August 6, 2015 12.00 pm This story is over 103 months old

Lincoln’s fundraising slimmer searches for ‘Lucy’ after touching letter

Touching reward: A Lincoln man who has been losing weight and raising money for charity says he is ‘touched’ by a letter praising him for his hard work.
Jonathan, who has lost almost nine stone,has been united with the writer of the letter.

Jonathan Bellshaw from Lincoln was faced with a huge challenge back in October 2014 when he weighed around 30 stone. Now, ten months later and almost nine stone lighter, he’s been given the ultimate confidence boost.

While out for his usual run in the early hours of Thursday, August 6, Jonathan was stopped by a letter addressed to him, praising him for his hard work and determination.

He’s now searching for the writer of the letter in order to thank them for their kind words, which are spreading across the city via social media.

The envelope was attached to a post on Jonathan's running route.

The envelope was attached to a post on Jonathan’s running route.

The letter to Jonathan on his morning Lincoln running route.

The letter to Jonathan on his morning Lincoln running route.

The letter read:

“To the guy with the ‘run for Blood Cancer t-shirt’,

Every morning I drive past you and your lovely little dogs at 6.15am on my way to work and I just wanted to let you know that I think you are awesome.

I wish I had your determination and I hope that you don’t mind me saying – the pounds are just melting off you.

I’ve got a new job now so won’t see you, but you are looking great – keep running.”

The letter is signed with Lucy, a person Jonathan is extremely anxious to meet.

He said: “I began my weight loss journey in October 2014 after a bit of a health scare. My asthma was bad and tests discovered I had a small amount of fat around my heart.

Jonathan weighed 30 stone before taking on the slimming challenge.

Jonathan weighed 30 stone before taking on the slimming challenge.

He's been raising money for charity alongside his weight loss.

He’s been raising money for charity alongside his weight loss.

“To lose weight I took up running with my friend Tracey Fussey, and have been raising money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, to aid the battle against blood cancer.

“I’ve so far completed three 10k races and am approaching the £5,000 mark with my fundraising.”

In addition to collecting donations on his MyDonate page, Jonathan has been inspiring others on his blog Fatboygettingslim. He’s so far lost eight stone and eight pounds through early morning runs.

“I was so surprised to see the envelope on my route this morning”, added Jonathan. “It was stuck on the black box by the traffic lights on South Park in  Lincoln. I wasn’t going to open it at first, but then I realised it was actually for me.

“I’ve been trying really hard and also belong to a Weight Watchers group, and this is such a confidence boost. I really hope that I can track down Lucy and thank her.”