Being a part of the MAN v FAT community brings plenty of opportunities for men up and down the UK and Peter Jackson has grabbed that with both hands.
Already a keen runner, joining MAN v FAT Wigan has given him a fresh enthusiasm for hitting the road and that has seen him closing in on a remarkable 4,000km of running this year.
Peter, who is closing in on his 20% landmark with the lads in Wigan, penned the below blog about his story so far – and has kindly shared it with us to show to our wider audience.
I joined MAN v FAT after running the Wigan 10K in 2017 with basically no training and realising just how unfit I was.
I’d entered the race to raise money in memory of my mum. Getting round it gave me a real wake-up call, and MAN v FAT became the place I went to actually do something about it.
Running properly came a few years later. In February 2022, I took on a charity challenge to run two miles every day for the month.
From there, I started setting myself little challenges. I ran a 5K, then a 10K, before deciding I wanted to complete a half marathon before I turned 30.
I left it pretty late.
The day before my 30th birthday, I ran my first half marathon in 2:04.
That gave me the confidence to sign up for the Manchester Marathon the following year. I went into it with a loose goal of breaking 4:30.
I finished in 4:29:45.
Fifteen seconds to spare.
Then I barely ran for almost a year.
By the start of 2024, I was around 102kg again and knew I needed to make a change. I rejoined MAN v FAT, got back into football, started running again and by the summer I was around 80kg.
In 2025, I went back to Manchester Marathon. I wasn’t happy with my time, so I entered another marathon.
That was probably the point I got hooked.
I ran Chester Marathon later that year and, in December 2025, started an Instagram account to document my running and keep myself accountable (@peter.runss).
Since then, running has become a huge part of my life. I’ve run the London Marathon route in reverse, starting at midnight, run a mile for every goal scored during the World Cup, including penalties, and completed a Backyard Ultra, managing 15 laps and just over 100km in 15 hours.
This year alone, I’ve already run over 3,200km and I’m on track to reach 4,000km before the end of 2026.
Most recently, I went back to Chester Marathon and ran a new PB of 3:27:42.
I did that while still technically above a healthy BMI, which I actually think is quite an important part of the story.
I’m still not at the weight I’d ideally like to be. I’m still working on things. But I’m glad I haven’t waited until I’ve reached some perfect end point before setting myself challenges or seeing what I’m capable of.
That’s probably the biggest thing MAN v FAT has given me.
It gave me somewhere to start when I first realised I needed to change, and somewhere to come back to when I’d slipped backwards.
The football, the weigh-ins and the accountability all helped, but more than anything it gave me momentum.
I joined MAN v FAT because I wanted to lose weight and get fitter.
I never expected that decision to eventually lead to marathons, 100km challenges or thousands of kilometres of running in a year.
And I’m still not finished.
But I’ve learned that you don’t have to wait until you’ve reached your goal weight before you start finding out what you’re capable of.
For me, MAN v FAT was the place that helped me start finding out.
