Galway runner wants to go from veggie to Vegas!

Three years ago, he weighed 19 stone and smoked 20 cigarettes a day – now John Quinlivan is running marathons for fun.

The Oranmore man’s inspiring journey from couch potato to marathon man has seen him shortlisted as one of the six finalists for the ‘Rock ‘N’ Run Idol’ contest being held in the lead up to the Rock N Roll Half Marathon which takes place in Dublin on Sunday, August 7.

Up for grabs is a fantastic prize – to be flown with a guest to Las Vegas for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & ½ Marathon on November 13.

The Oranmore man has already run seven marathons over the past three years – and all because he decided it was literally time to get off his backside.

Because after struggling to keep up with friends climbing a hill at the start of 2013, John decided to change his lifestyle.

“I joined a local weight loss group in Oranmore and started to lose weight. That gave me the confidence to join a Zero-to-5K running group which started in Oranmore in January 2013. In ten months I went from having never having run before to finishing the Dublin Marathon in 3 hours 52 minutes,” he revealed.

Since then, John has taken part in many other races including Connemarathon, the Cork Marathon and last September ran in the Berlin Marathon, one of the ‘Big Six’ marathons.

John’s inspirational story caught the attention of the Rock ‘n’ Run judges and he is now competing to become the first Rock ‘n’ Run Idol and win a trip to take part in Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas in October.

And he needs the backing of his home county – you can support him on his way to LA by logging on to www.runrocknroll.com/dublin/rock-idol and giving him your vote.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.