Archives » Monday, June 29, 2009
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Kate Dailey
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Jun 29, 2009 12:50 PM
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than 13 years ago, as Scott Strode was struggling to get his drinking
and drug use under control, the gym in Boston where he boxed offered
refuge. “All the guys in the gym were sober because they were training
for fights,” says Strode, 37. “It was a place I could go where I knew
there wouldn’t be any pressure to use or drink.”
Now, a sober
Strode is recreating the benefits of that safe space for others
committed to living sober lives. He’s the founder of Phoenix Multisport,
a Boulder, Colo.-based nonprofit that hosts more than 35 athletic
activities a week, ranging from running to mountain climbing to biking
to yoga, events free to anyone in the area who wants both a good
workout and sober social network.
There are no prayer groups or
serenity chants at Phoenix, no chain smoking and coffee drinking. And
there’s very little talk about the underlying cause that brings the
group together. That’s the point, says Strode. The men and women who
show up for an early-morning run or compete together in a local 10K are
not addicts—they’re athletes, many of whom struggle with addiction.
Find out more, after the jump:
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