Running as a Tool for Addiction Recovery in Canada

Ottawa, Aug 13 (The Conversation) Addiction is a prevalent health issue affecting approximately 20% of Canadians during their lifetimes. The opioid crisis is a prime example, bringing the issue of addiction into sharp focus across various cities. Treating addiction poses challenges as different strategies work for different individuals, and some provinces are exploring mandatory treatment methods that have shown limited success. As researchers in social work specializing in addiction and sport, we propose the need for alternative approaches.

While overcoming addiction may superficially seem as simple as refraining from substance use, addiction is more complex, forming a relationship with the substance. Recovery involves learning to move forward from this relationship, living life anew without it. Research suggests exercise, specifically running, may aid recovery by providing substance-free pleasure and potentially alleviating cravings and mental health symptoms, offering protection against relapse.

Despite the existence of running groups for individuals in recovery—particularly in the U.S.—most research occurs in clinical settings, leaving questions about running's role in long-term recovery processes. Who benefits and why remain largely unexplored. We aimed for a contextual understanding of how running aids people transitioning from substance use to substance-free lives.

Our study, conducted in Metropolitan Vancouver, involved engaging with 11 individuals aged 30 to 50 who had been in recovery from addiction for over three years, primarily from alcohol. Our method included double running interviews in participants’ usual running locales.

Results showed that lives once dictated by substance use began to reorganize around running. Initially, participants were driven by weight-loss goals and continued substance use alongside training. However, as they achieved running milestones, they gradually prioritized training, nutrition, and recovery, with substance use diminishing over time.

Current policies often focus on abstinence, frequently expelling those who relapse from treatment—a common aspect of addiction. However, participants in running found a gentler transition, with abstinence not a prerequisite for receiving psychosocial benefits from the activity.

Running offered individuals the opportunity to overcome the isolation and stigma often accompanying addiction. The flexibility of running—suitable for solo or group activities—allowed participants to engage with community as they regained confidence. Through interactions centered on shared interests in running, individuals forged new friendships, gradually deepening these through sustained involvement in the running community.

Running groups, celebrating discipline and hard work, provide inclusivity without the stigma of addiction, often engaging participants beyond running roles into volunteering and coaching.

Participants’ childhood sporting experiences, frequently halted during adolescence, inspired a return to the joy of movement. Physical sensations in addiction were either overwhelmed by the substance or its absence. Recalling past joy prompted participants to rediscover motion, suggesting running’s effectiveness for those with prior sport experiences.

Recovery, for our study’s participants, found its foundation in the body. Running’s structure, goal-setting, and communal support enabled envisioning a substance-free future even before abandoning the old habits. Hope for a better life, comparable to cheers at a finish line, emerged powerfully through this journey.

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