Addiction: The Cardio Years Epi 2: Running From Something?Addiction: The Cardio Years Epi 2: Running From Something?
Henry westons old mate the podcast
A sober runner reflects on how quitting alcohol led to a deep attachment to running, questioning whether he has swapped addictions while acknowledging the benefits. He shares how miles, routine and a noisy brain intersect, and why learning to rest is now part of his recovery story.
19:15•28 Aug 2026
From Pint Glass to Running Shoes: Did He Swap One Addiction for Another?
Episode Overview
- Stopping drinking came first, with a strong focus on rebuilding relationships, confidence, routine and mental health before exercise entered the picture.
- Running during Covid became a simple, accessible way to gain daily freedom, calm a noisy mind and act as a reset button for difficult emotions.
- Wearable tech and performance stats introduced an obsessive edge, highlighting how an addictive personality can latch onto even healthy habits.
- He stresses that mental health care is about everyday maintenance, not just crisis, and that movement is one practical tool among many.
- There is honest recognition that you can’t run away from every problem and that learning to rest, sit with feelings and do less is now part of his ongoing recovery.
“Alcohol was something I used to escape life. Running, strangely enough, has become something that helps me engage with it.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? Here, a mid‑forties runner from Kent shares how sobriety and a slightly obsessive love of miles, watches and sweaty shorts collided in what he jokingly calls “addiction: the cardio years”. After stopping drinking on 18 December 2017, there’s a quiet gap before exercise appears.
He’s clear that he didn’t wake up sober and shout, “Half marathon Sunday!” Instead, he talks about early sobriety as hard graft: rebuilding relationships, confidence and mental health, and accepting that sometimes success is simply “getting through a Tuesday”. Then Covid hits. Routines collapse, the world shrinks, and running becomes a tiny daily window of freedom. Shoes on, door open, off you go.
It starts as a way to get outside with his daughter, then gradually becomes, as he puts it, “the cheapest therapy I’ve ever had.” Running doesn’t magically fix problems, but it calms the noise, takes the edge off anxious thoughts and gives him a reset button: “Angry, run. Frustrated, run… Had a brilliant day, run anyway.” Things get interesting when the watch arrives.
Distance, pace, heart rate and weekly mileage turn a simple jog into “an excel spreadsheet attached to your wrist”. He admits there are days he’s “not running because I particularly want to run. I’m running because I don’t want to not run,” and you’ll recognise that same all‑or‑nothing mentality familiar from drinking days. Yet the trade‑off feels worth it. Alcohol “took things away”; running has given fitness, routine, a clearer head and a practical tool for day‑to‑day mental health maintenance.
He’s honest about the risk of using running to avoid emotions, and jokes that sometimes the right answer isn’t another five miles but “a cup of tea and doing absolutely nothing.” Anyone wondering if they’ve swapped one addiction for another will recognise themselves here and might be left asking: what am I chasing now, and is it helping me stay present in my life?
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