Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon: Slayde Meyer's weight-loss journey leads him to marathon

“According to that, I was obese,” Meyer said. “That's when I knew I had to change.”

So Meyer started with the basics of weight loss — diet and exercise.

Meyer started his weight-loss journey at around 300 pounds.

From October 2008 to April 2009, he lost around 90 pounds. By the summer, he was another 10 pounds lighter.

It didn't take long after Meyer started running, his preferred workout routine, that running a marathon became a goal.

His uncle had run seven marathons.

“I always thought it'd be an amazing thing to do,” Meyer said.

Just two months after he began losing weight, Meyer was running five miles. In the spring of 2009, he entered his first race, running the 10k at the Redbud Classic.

Two weeks later, he ran the half marathon in Oklahoma City.

The next year, he accomplished the goal he'd set when he started losing the weight — to run a marathon by the time he turned 18 — at the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.

“The moment I crossed the finish line, my life completely changed,” Meyer said. “That was my proudest moment through this process.