Mark Chancey holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland - what does that have to do with running?  Well nothing really, but how often do you get tell people about such a lame degree?

Mark was an athlete in his high school days, playing varsity football, rugby and golf.  But the years of inactivity following graduation weren't pretty.  Mark writes:

My 31st birthday was a memorable birthday, but for all the wrong reasons. I'm not exactly sure why, but on that Saturday morning in 2003, I decided to jump on the bathroom scales, a chore I had avoided simply because I knew the news would not be good and I hadn't been prepared to face reality. I can remember looking down at the LED screen on the scale, waiting for it to throw back a number. Next, I recall slowly lifting my head back up and staring into the mirror, horrified with what I had just seen; the rest from that point on is a little fuzzy.

I had blossomed into a 351-pound blob of a man through my years of inactivity and overeating and just plain eating the wrong things. A large bag of chips, a chocolate bar, and a soft drink had become a nightly snack while watching television. only a couple of years ago. A lot of people have asked me if there was one defining moment in my life when I decided I had to make a change. For me, it wasn't a doctor's warning, it wasn't a heart attack or any other weight-related medical problem - that morning in my bathroom was it for me.

Still standing on the scales, my feelings of shock and bewilderment began to turn to disgust. How could I, an above average high-school athlete, a rugby player, a football player, a golfer, an active person, have turned into what was looking back at me in the mirror? I had always known I had put on weight over the years, I even thought I was getting close to 300 lbs, but when I saw 351 lbs on that fateful morning, it became clear, rather quickly, that change was inevitable. I didn't want to be "cuddly" anymore. I didn't want to wear triple extra large shirts and 46 inch-waisted pants. I wanted to be an athlete, I wanted to be in shape.

Through running and good nutrition, Mark would go on to lose 130 pounds in the years that followed.  His favourite races on his running resume include:

•  Tely 10 - 10 Mile Road Race, St. John's, NL; Revolution Media 10-K, Charlottetown, PE, The Chronicle Herald 10-K, Halifax, NS, World Heritage 5-K, Lunenburg, NS

When not e-Coaching, Mark coaches a running club made up of his co-workers known as T2F, short for Tenacity To Finish.  You can read more about the club here.