Nine months ago, he was a flabby couch potato whose idea of exercise was a walk to the pub.

But all that has changed. Rotherham Advertiser sub-editor Charlie Graves has shed almost two stone, five inches off his waist and forsaken pies for pasta to get in shape for a triathlon last week.

The bosses at the Advertiser, which is a sponsor of the Rother Valley Triathlon Festival, thought it would be a good idea to chart the progress of a beginner in a monthly diary.