Even when he was a 300-pound lineman for the Warren Central football team, Lewis Thompson didn’t mind running.

“I could run, I just couldn’t make it a long run,” Thompson said. “Coach (Curtis) Brewer kept telling us, ‘Run or shut up.’ I didn’t like shutting up, so I just ran instead.”

Six years later, Thompson is still running, but the distance has gotten a lot farther.

On Saturday morning, he’ll run in the 10-kilometer Run Thru History at the Vicksburg National Military Park.

Just 18 months ago, the thought of Thompson running in a major 10K race would be unthinkable. Without football, he grew bigger, topping out at 350 pounds.

“I just got tired of being big,” he said.

Thompson went about making the change. The fact he is currently an emergency room unit coordinator at River Region helped steer him toward a more healthy lifestyle.

“The ER put up a contest to see who could lose the most weight. Right now, I’m in the lead by about 20 pounds.”

Thompson has lost 125.

“I went from a size 52 waist down to a 38,” Thompson said. “I can now shop at any store I want to.”

Before he could run, though, Thompson had to get his heart prepared.

“Cardios were the key. I started working out at the gym at Wyatt’s and the YMCA,” he said. “I worked the cardios for about four to five months. Then I started running, just a mile.

“I decided to enter the Run Thru History last year. I ran my mile and then walked the rest. I finished in 77 minutes.”

Now at 225 pounds and with a year of training, Thompson is eyeing to halve that time on Saturday.

“I can go five miles pretty good. It’s just that last mile where I might be gasping. But I still feel I can cut my time in half.”

Look for Thompson to become a regular on the local running circuit.

“I’m going to do another run at the Heritage Classic in Port Gibson in April,” he said. “I also want to join the Mississippi Track Club.

“I love running and I believe them when they say running is the fountain of youth.”