar or low caloriewheat based crisp snacks. I still like toenjoy a little bit of a treat but just not allday every day.“When I’m training doing long runs I willadjust the food slightly and eat morepasta and rice, and add an extra snacksuch as scrambled egg on brown toastafter a run. And I drink the recovery drinkswith protein and carbohydrate to keep mylevels up! I always eat breakfast now –where before I lost weight I would usuallyskip breakfast. I try and cook almost all of my mealsmyself instead of buying pre-preparedfood so I know exactly what I’m eating. Ofcourse I am still human, I still enjoy mytreats and I am still sometimes am sopushed for time with the kids andeverything else that I have to just throwsomething in the oven. But on the whole,I am healthier, happier and full of energyinstead of feeling exhausted all the time!”

Before and after

Why wait any longer?Hannah Nolan’s weight loss experience inspired her to set up herown business – Why Weight Ireland – which helps peopleachieve realistic and lasting weight loss objectives by using anonline food and exercise diary. The Why Weight Ireland onlinefood diary creates a personalised dietary plan based on your owndetails. The exercise element of the programme creates apersonal fitness based on your goals, current fitness levels andlifestyle. The programme offers online backup, complete privacy,and you can follow all the exercises and schedules in your ownhome or out in the fresh air. www.whyweightireland.ie