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Bhakti Mathur

Watching Paul Goodson conquer Hong Kong’s gruelling trail runs and blaze through Hyrox arenas, it is hard to imagine that nine years ago he was trapped in an obese body that was failing him.
In 2017, at the age of 29, Goodson weighed 150kg (330lbs). Sleepless nights drove him to the doctor. The verdict was devastating – severe sleep apnoea and a warning that he might not live to see 30. Compounding the crisis was another diagnosis – binge eating disorder (BED). He would regularly gorge on food and then feel a sense of loss of control.
“That moment was a reckoning,” Goodson says.
For the London-born geography teacher, it kicked off a journey that would take him to Brazil and his current home in Hong Kong – and transform him into a Hyrox competitor and endurance runner. He shed 66kg over the next five years, his weight dropping to 84kg. He has kept close to that weight since.
Now 38, Goodson’s sights are set on two 2027 events: the London Marathon in April, and qualifying for the Hyrox World Championships in Hong Kong in June. He describes what it took to go from a couch potato in the UK to an elite competitor in Hong Kong.
“When I weighed 150kg, any exercise was painful. My earliest big wins were simply going for short walks, one to two kilometres,” he says.
He followed his doctor’s recommendation to join the UK-based weight-loss support group Slimming World in 2018.
“The emphasis was on eating plans, weekly check-ins and peer support,” he says. “The eating plan emphasised consuming balanced, whole foods rather than severe calorie restriction. We met weekly and the sessions focused on shared recipes, motivation and troubleshooting weight loss hurdles.”

How binge eating disorder made losing weight hard
Suffering from binge eating disorder made the shift especially difficult for Goodson. “I didn’t know that I was suffering from BED till I went to the doctor,” he says. “I always felt like I had to be eating. I was never full.”
Before, he would eat sugary cereal for breakfast, and cheesy chips, pizza or fried chicken nuggets for lunch.
“Dinner was the healthiest meal, because my mum cooked it,” Goodson says. “I drank multiple fizzy drinks a day. When I went off to university, things became worse as there was no one to monitor me. I didn’t know when to stop. I knew what it meant to eat healthily, yet I refused to do it.”
The roots of his struggle ran deep. Towards the end of primary school, he says, he felt his parents turning more attention to his four siblings and that he could get away with being “sneaky” and consuming more sugary treats. Gradually, as he became large, his friends made fun of him. “I decided to embrace it because I could eat whatever I wanted without consequences.”
He adds: “Despite seeing the damage I was doing to my own body, I felt no guilt and continued binge eating because people loved me no matter what or how much I ate.”
That mindset shifted when he joined the support group and began focusing on whole foods.
“I made sure I had a combination of protein, carbohydrates and fat,” he says. “I cut out sugar and replaced fizzy drinks with water. Whenever I felt hungry, I first drank water.”

Starting his journey towards fitness
When he took up his first international teaching post in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2019, he stuck with eating healthier and has done so ever since – swapping sugary treats and fast food for balanced, protein-rich meals and whole foods, substituting water for fizzy drinks and allowing for the occasional slice of pizza.
While teaching in Brazil, he lost 50kg through diet changes and taking up running via the Couch-to-5k app, which is about getting people off the sofa and moving. Covid-19 lockdowns briefly stalled his progress, but moving to Hong Kong in August 2021 offered a fresh start and enabled him to lose the final 16kg by May 2022.
“Once I lost weight, running was possible,” Goodson says.
Running played a big role. “When I arrived in Hong Kong, I saw how popular it was,” he says. “There are so many run clubs – different abilities, genders, intensities – something for everyone. I wanted to be part of the fun.”
He joined three clubs and now trains six times a week.
“Wazup is fabulously friendly – along Victoria Harbour on Wednesday evenings and Bowen Road on Saturday mornings. Dop is more vigorous, pushing you to your limits at Aberdeen Sports Ground on Tuesdays, or offering a casual zone two run along the harbour on Sundays,” he says, referring to a slow, comfortable, aerobic-base training pace that sits at roughly 60-70 per cent of participants’ maximum heart rate.
“Just Keep Moving is excellent for intervals at Tamar Park every Thursday,” he adds. “They mix bodyweight exercises with 700-metre [0.4-mile] and 1km runs, ending with 100 glute-busting squats against the backdrop of Kowloon’s harbour lights.”

