At an early age, Magnus was taken into the running world by his active father. Gradually Magnus became more and more inactive, put on more kilos and did not find the willpower and the joy of exercise and a healthy diet. Today, Magnus has changed his lifestyle drastically and aims to complete 42 kilometers during the Oslo Marathon on 17 September.

Magnus Nordum is 24 years old and works in the security industry. He lives in Lambertseter, not far from where he grew up with his family. At a young age he was good at running, participated in several races and did relatively well.

As I got older, I quit football and all other activities. I spent my time playing PC games and eating everything I wanted. When high school came, I had gone from being a good runner, to almost being in the worst shape of all. I had also put a lot of effort into myself. It was quite heavy, when I knew what I was really capable of, says Magnus.

Magnus always gave 100 percent on tests, and got out completely, but never really got started with the training. He tried and failed hundreds of times, but never quite found the motivation. Before joining HMKG (His Majesty the King's Guard), he was determined to get in great shape, but again he failed. He arrived in the military as what he describes as overweight, and left in the same size. He spent the last months of the military eating pizza and being inactive.

After the military I tried to get in shape, but after a short time I failed, and returned to old habits. So in the fall of 2015, something happened in my head. I knew this time it was different. I had lost a few kilos before the summer, so I had some basis, but in the fall something mental happened. Something in my head just said that I had finished living in a body I was ashamed of, says Magnus.

The first weeks passed, and he felt that nothing could stop him. The pounds fell off. Magnus became active on Snapchat and showed off his lifestyle change, not to brag, but to put some kind of pressure on himself.

Apologies are something you get very driven by when it comes to diet and exercise, a little towards others, but most of all towards yourself, says Magnus

It is only when he looks back that he is almost frightened. In many ways, he brainwashed himself. Several times he went through a week of training and felt that he was running, but when he fell for the temptation, his head said just as well that he could give up completely. Stop exercising and eating unhealthily, and he did.  

Since the autumn of 2015, he has lost as much as 40 kilos. Magnus runs a lot. It gives him a feeling of mastery, and it makes it easy to measure improvement.

Magnus has a hairy goal of breaking the record for his father in the long run; 3 hours and 14 minutes on a marathon. This year, the goal is to run in less than 4 hours. Now he trains around six times a week, and varies the distance and intensity as much as possible.

One thing is for sure, I'll be ready when the starting shot goes on September 17th. How do I know I'm not going to give up again? I have done the job on my own. I have not been "forced" to do so. And something mental has happened that makes me feel confident that I will not let it happen, Magnus concludes.