Not a Clyde, but not far from it either. Don't ever worry about what others think or say. For every 1 negative comment you might hear there are 10 others that know you're doing something positive.
In my area, marathon training started last week for the fall marathons. There are teams organized that you can sign up for. Last year we had a big young man in his 30s sign up for the training team I'm on. He's a big guy. That team runs close to 600 miles in total training up to the marathon in November. During the course of the training, He revealed to me that he had lost around 100lbs before the training started. He still weighed 300+ when training started. He was a warrior! Never cut it short on any of the runs even when we were doing the 15-20 mile weekend runs. He'd go out early with a coach so that he'd finish with the rest of the group. On marathon day he went out way early to beat the heat. Most of the team/coaches sat around and waited for him to finish. Then, we went out and walked in to the finish with him. He had family that crossed the line with him as well. He made it in. It was pretty inspirational! Everyone that crosses that line knows the struggle.
Now that's a great story, but here's the best part. This past Saturday when we had our first run of this year, there he was ready to do it all over again! Getting cheers and fist pumps from everyone. Now, he's just another veteran team member doing his thing and helping the first timers along.
Don't worry about what other might think. You are doing something positive for you life. That's all that matters. You only have 1 life to live. Get out there and live it!
