How Running Gave Me My Life Back

By Julie Hennes

My name is Julie, and I am a recovering alcoholic. I am almost eight years sober now, and these days, people know me as a runner, but that’s not who I always was. Running came after sobriety, when I was trying to figure out what to do with myself.

When I first stopped drinking, I needed something to fill that void. I started walking, then I biked. Running came later, and very slowly. I literally started with a single block at a time, switching off between running and walking. Around 2021, I started to improve enough to consider races.

Those days were far from glamorous, but they were the beginning of building a new life. And somehow, that woman who once struggled through a single block ended up standing at the start line of the 2022 Community First Fox Cities Marathon Presented by Miron Construction for her very first marathon.

Showing Up Scared

I remember the nerves I felt that morning four years ago. I looked at the experienced participants and felt completely out of place. I believed they were runners, and I was not.

That feeling was about more than mileage, however. Sobriety requires learning how to live, how to show up and how to stay uncomfortable every single day.

Once I started, the atmosphere shifted. People were kind and compassionate. Other runners offered encouragement when they learned it was my first marathon. The spectators, families, neighbors and strangers cheering for all the other participants and me were incredible. There was a genuine spirit of community, and I realized I belonged.

Crossing that finish line represented more than 26.2 miles; it proved I could do the impossible. It proved my fear did not have the final say. Running and recovery both teach us that we can do hard things.

Why I Keep Coming Back

I typically don’t repeat races. However, the Community First Fox Cities Marathon warrants a repeat. Part of it is personal history, and part of it is the atmosphere. The support on this course is different: seeing familiar faces every year, people traveling in, participants coming back because they love it and the neighborhood support really makes all the difference. When you’re out there covering 26.2 miles, having strangers cheer for you from the end of their driveway can carry you farther than you’d think. I typically do the Fleet Feet 10K on Saturday and the Community First Fox Cities Marathon on Sunday.

One of my favorite parts of running now is bringing others with me, especially those who don’t yet see themselves as runners or marathoners. I know that feeling well. I ran a marathon last year while being a part of a relay with three of my friends. Some of them may have never signed up for a similar race, but the relay gave them a way in. It let them be part of the marathon community and the Fox Cities Marathon weekend of events without having to take it on alone. And when you have someone beside you, supporting you, it changes everything. One of those women later went on to run her first full marathon, and seeing that was incredibly rewarding.

Running and Staying Sober

I am honest about how much running supports my sobriety; the two are deeply intertwined. Without sobriety, I would not be here, and without running, those early years would have been much harder. Sobriety had already taught me that life can be rebuilt one day at a time, and the Fox Cities Marathon taught me I could carry that same mindset into running, too.

A lot of people in recovery understand what it means to have an addictive personality. That part of you doesn’t just disappear; you have to put it somewhere. For me, it went into running. At first, that meant walks and bike rides, all one painful block at a time. Then it became races. Then it became long distances. Then ultra marathons. The energy I once gave to drinking now goes toward movement, discipline and routine. I focus on long distances and rigorous training. My schedule includes overnight runs, solo miles and early alarms. I’ve run marathons before work and spent 12 hours looping roads for ultra training.

One Step at a Time

If you are struggling with addiction or feel that change is impossible, I understand. If you think you could never be a runner, I understand that, too. I was the woman who could barely run a block.

My advice is simple: take it one day at a time. This is true in both running and recovery, but also in many other setbacks in life. You can’t fix everything at once. You get through today. One breath, one step, one block and one mile at a time. You just need to start.