- Alcohol
- Friends & Family
- Mental Health
Over the 30+ years of my running career, I’ve completed countless races, including more than 65 marathons and ultra-marathons. Over the past nine years, my races have taken me on a 7-day adventure across China’s Gobi Desert, a 100k trek through the Alps from Italy to France, and through the streets of Boston and New York City. In 2008, my journey from addiction to recovery was even featured in the book “A Race Like No Other,” New York Times writer Liz Robbins’ chronicle of the 2007 New York City Marathon.
If you’d have met me in 2003, you may have described me as an energetic, talented, mother of three beautiful daughters and wife of an adoring, excellent man. I was working as development director for the YMCA, was an accomplished member of the local running community, and was well-respected as a mom, a professional, and an athlete. In truth, I was anxious and fearful, self-medicating with alcohol, trying desperately to keep my struggles hidden. As my alcoholism slowly took control of my life, I began spiraling out of control. Ultimately, I received three DUIs within 18 months. Desperate, empty and defeated, I finally entered treatment on April 17, 2006 – and took my first steps into sobriety. The foundation of recovery that saved my life was not built without extreme difficulty; I still faced the consequences of my DUI convictions, which included a three-month jail sentence. My program of recovery and my renewed faith sustained me, and even grew me, through that experience. When I walked out of that jail on Dec. 31, 2006, the seeds had been planted that would ultimately grow into my desire to help those fighting battles similar to mine, and to show them there is hope, there is redemption, and there is recovery.
Today, I serve as the Director of THP RUNS, an initiative of former NBA basketball player Chris Herren’s foundation, The Herren Project (THP). THP RUNS engages people to run, walk, and participate in healthy activities, helping each other, and others, live stronger, healthier lives. The initiative raises awareness and funding for THP’s mission, which includes providing addiction recovery resources, education and prevention initiatives across the country.
Without asking for help and finding my own recovery, none of my running success, let alone my personal or professional well-being, would be possible.
The fact that I can run at all now, let alone do it while raising awareness and funding for mental health initiatives, is an outrageous, ongoing gift to me. Whether it’s a 3-mile training run, or a major event, my mantra is, “I don’t have to run, I get to run.”