‘Runner’s high helped beat alcohol and depression’

From more than 1,000 people in Sunday’s marathon, there can only be one winner. But many of those on the start line in George Town will have already won their race to be there.

Six years ago, Britney was struggling with alcohol and depression. She felt out of shape and out of sorts and disappointed with the direction her life was heading.

As a new arrival to Cayman, she had got drawn into the party scene, drinking hard three or four nights a week, the days passing by in a blur.

“It was really messy,” she said.

“A lot of people go down that road when they come to Cayman and end up finding a balance but that didn’t happen for me. I was in a bad place.”

Britney, who asked that we use a pseudonym for this article, eventually lost her driving licence after getting caught over the limit.

That was the catalyst to make a change.

She sought professional help in a recovery programme and made some significant lifestyle changes.

She joined a gym and started to get up early in the morning to run. At first just making 5km felt like an achievement.

Then she started to expand her ambitions, targeting the half-marathon in 2019.

“I made a decision that, no matter what, I was running that race. That was the one thing that kept me sober during that time.”

The feeling she got from training and competing helped replace the feeling she believes she was chasing in the bars, with the added benefit of genuine accomplishment.

After a while, she started to feel like herself again.

She was out pounding the pavement as the sun came up, at a time when her previous self would have been just coming home.

“Running has kept me out of the bars, it has kept me fit and mentally healthy and stable. It has kept me out of trouble and in with the right people.”

While she still drinks occasionally, Britney says her life feels under control. The training and structure of an exercise programme and the feeling of euphoria from a long run have given her a new perspective on life.

After the race she has already run, Sunday’s event is the easy part.

• The Compass ‘Why we run’ series aims to celebrate the personal stories of those who compete in the Cayman Islands Marathon. If you have an interesting or inspiring story about the race, email us at [email protected].