A man changed his ways after an eye-opening conversation with a friend.
Two years ago, Joel Poole, 21, from Speke, visited the house of Tom Owens, who is a football coach. Speaking to the ECHO, Joel said: “Two years ago, I was unfit and not where I wanted to be in life.”
The conversation turned to training and getting in shape. Joel said: “He said to me, if someone else can achieve it, why can't you? It was like a switch flipped.
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“You can read all the inspirational quotes you want, see people on social media doing well, but when he said that to me, it opened my eyes.
“He said, 'anything you want to achieve, you can have, you've just got to put hard work in'. He’s done a lot for me.”
Joel soon began an intensive training programme, resulting in climbing the Three Peaks - the highest peaks of Scotland, England and Wales - last year for the Cash for Kids charity. He wanted to improve on this last year and therefore decided to run seven marathons in seven days in Merseyside.
Joel said: “I wanted a big challenge. I thought, what's the biggest challenge to start the year off?
“I'm no runner. Three months ago, I'd never even done a 5k.
“A lot of people have asked me questions. Not doubting me so much, more asking 'do you want to do it this, do you understand what you’re taking on?'.
“When I set out to do this, I knew how big but didn't know at the same time. I wanted to see how far I could test my mind. That's the big one, to see how much I can push myself.”
Joel’s challenge will start on May 2. For the first six days, he will begin his run at Sefton Park, making his way through Otterspool, the city centre and Crosby, before heading back in the opposite direction, a distance of 26 miles.
On the seventh day, he will finish at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, who he is raising money for in this challenge. He said: “My main motivation is that there are children in Alder Hey that love running. There’s children in Alder Hey that would love to run.
“I’m blessed to be able to do what I can do. All the pain that I'm going to experience, there’s children there that will be going through far worse. Alder Hey have been unbelievable to me.”
Joel is becoming more aware of what he is undertaking but insists the challenge is more a mental one than a physical one. He said: “It's going to be seven days of absolute hell. But it's just a mind game.
“The only way I’m going to stop is if I physically have to. I won't be faking injuries.”
In prepartion, Joel completed the recent Manchester Marathon and has been training hard in the Transfit gym in Widnes. Other friends have been training with him for their own goals.
He said: “It's made me find out who is good to be around with. The last few months have been a massive eye-opener for me.
“Multiple friends have been training with me each day to get one marathon over the line. I'm just made up with everyone I've had around me. They’ve pushed me another level. If I wasn't training in that gym, I wouldn't be where I am now."
Despite this, Joel insists he isn’t being complacent about his achievements. He is already planning to compete in the Hyrox fitness race in Paris next year.
He said: “A lot of people say to me, it's crazy what you're doing. But I don't know, maybe when I’ve finished, it'll be a surreal moment.
“I'm just focused on getting this over the line. Then I can celebrate.
“I say I’ll have time off but I won’t have any time off. Then it'll be straight back on the grind. It's crazy from where I was two years ago. That proves absolutely anything can be changed.
"I've been unhealthy and unfit. I’m not saying, looking at me now, because I haven't completed it.
“I'm excited. I can't wait to get going. It's been a long three months of stress. It’s scared me a lot as well. But if it was easy, anyone would do it.”
Joel will be vlogging his journey on his Instagram page, @joelpoole88. You can find out more about his fundraiser here.
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