Finding Freedom Through Sober Running with Helen-Hansen SmithFinding Freedom Through Sober Running with Helen-Hansen Smith
Addict II Athlete Podcast
Helen Hanson-Smith shares her shift from heavy college drinking to sober running, rehab, and marathon training with Coach Blu Robinson. The conversation focuses on how movement, honest support, and daily choices help her maintain nearly five years of sobriety.
47:33•10 Dec 2024
From College Drinking to Marathon Finish Lines: Helen Hanson-Smith on Sober Running
Episode Overview
- Community support and honest conversations from loved ones can be uncomfortable, but they may plant the seeds for lasting sobriety.
- Movement, even simple backyard or short outdoor runs, can become a powerful tool for processing emotions and reducing cravings.
- Rehab programmes that teach real-life responsibility and sober routines can be more helpful than comfort-focused settings.
- Shifting from “I can’t drink” to “I choose not to drink” creates a sense of freedom and opens up new life options.
- Tackling big goals like a marathon can reinforce the belief that if you can get sober, you can handle hard things in every area of life.
“I have more freedom now than when I was in addiction, because when I was in addiction, I only had one choice, and it was what I was going to drink that day. But now I have every choice possible.”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? For many people, it’s watching someone swap late nights and hangovers for early alarms and race bibs. That’s exactly the arc Helen Hanson-Smith shares as she talks with Coach Blu Robinson on Addict II Athlete. Helen, from “Lower Alabama”, first found running at college, right alongside heavy drinking and the bar scene. She describes herself as an “all or nothing” person, and alcohol quickly went from social extra to daily focus.
Friends and family tried to raise the alarm, sometimes risking the relationship to do it, and Helen now recognises just how much love that took. She talks frankly about multiple rehab stays: the “celebrity-style” Arizona house where they “sat on a couch all day and talked about our feelings”, and the tougher, chore-filled 90‑day local programme that actually taught her how to live sober.
The turning point came on 20 December 2019, after a messy night and an honest conversation with her now‑husband: “This drinking thing is not working for you.” This time, the words landed. From there, movement became non‑negotiable. Helen recalls secretly counting loops round a rehab backyard to hit a mile, then later swapping treadmill miles for outdoor runs during COVID and feeling “like a kid again”.
She explains how running helps her process anger, worry and overthinking, and why her husband now gently suggests, “Why don’t you go for a run?” when he sees she’s wound up. The episode also follows her journey to the Chicago Marathon, including 3–4 a.m. long runs in humid Alabama and the mental tricks she used when her hips were screaming at mile 20. Her mantra? Getting sober was harder than any marathon.
If you’re curious how sport can support sobriety, or you just need proof that change is possible one mile at a time, this conversation might be the nudge you’ve been waiting for.
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.
Related Episodes
Similar episodes from other shows in the catalogue.