Overview of From Drinking Every Morning to Running 340 Miles: Tommie Runz on Recovery, Running & Redemption
This episode is a wide-ranging conversation between Rich Roll and Tommy Runs (also spelled Tommie Runz) about alcoholism, sobriety, fatherhood, running, identity, and representation. Tommy shares the arc of his life: growing up without a father, starting to drink at 17, spiraling into years of hidden alcoholism, getting sober in 2017, and then discovering running as both a personal transformation and a public platform. The result is a story about recovery as the foundation, and endurance running as the expression of a new life built one day at a time.
Tommy Runs’ Origin Story
Childhood, loss, and identity
- Tommy grew up between New York and Detroit after his parents separated.
- His father died of a stroke at 39 when Tommy was 8, leaving him with a long-running sense of loss and comparison.
- He describes feeling like he was always trying to live up to a father he barely knew, while also feeling like an outsider growing up.
School and early self-image
- In middle and high school, he wasn’t one of the “cool kids” and felt socially on the margins.
- He was athletic but didn’t play traditional school sports except golf.
- Golf helped give him structure and purpose during those years.
Alcoholism and the Turning Point
The first drink
- Tommy says his drinking started at 17, in school, with small nips from a friend.
- The effect was immediate: he felt relief, confidence, and a sense of not caring what others thought.
- Within two weeks, he was drinking daily, and it escalated fast.
The high school blackout
- A pep rally day ended with him passing out in a school bathroom.
- His mom, principal, and security staff found him.
- Tommy frames this as an early, unmistakable sign that his relationship with alcohol was far beyond normal teenage experimentation.
Years of hidden dysfunction
- After that incident, he didn’t stop; he adapted.
- Drinking became more private, more controlled on the surface, but increasingly destructive.
- By around 2012–2013, morning drinking had become standard.
- He describes this era as living in isolation, hiding his use, and slowly losing control of his life.
Bottoming out and sobriety
- Tommy says he knew he was going to die if nothing changed.
- A relapse during a dry-January attempt in early 2017 became a breaking point.
- On January 11, 2017, he entered sobriety after his mother suggested he contact employee assistance services and a therapist who also worked in substance abuse.
- His first AA meeting changed everything: he heard versions of his own story and immediately felt at home.
Career, Fatherhood, and the “Functional Alcoholic” Years
Building a life while drinking
- Tommy worked for years at an auto transport company, eventually rising to a high-level role in sales and leadership.
- He also became a father in 2007, which pushed him to stabilize his life and move for a fresh start.
- He moved from Detroit to Massachusetts with his mother’s help and rebuilt his career there.
The danger of “functioning”
- He and Rich discuss how being employed, a parent, and outwardly successful can mask severe addiction.
- Tommy emphasizes that “functional alcoholic” is a misleading term: the life may look functional, but it’s still deeply dysfunctional.
- He hid liquor in Red Bull bottles and maintained a second life while advancing professionally.
Running as Recovery in Motion
How running began
- Tommy started going to the gym soon after getting sober.
- In 2018, a client invited him to run the Chicago Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon for charity.
- He trained, raced, and had a breakthrough moment: running felt like a community similar to AA, and it gave him a sense of belonging and achievement he’d never experienced before.
From runner to brand
- After the half marathon, he kept going.
- A cousin dubbed him “Tommy Runs,” and the name stuck.
- He built a public presence through Instagram and content creation, turning his story into a running platform and eventually a business.
Impressive race accomplishments
- He has run 17 marathons.
- He completed all six World Marathon Majors in a single year in 2024.
- His marathon PR is 2:46.
- He has also done ultras, including:
- Javelina 100
- Western States 100
- The Speed Project
- He completed the Speed Project solo: 340 miles from Santa Monica to Las Vegas.
Why Sobriety Comes Before Running
Running is not the cure
- Tommy is clear that sobriety made the running possible, not the other way around.
- He pushes back when people frame running as what “keeps him sober.”
- His message: recovery is the foundation; running is an outcome of recovery.
AA as the real engine
- He credits the rooms and the people in AA for saving his life.
- The program gave him language, community, accountability, and a new way to interpret his experience.
- He sees running as an extension of the same principles: honesty, humility, surrender, and daily action.
Why he stays sober
- Tommy says he believes he would die if he went back to drinking.
- He describes sobriety as something he chose fully once he was ready to surrender ego and accept help.
Representation, Race, and Trail Running
Why his presence matters
- Tommy talks openly about being a Black man in spaces where he often doesn’t see people who look like him.
- He notes that running, especially trail running, has historically felt “white” to many Black communities because of lack of exposure and representation.
- His goal is to make these spaces feel more accessible and imaginable.
Trail running and inclusion
- He sees trail running as a rapidly growing but still very homogenous culture.
- His view: brands, race organizers, and communities need to be intentional about inviting diverse voices and faces into the sport.
- Representation matters not just for optics, but because seeing someone like you can change what you believe is possible.
Progress on the road, lag on the trail
- Tommy contrasts the progress made in road running with the slower pace of change in trail.
- He believes the trail world risks becoming stagnant if it doesn’t open itself to newcomers and broader participation.
- He wants to normalize trail access for urban runners, people of color, and people who never imagined themselves on a mountain.
The Speed Project and the “Hero” Narrative
The race
- The Speed Project is an unsanctioned, roughly 340-mile race from Santa Monica to Las Vegas.
- Most participants run in relay teams, but Tommy completed the full route solo.
- He says the race was as much a mental and spiritual test as a physical one.
The documentary
- Tommy made a documentary about the experience, and Rich praises it as beautifully shot and emotionally honest.
- The film emphasizes the lows, suffering, and doubt—not just the highlight reel.
What it meant
- Tommy sees endurance racing as a hero’s journey.
- The point isn’t looking invincible; it’s showing the moment when everything hurts and you keep going anyway.
- That mirrors sobriety: choosing the next right thing even when you feel broken.
Key Takeaways
- Sobriety came first. Running became possible because Tommy got sober.
- Honesty breaks the grip of addiction. Saying the truth out loud was a turning point.
- Representation changes participation. Visibility in running can make the sport feel possible for people who’ve never seen themselves there.
- Endurance sports are deeply psychological. Long races force conversations with yourself, just like recovery does.
- Progress is built through consistency. Whether in AA or ultrarunning, transformation happens one decision at a time.
Notable Insights
- Tommy on AA: the meetings “saved my life.”
- Tommy on addiction: it wasn’t the problem itself that alcohol solved; it was the pain underneath.
- Tommy on trail running: the community should be shaped by the people in it, not protected against change.
- Tommy on his journey: he wants to be proud of the life he’s building even if all the external validation disappeared.
Where to Find Tommy Runs
- Instagram:
@tommy_runs - Website:
tommyruns.com - Projects mentioned: PR Project podcast, documentaries on YouTube, running apparel/shirts through his site