In a “sober active” community, I can get ahead of my addiction

By Raelynn Franklin, especially for CalMatters

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Four years ago I was drinking alone in my apartment, unable to imagine anything but survival. Today I wake before dawn to run towards a life I once thought impossible.

I recently ran the New York City Marathon. It was my seventh marathon in the four years I had been in treatment for alcoholism.

In traditional recovery programs, there is a saying, “Fake it till you make it.” I was great at pretending. But you can’t simulate a 26.2 mile run.

Running is not a byproduct of my recovery; it’s one of the main reasons I stay sober.

A lot of people need clinical rehab to stop drinking, but that wasn’t enough for me. After my treatment ended, I was thrown back into the same lonely environment that got me drinking in the first place.

I needed something more, a community that provided support, accountability, and goals.

In 2018, I was deprived of all three. That same year, my marriage ended abruptly and I lost my job shortly after. These back-to-back hits sent me into a spiral of addiction.

I would wake up with the intention of applying for a job and make a drink that I told myself would help me get started. But it’s never been just one drink and I’m often passed out by afternoon.

I started treatment in 2019, thinking I could learn to drink like a normal person – just socially, not when I’m sad or angry.

I still didn’t understand that addiction doesn’t work like that. And while I may have learned new tools in treatment, I didn’t have the structure and supportive community to practice them.

48 hours of sobriety

In 2020, a friend invited me on a hike with The Phoenixa “sober active” non-profit organization that provides relationship-based activities and community to anyone who has been sober for at least 48 hours. Activities can include yoga, weight lifting, rock climbing or meeting for coffee.

It was the first pattern that made sense to my purposeful brain. You become part of a supportive team, put in the effort, and see proof that you’re making progress.

Still, I wasn’t ready to give up drinking.

I volunteered—rolling out yoga mats and helping organize events—while secretly planning my drinking around the group’s 48-hour sobriety rule. I would stop drinking Sunday night to get to class on Tuesday, drink after and stop again for Thursday.

But slowly the model started to change me. I became intertwined with the Phoenix community. Char, who became my sponsor, relentlessly invited me to events and training and I became more involved.

At the beginning of 2021, I decided to get really sober. A few months later, I committed to the Long Beach Marathon.

I wasn’t excited about it and thought it would be a one time thing. But running took my recovery to another level.

I never liked running, but it gave me what I was missing: structure, purpose, and accountability. It made me keep my promises to myself. All my excuses were removed.

No one was making me get up at 5am or checking my mileage. It was just me and the road. Each run built a confidence I hadn’t felt in years. This discipline began to spread throughout the rest of my life.

After that first marathon, I became a certified yoga instructor. I regularly run courses through The Phoenix and help others find their foundation for recovery.

I will be featured in an upcoming documentary, SOBERabout how connection and physical activity can help people rebuild their lives. We filmed during my first year of sobriety, which I hope will help others take their first steps into recovery.

Now I live in an apartment on the same beach where I trained when I first started running. Most importantly, I was able to help others recover. And I found amazing friends who cheer me on in every aspect of my life.

I wish the same success for 5.6 million other Californians who are struggling with a substance use disorder. The plan to help them already exists – build and fund more communities where connection and self-belief replace despair.

Individuals, nonprofits, and community leaders can play a role by supporting recovery programs that bring people together instead of isolating them. The solution can start with each of us: volunteer to lead a sober activity like yoga, invite sober friends to an open mic night, or start a running club.

Recovery begins when we create spaces that replace isolation with affiliation, where people can rediscover confidence to change their lives.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.