Overtime: AIIA last 13 years and feeling overlookedOvertime: AIIA last 13 years and feeling overlooked
Addict II Athlete Podcast
Coach Blu and Marissa look back on 13 years of Addict II Athlete’s service, races and community projects while sharing candid stories about feeling overlooked by family after getting sober. The conversation blends practical boundary-setting, the healing power of movement, and the importance of finding a team that truly shows up for you.
37:33•10 May 2024
No One Left Behind: 13 Years of Service, Sobriety, and Feeling Overlooked
Episode Overview
- Team-based events like the No One Left Behind half marathon show how community support can carry people through difficult stretches in recovery.
- Over 13 years, Addict II Athlete has channelled hundreds of thousands of service hours into shoes, race entries, holiday gifts, and direct help for people in need.
- Physical movement—whether running, walking, or cycling—is framed as a practical way to support emotional and mental healing from addiction.
- Feeling overlooked by family after getting sober is addressed through open communication, clear boundaries, and careful choices about where to invest emotional energy.
- It is presented as okay to step back from unsafe or one-sided relationships and lean into the people who genuinely show up and reciprocate.
“"Movement equals healing. It doesn't matter if it's running, walking, hiking, biking, swimming. As long as you're moving, your brain will start taking care of the rest."”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This Overtime instalment of Addict II Athlete zooms in on that question by mixing real-time community chat with 13 years of hard-earned experience. Hosted by Coach Blu, a licensed mental health therapist and substance use disorder counsellor, alongside Athletic Director and recreational therapist Marissa Robinson, the conversation moves from race updates to raw recovery realities.
You’ll hear about their "no one left behind" half marathon, where teams start and finish together, staying within a few metres so "no one gets left behind"—a powerful metaphor for sobriety and community support.
They look back on what the team has done since their first 5k, when "we decided to step out into the light and kind of show the world who we are and what we've got." Across 13 years, the group has logged 268,000 service hours, donated 1,720 pairs of running shoes, sponsored 994 athletes into races, and provided Christmas presents to 886 children.
Stories like raising money for a headstone through the “Hope 62” relay, or pushing assisted athletes in half marathons, show how service and movement are woven into recovery. At the heart of the episode is a tender question: what happens when someone gets sober, grows, and then feels ignored or pushed aside by family?
Coach Blu shares his own experiences of feeling excluded from key family moments and the pain of seeing no photos of his family on his mum’s wall. He talks about setting boundaries, deciding "it's a privilege to have a relationship with us," and choosing where to invest emotional energy.
The tone stays honest, sometimes funny, but always practical, making this a strong fit for anyone in recovery, family members, and supporters who want to understand why connection, movement and clear boundaries matter so much. Who in your life is on your "team" right now—and where are you choosing to invest your emotional energy?
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