Below is am excerpt from Dean Karnazes book 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days — and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance!.

As natural as he now seemed gliding along next to me, Governor Huckabee—turned presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee as I write this—hadn’t always been a runner. In fact, he used to be 110 pounds heavier. During his first years in office, simply climbing the steps of the Capitol Building left him out of breath and sweating profusely. He secretly feared that he would be interviewed by the media at the top of the steps, and that he would be unable to respond appropriately due to his lack of breath. In 2003, his physician diagnosed the governor with adult-onset diabetes, informing him that he would not live more than ten years if he did not lose weight.
That was four marathons ago.
Mike Huckabee is living proof of the unique power of running to cure the most insidious health conditions afflicting our society today: obesity, heart disease, and a host of other weight-related maladies, including adult-onset diabetes. But while he may be the most prominent example of what I jokingly call “the amazing miracle marathon diet” at work, there are countless more examples among everyday folks. In fact, as I listened to Governor Huckabee recount his experience—not the least bit out of breath despite the fact that he was running nine-minute miles as he talked—I was reminded that I had already met several Endurance 50 participants, most of them men, who had lost large amounts of weight on the amazing miracle marathon diet.

You can find Dean’s book here at Amazon.