THE BIGGEST losers at the Herts 10K challenge were overjoyed with their last place position. A team of patients from the Spire Harpenden Hospital who have recently undergone weight loss surgery were proud to finish last month s race despite finishing last

THE BIGGEST losers at the Herts 10K challenge were overjoyed with their last place position.

A team of patients from the Spire Harpenden Hospital who have recently undergone weight loss surgery were proud to finish last month's race despite finishing last out of around 3,000 runners.

The team of weight loss patients - who were accompanied by a surgeon, a dietician, a psychologist and a specialist bariatric nurse from the hospital - have lost 23 stone in weight between them so far and none had attempted the 10K run before.

St Albans resident Anthony Harris, aged 53, said that he was happy with the result and added: "I've lost over five stone since having my gastric bypass operation a year ago and I'm no longer reliant on drugs for type 2 diabetes. It was fantastic fun doing the 10K race with the rest of the team and I just feel so fit and well."

Bariatric nurse Rachael Drewitt said that she too enjoyed the challenge: "The Herts 10K was great fun and really gave the Weight Loss Support Group something positive to aim for. It encouraged them to continue their healthy eating and fitness regimes as well as raising money for Grove House Hospice in the process.