WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas — It's a stress relief for some; it's life-changing for others.
“I try to run three or four days a week,” said Harry Papaconstantinou, who is running the Capitol 10K race Sunday.
Running is what helped Papaconstantinou turn his life around.
“Over my lifetime, I've probably gained and lost over 1,000 pounds,” said Papaconstantinou.
It's hard to believe it now, but at his heaviest, he was 315 pounds and anytime Papaconstantinou lost weight, he said he could never keep it off. As a doctor at Baylor Scott & White, he said for his height he was morbidly obese, borderline diabetic and hypertensive.
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"I could tell even at work I had limitations,” said Papaconstantinou. “There were things I could still do but had to do with significant difficulty."
When he could barely get up to play with his son five years ago, that’s when Papaconstatinou realized something needed to change.
"I was 44 at the time and I want to live as long as I can,” said Papaconstantinou. “I really felt that the best option that I had was to do something then and there.”
So, he had a surgery that helped shrink his stomach, started walking regularly and then running. It took family support but things began to change.
“We prepare in advance so if we're going out somewhere and we know that we're going to need to have food, we bring healthy snacks and water along with us,” said Susan Pike, Papaconstantinou’s wife.
His first goal was to complete a marathon before he turned 50 and he accomplished that goal when he ran in Athens Greece in 2016.
“I have incorporated doing races as part of my lifestyle because it helps me stay active and continue to run,” said Papaconstantinou. “It gives me a goal.”
Today's he's 100 pounds lighter and is training for the Cap 10k. He said competing in races like this has helped change his life.
“One thing I'm really proud of is this is the first time in my lifetime I’ve lost a lot of weight and it's been sustainable,” said Papaconstantinou. “I weigh less now than I did when I graduated high school and I’ve been able to keep it off for over five years."
He said he's almost at his goal weight of 195 lbs., but his main focus right now is to compete and finish the Cap 10k on Sunday.
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