Tommie Runz, a marathoner, podcaster (he hosts The Run Eat Sleep Show), and Runner’s World+ member, sat down with RW to chat about not only what running means to him, but what it means to his sobriety. After stopping drinking more than five years ago, Runz offers insights into how his life has changed. Listen to the full interview or read the transcript below.
Runner’s World: Thank you so much for being with us today and for chatting with us about your relationship with alcohol and how it’s changed your running and changed your life. Can you talk a little bit about what led you to get sober?
Tommie Runz: It was a long journey of denial and trying to figure out where my place was in life and who I was in life. It came to a point where I was just tired of not having control of whether I ended up drinking or not, or how much when I did. Finally, I just said, today's the day that I need to make a change. And that failed. So, after that, then I was like, okay, well, something’s wrong here. I have an issue. And I decided to get some help. I was just tired of losing that battle.
RW: What did help you become sober and when exactly did that turning point come for you?
TR: I had a lot going on in life at the time. I just wasn’t happy with who I was, where I was in life, and I decided to reach out to an employee assistance program. So I reached out and I finally told the truth to the person that called to set me up with whom I was going talk to, from a counselor’s standpoint. And most people ask about, “hey, how many drinks do you have a day?” And we all say, “Oh, just two, or one, or whatever.” But I finally told the truth and it was much more than that. That was liberating enough to kind of get me on that journey.
I ended up going to see a counselor who also doubled as a substance abuse therapist. She referred me to an Alcoholics Anonymous program and I decided to give that a shot. I ended up going to those AA meetings and kind of finding a home and a support system that I didn’t know was there.
We try so many things by ourselves. We try to run our PRs by ourselves and all that stuff. Sometimes we need help. Sometimes we need support, coaching, groups to talk to, stuff like that. So, that’s how I got on my journey—just stepping out of my comfort zone and going to AA meetings.
RW: And you found running after you got sober, is that correct?
TR: Yeah, so I tried my first 5K, actually, a couple years before I got sober, but it was just in support of my sister. I thought, It’s only three miles. What could be the worst thing that could happen? I hated it. I thought, I’m never going to run again.
After I got sober, I didn’t intentionally get into running. I started going to the gym and working out, trying to get fit, because, all of a sudden, I started seeing who I really was and what I really looked like to myself and others. And then running got introduced to me because a client said, “Hey, you’re fit. You’re in the gym. You should be able to run 13.1 miles. Why not?” And I agreed. So, I raised some money for a really great charity called Move for Hunger, and decided to run the 13.1 miles for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in Chicago. I joke and say I didn’t die during that half marathon.
On the starting line in Chicago, it was a different place for me; I live in the Detroit area, so it wasn’t home. And doing that and running with people I didn’t know and just feeling the support of the crowd and crossing that finish line—it was something that I thought I’d probably never do, run 13.1 miles. And at that point, that was the farthest I had run, as well. To cross that finish line felt so good and right and seemed like there could be more for me there. So that was when I was like, you know what? This running thing, I don’t know if it’s a lifelong thing. I don’t know what’s going to come of it. But I do know that I really like this feeling, even though it sucks pretty bad.
RW: The running community can be a very powerful thing, especially the race day atmosphere. How does that play into your sober journey now?
TR: People say that running is life and I really feel like it does mirror life. I learned, in the program, to live one day at a time, to take one moment at a time, really be where your feet are, and in running, it’s very similar.
We have these big goals, like to get to Boston or Chicago or through this training block, and all these other things that we worry about, but we really have to try to focus, as much as possible, on the run that we’re in.
My sobriety journey and running, they support each other because I feel like the tough days, when I’m out there running, I can rely on my sobriety. And the tough days, when I’m struggling with sobriety, I can always lean on running.
RW: So can you talk a little bit about other benefits you’ve experienced since getting sober?
TR: I always thought I slept well when I was drinking. Come to find out, you’re not really tapping into the levels of sleep that you’re supposed to and that really help with recovery. I still probably need to sleep more, but when I do sleep, it’s much better than that sedated level of sleep, because it’s not the same. You’re not reaching your REM sleep and all that other stuff.
Everything, to me, always just boils down to now. Sobriety and running together just reminds me to stay in this moment, and that’s the biggest thing, and then that bleeds into relationships. That bleeds into work. I’m a better father now because of both.
RW: If you were to give some motivation or tips to others who are thinking about assessing their relationship with alcohol or want to become sober and are not sure how to do that or maintain it, what would you tell them?
TR: Truth started my journey. Telling the truth to a stranger, in the beginning, helped me take the first step to the next step to becoming a member of AA or going to the meetings. So, I highly suggest telling the truth to get that ball rolling, because once you take away that lie, that, “oh, I’ve only had two drinks,” or “oh, I only drink one or two times a week,” or something like that, the moment you expose it, it decreases that power just a bit. And as long as you’re ready to take those next few steps—AA may not be for everyone, or NA, or whatever, other programs are out there, but I would highly suggest trying that, because stepping into a room with strangers, just like stepping into a race with strangers, it just feels amazing to be in a room or a group of people that you don’t know but have so many similarities with. It’s so empowering to know that someone that’s 20 years older than me from the different side of the tracks, or whatever you want to call it, has the same thoughts and had the same thoughts as me, and can help me through those moments. That’s priceless.
The days when you feel overwhelmed, how bad you want that drink, don’t judge yourself too terribly for having those thoughts, ’cause we will have thoughts and we will have a craving, or whatever it is. Because you thought about it doesn’t mean you failed.
I got sober in January 11, 2017. In the beginning, when people would say that they had a year of sobriety, or five years, or 20, or 30, I couldn’t even imagine, at that day, I could not imagine 30 days (a month!) with no alcohol. I just didn’t understand how. Who would I be? But that’s not my concern. My concern that day was that day. And today is much more manageable than trying to figure out how you’re going to do six months from now.
RW: And that’s a great mental state for running a marathon, as well—getting just to that mile, not 26 miles.
TR: Yeah, ‘cause when people would give me the advice about running and say, in the marathon or in a race, sometimes you just pick that next flagpole, that next this, that next that. If you’re in the third mile of the marathon and you’re counting down, I got 23 left, that’s going to be a really long day.
Just like in life, in sobriety, in anything, just boil it down to what really matters, which is now, this moment, right now, and do the best that you can.
RW: Anything else you want anyone to know about you relationship with alcohol or your relationship with running and how the two connect to each other?
TR: Without sobriety, I wouldn’t have been led to get fit. I wouldn’t have seen who I really was at the time, to try to make myself a little bit better. If I ever turned and went back in that direction, I’m not sure where that would lead me. So, I had to realize that I was powerless over that thing, and I took the right next steps to try to take control or power back into my hands and try to grab the steering wheel, so to speak.
I give sobriety everything. I look at my kids and I say that, without sobriety, I don’t even know if I’d be able to be sitting there with them, playing a game and trying to be present with them.
I just encourage people to explore their relationship with whatever it is. When you say, “Oh, I can stop any time.” Can you? And if the answer’s no, or you’re not sure, I’d suggest just checking it out. Because without that moment, for me, not to be dramatic, but I just wouldn’t be here.
Mallory Creveling, an ACE-certified personal trainer and RRCA-certified run coach, joined the Runner's World and Bicycling team in August 2021. She has more than a decade of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition. As a freelance writer, her work appeared in Women's Health, Self, Men's Journal, Reader's Digest, and more. She has also held staff editorial positions at Family Circle and Shape magazines, as well as DailyBurn.com. A former New Yorker/Brooklynite, she's now based in Easton, PA.
