Sarah is a mother of four, a cafe manager, a recovering alcoholic...and a runner. Why Run? explores the mental health benefits of running and in this premier episode, Sarah speaks candidly and emotionally about her slow descent in to alcoholism over ten years and how running has been a key element in her recovery.
A front-of-house manager at a top London restaurant for many years, Sarah's problems with alcohol escalated after she and her family moved away to live in a Cambridgeshire village. Always a heavy social drinker, Sarah turned to alcohol increasingly to escape her loneliness and the loss of identity that goes with leaving a responsible job and close friends and being a new mum in a place where you don't know anyone.
Alongside Sarah's increased drinking, she started power walking to lose weight after the birth of her fourth child. This gradually progressed into running and provided a welcome outlet and element of control as she became more and more reliant on alcohol.. When Sarah's alcoholism was at its worst, she was drinking three bottles of wine a day and lost her driving licence.
Sarah talks about going in to rehab three times and the importance of running and exercise to her recovery. When not permitted to run in rehab, Sarah and a fellow patient skipped everywhere. "People did think we were mad," she laughed. "Imagine if you've just come into rehab and are detoxing from years of alcohol or drugs and you see these two mad women skipping everywhere! We needed it though. It gave us some sense of dignity and control."
Fascinatingly, Sarah talks about how her approach to running was transformed after completing a yoga course in rehab. Today, Sarah runs mindfully by focusing on her breathing, particularly during "the hard bits". "God knows how I did it before," she says.
Sarah has now been sober for eight years and running is a vital part of her new sober life. "You can be feeling rubbish and you go for a run and you come back with a completely different mindset...every time. I really believe I'll be running for as long as my bones allow it!
" The fact I am running after all I've been through is miraculous. If I can do it, then anyone can."
In 2019, Sarah took on the major challenge of entering the London Marathon which she talks about humorously. "All those bobbing heads...it goes on all bloody day. It was an amazing achievement though and when times are tough, I do think it (the marathon)."
Today Sarah is cafe manager at the Edge Cafe in Cambridge, a vibrant community hub, with staff and volunteers who are in recovery from addiction and those with other mental health issues.
Read Sarah's full story here
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