When Goodson was at his lowest weight, in the summer of 2022, he went to London for an abdominoplasty – a “tummy tuck” to remove excess fat and loose skin.
“With all the weight I lost, my skin became loose, and I didn’t feel comfortable in my body,” Goodson says. “The surgery tightened my skin and gave me renewed confidence. I could go to the beach without feeling conscious of how I looked.”
Beyond the clubs, Goodson loves the trails. His favourites are the Twin Peaks in Tai Tam Country Park and the 70km Lantau Trail. “Twin Peaks always ends with a sweet reward in Stanley, whereas the Lantau Trail ends with a well-earned pizza at Mui Wo.”
He complements running with HIIT and spin classes. “HIIT guarantees a phenomenal sweat,” he says.
Goodson averages 40km a week, splitting mileage between midweek runs and weekend long runs. In January 2024, he ran his first marathon, the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. A year later, he completed his second, shaving more than 20 minutes off his time to finish in 3 hours, 28 minutes, 42 seconds. In 2026, he added his first official half marathon to the list.

After the 2025 marathon, Goodson tore his Achilles tendon – a 2cm (0.8-inch) injury that forced him to pause and reflect.
“I didn’t allow myself enough rest before returning to training for Hyrox,” he says. “I learned the hard way that, although exercise is fun, our bodies need to be carefully maintained.”
Entering the ‘exhilarating’ world of Hyrox
Goodson got involved in Hyrox after seeing the excitement in fellow gym-goers.
“I remember people at my local gym talking about the first Hyrox event to be held in Hong Kong in November 2022,” he says. “Despite improving my running and building strength, the idea of running 8km and completing eight gruelling stations of cardio and weighted exercises scared me.
“The hype was exhilarating. I regretted not participating once I witnessed the smiles, laughter and camaraderie of the participants.”
He made sure to sign up for the next one, and has since completed 21 races in 18 events in Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore.
Goodson says that the Hyrox race atmosphere stays with you from the first event. “The electric atmosphere, [the] EDM beats … the inevitable fatigue – lactic acid flooding the legs, testing every athlete’s grit. And the spectators – family, friends and strangers alike, whose cheers deliver a surge of energy no gel can match,” he says.

For Goodson, the Hyrox experience in Taipei in March 2026 was a high point: in the Pro Singles category, he crossed the line with a new personal best of 1 hour and 10 minutes.
“The triumph was tempered by reflection,” he says. “Poor wall balls reminded me that resilience is not just about finishing, but about striving to improve.”
The rewards for Goodson have been tangible. His heart rate is lower, his sleep is uninterrupted and leg pain that once plagued him is gone.
His transformation has touched those closest to him. For Christmas, his younger sister Caitlin gave him a custom book cataloguing all his Hyrox races. He now channels that support to friends and strangers who reach out for advice.
“I’m a big advocate of having a sense of community as the key to success,” Goodson says. “The moment you are determined to make a physical change, no obstacle can stop you.”
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Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

Hong Kong-based Paul Goodson suffered from sleep apnoea and binge eating disorder before a diet overhaul, running and Hyrox changed his life


Hong Kong-based Paul Goodson suffered from sleep apnoea and binge eating disorder before a diet overhaul, running and Hyrox changed his life.


How a 150kg teacher lost 66kg after being told he might not live to 30

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hong Kong-based Paul Goodson suffered from sleep apnoea and binge eating disorder before a diet overhaul, running and Hyrox changed his life

Hong Kong-based Paul Goodson suffered from sleep apnoea and binge eating disorder before a diet overhaul, running and Hyrox changed his life