When I made the choice of leaving my political career, I was faced with a challenging decision. A decision that saw me resetting my life path and choosing to fight for my values of family, honesty and loyalty.

I had my loved profession which I would continue to foster and take care of with more energy and dedication. Together with Anna, my love and soul mate, I started a new voluntary experience which helped us both re-evaluate life’s priorities. Anna and I even started a new radio programme “Il-Hajja Sabiha,” wherein once a week we invite and interview special guests with whom we explore their life struggles and positive experiences. Our radio programme, I must say, always leaves us in awe at the power of humanity to overcome painful losses and move beyond. Human beings are a beautiful species with much to offer to the understanding of the resilience of the human mind and spirit!

Readjusting my life path also brought me to decide to take my new hobby, running, more seriously. This athletic endevour was really an interesting twist for me. I have been, in actual fact, a chronic couch potato all my life. Never in my remotest of memories can I ever remember being a sports person with the exception of “watching” football. I even remember vividly, as a kid, trying hard to come up with colourful excuses to abscond from my gym and physical activity classes at St Aloysius.

Finding myself applying for the First London Landmarks Half Marathon, last November, made me realize that I had truly changed. I started training with a club, the Mellieha Athletics Club, benefiting from the coaching skills of Has Kesra. My lifestyle needed an urgent uplifting adjustment and thanks to my sports nutritionist Robert Vella, I embarked on this new life experience. Determination was the only key ingredient. My running mate Tony Vella was and still is an inspiration to me. It is thanks to him that I found the value of physical attunement and the will to wake up at 5.30am each morning on training days.

The target I set to achieve was running a 21Km stretch in 1hr 50min. I decided to run for charity and raise funds for a research society with mental health as its main mission. Considering that a year ago I finished my Malta Half Marathon in 2hours 15minutes I had indeed an arduous challenge ahead. Anyone who is close to me knows how hard I worked for this day. The diet I had to follow was atrocious to say the least, requiring my constant repression to one of the greatest pleasures in life, food.

I managed to lose a bit more than 20 kilograms and this improved my running efficiency. Mostly, it was about eating healthy food and getting rid of unhealthy eating habits that become so customary to people in public life. I trained enduringly come rain or shine. Some people must have probably thought that I was losing my sanity.  I often found myself explaining that I was in actual fact helping my sanity, giving them proof that exercise helps increase endorphins which boost both the immune and mental health systems. Once I committed myself to running the London half marathon, neither giving up nor going back on my challenge were an option for me.

I only had one option and one option alone, sticking to my training and food programmes.

In conjunction with my personal programme, I was also committed to raise funds for The Alzheimer’s Society UK. This endevour brought back fond memories from those past political days; it helped me reconnect with so many people who had supported me throughout my political journey. It felt endearing.

Five days prior to the event, I came down with a cold and some muscle cramps, which was very worrying to me.

Could this be happening?

Well, I thought, I was no one special. I just had to tough it out.

Sunday 25 March I walked towards Buckingham Palace along the mall in order to find my race start position near Pall Mall.

Ten, nine, eight... one and off we went. Circa ten thousand runners all with different and unique agendas and all supporting different causes graced the streets of London city.

I was a bit anxious at first but then I started gaining momentum and kept to my running pace religiously. 1hour 51 minutes later after running 21.17Km, I crossed the finish line.

Of course my entry time was a far cry from the first athlete who crossed the finish line at 1hour 10 minutes. I still felt like a winner. What an experience!

This is the lesson I learnt.

Never give up, hard work pays off but above all, never give in to bullies who want to hurt you out of envy. Life is made up of choices. Today, I feel like a better, healthier person in body, mind and spirit. I have learnt that in giving goodness one receives back a hundred times more goodness. 

I dedicate this experience to all those who are at a cross road in life. When one is here, it is never usually an easy and straightforward road. Mostexperiences require challenging choices. I believe that the best choices are the ones asking oneself to move forward and to look beyond the obvious.

Good luck and Godspeed.

Joe Cassar is a former Nationalist Health Minister and MP