From Addiction to Ultramarathon Runner: Success Story of Matthew RodaFrom Addiction to Ultramarathon Runner: Success Story of Matthew Roda
The Elevate Experience
Matthew Roda shares how he moved from teen and college drug use, arrests and OxyContin addiction to ultramarathon running, business ownership and family life. The conversation focuses on identity, discipline and using fitness and mindset to support long-term recovery.
56:56•8 Mar 2022
From OxyContin to Ultramarathons: Matthew Roda’s New Identity in Recovery
Episode Overview
- Changing identity is central to lasting sobriety, shifting from "drug user" to roles like athlete, parent and business owner.
- Physical challenges such as Tough Mudders, Spartan races and ultramarathons can channel an addictive personality into something constructive.
- Setting clear boundaries in relationships (like "me or weed") can force decisive change when someone is ready to choose a different life.
- Strong mindset and commitment – doing things "all in" – help carry people through both voluntary suffering (training) and unexpected life pain.
- Small social circles and carefully chosen environments make it easier to maintain distance from drugs and alcohol.
“"Anything that's worth doing is worth doing right."”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol and drugs and swap it for ultramarathons and heavy lifting? The Elevate Experience brings that question to life through the story of Matthew Roda, a former high-school sports star whose identity slowly shifted from team captain to daily drug user. Matt talks frankly about moving from weed in his teens to LSD, mushrooms, cocaine and then a serious OxyContin habit in college.
He shares how he was arrested, kicked out of university for selling drugs, and then talked his way back in by writing a raw, heartfelt email to the dean. As he puts it, he always had "this self-awareness" that he was making bad choices, but for years he "wasn't strong enough to break free".
The conversation, led by hosts Angie Manson and Dallas Terrell, focuses heavily on identity: how losing his passion for sport opened the door to drugs, and how redefining himself later around business, family and fitness helped him stay clean.
A key turning point comes when a new partner gives him a straight choice: "It's either me or weed." Matt chooses her, hands his last bag of weed to a cousin, and then pours that addictive energy into Tough Mudders, Spartan races and ultramarathons.
He explains why he pushes himself to extremes like 50-mile races and running 67 miles to honour his late father, linking it all back to resilience and mindset: "Anything that's worth doing is worth doing right." The episode also touches on his book, *How To Take Down Goliath & Unleash Your Inner Hero*, his internet marketing business, and the reality of being a dad of (soon) four kids while staying active in recovery.
Anyone curious about swapping substances for meaningful challenges, or about how fitness can support long-term sobriety, will find plenty to relate to here. What new identity could you build if you stopped selling yourself short?
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