Peggi: Amber, tell us about your story. What were you like as a kid, when did you start drinking, what influenced your decision to put down the glass? Amber: I was an awkward kid. Very shy, timid, and quiet. I felt comfortable one on one or with a small group of friends, but the classroom setting terrified me. I excelled in sports and felt most confident out on the playing field (softball, soccer, basketball). That’s where I was able to be myself and felt like I fit in best. My favorite thing to do growing up was play softball and I played competitively from age 7 to 19. I started drinking my freshman year of high school when a couple of the older girls took me to my first party. They gave me Peppermint Schnapps (of all things) and I hated the way that it tasted but I loved how it made me feel. I felt like a new person; I was the opposite of shy, timid, and quiet, and I loved the new me! I drank every weekend throughout high school. Then in college my drinking really escalated, and I was drinking most days of the week. I continued to drink steadily throughout my 20’s and 30’s, going bar hopping and wine tasting often. I even mixed alcohol with sports. My coed softball team encouraged drinking beer before, during, and after games. And I joined a running group called the Hash House Harriers, whose motto was: “A drinking club with a running problem.” Alcohol had infiltrated every fiber of my being and I was a classic high-functioning alcoholic, but I didn’t know it yet. When I became a mom, I slowed down on the drinking. I tried really hard to limit myself to two to three glasses of wine so I could still perform my daily duties. I had two kids under the age of two, I was teaching second grade, managing the house, keeping up with my daily exercise routine, and trying desperately to do a good job with all of it. But I was struggling. The lack of sleep and the increased responsibility due to being a new mom took its toll on me. I couldn’t limit myself to two to three glasses of wine anymore, and I found myself drinking one to two bottles of wine every night, sometimes three. I drank so much that I started buying wine in the box, so I didn’t have to look at all those empty bottles. Then I lost track of how much I was drinking. Then came a day when I was standing alone in my kitchen, pouring myself another glass of wine. I was watching my two beautiful little boys playing on the floor together in the living room. I was exhausted and overwhelmed, and it hit me -- no amount of wine was ever going to be enough. I had no off switch and I could never be satisfied. I was trying to escape the stress and overwhelm, but it finally occurred to me that my daily wine habit was adding to that stress and overwhelm in the form of hanxiety, a term used to describe the increased anxiety that comes with a hangover.
Peggi: When did you decide to combine your love of running with sobriety?
Amber: After I got sober for the last time, I felt a compelling desire to seek out others like me who shared the same interests. I had an empowering thought, “I’ll bet there are lots of others out there in recovery who love to run as much as I do.” So, I started looking. A quick Google search brought me to a Recovery Running group overseas, but nothing local. I saw a gap in the community for what seemed to be a great idea for a recovery group. So that’s how, in February 2021, I was inspired to start Recovery Road Runners!
Peggi: Who would you put on your “Wall of Why”?
Amber: My kids, Lucca and Rocco. They deserve the BEST MOM in the world. They deserve me at FULL 100% CAPACITY. I owed it to them to quit drinking and give them a better life than what I was giving them as a drinking mom. I literally couldn’t live with myself knowing that I was failing them as a mother. I HAD TO QUIT DRINKING. I would also put myself on that wall. In my heart, I began to feel like I had a huge reservoir of untapped potential that I needed to release. I felt (and still feel) a strong pull to help others in their recovery and running journeys.
Peggi: What is your life purpose/ your North Star? What makes you feel inspired or like your best self?
Amber: My life purpose is to help others find their sober tribe and maintain sobriety through running. Part of that purpose is bringing people together to do life with. Through Recovery Road Runners, people have a safe space to hang out in where they can go to sobriety meetings, sign up for virtual and in-person races together, and attend Alcohol-Free Running Retreats where we build lifelong friendships and have the best time of their lives together in amazing and beautiful locations like Lake Tahoe, CA, Sedona, AZ, and San Francisco, CA. I feel inspired when my feet hit the trails every morning and I breathe in that fresh California air. Running for an hour or two on the trails, being outside in nature, is when I feel most alive and like my best self. Staying in good physical health allows me to be the best version of myself, and the best mom to my little boys. Energy begets energy, so the more that I run, the more energy I have for my kids, my relationships, and my job!
Peggi: If you could turn back time and talk to your 18- year-old self, what would you say to her?
HOLA SOBER | MADRID
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