Woman who shed half her body weight taking on 10k

Two years ago, Cat Byrne from Kidderminster struggled to play with her son, who, she said, could not fit in her lap.

"I felt really disappointed in myself and embarrassed that I was struggling to do basic things because of my weight," she said.

"I've always been overweight, but between Covid lockdowns, pregnancy and then being a new mom, the weight just kept creeping up."

However, Byrne was inspired by her son to lose more than half of her body weight.

"For the first few years after having my son I kept telling myself I needed to make healthier choices to be a better role model for him as he grows up," she said.

Byrne was 23 and a half stone in 2024, but has since lost 11 and a half stone after joining a weight loss group in January 2024.

Ten months after joining she had lost nine stone, and she then decided to start running to help her reach her final weight loss goal and improve her fitness.

Now, Byrne will be running the AJ Bell Great Birmingham Run 10k on Sunday 3 May, where she will be cheered on by the driving force for her weight loss, her son.

Speaking about her running journey, Byrne said she started running after seeing friends and family members who cited the activity as beneficial for their physical and mental health.

At first, she was embarrassed at her lack of fitness and decided to start running on her own at lunch times when the roads were quiet.

"I would say I was one of the least active people you'd have ever met before October 2024," she said.

"But I kept going with the calorie deficit, running and added in some weight training, and by April 2025 I had lost 50% of my [initial] body weight and gained a whole lot of life."

For Byrne, her now five-year-old son was the reason behind her whole journey.

"Oh, he is absolutely my main inspiration. I want him to grow up seeing exercise as something to look forward to," she said.

"I want him to know that exercise isn't punishment or something we do because we have to, but something we do because we want to.

"I now enjoying being able to run and play with him and inspiring him to exercise and be proud of what our bodies are capable of."

Byrne has only previously run about 5k, but wanted to challenge herself to see how far she has come.

"It keeps me striving to be better for myself and my son," she said.

"He'll be at the Great Birmingham Run cheering me on and seeing his mum doing something she's worked hard to be able to do."

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