My name is Paul Lively and I was completely controlled by alcohol. It started as a fun thing to do in high school on the weekends. By the time I was a junior in high school I was a daily drinker. I had 2 dui’s before my 22nd birthday, with multiple visits to jail. In my mid 20’s my alcohol tolerance was up to a case of beer and a pint or 2 of whiskey. On February 1 2008 something happened and I have been blessed by God to not have had a drink since. My drinking caused me to become very over weight. 3 years ago I took my son to the doctor for a standard check up and I decided to step on the scale. I was shocked to find I was almost 290 lbs. I made the decision then to do something about my weight. A few of my sober friends had been running for a few years so I was like why not try? I started by going for walk runs at the beginning until I was able to actually run 1 full mile with out stoping. A month into running I signed up for my 1st 5K. I completed that 5k without stopping. I was talking to a friend who said “you should sign up for a half marathon”. My first thought was he is insane. Then I was like why not. I signed up for the Frederick half marathon and completed it in just over 2hrs, which blew my mind. Not to mention I had loss 65 lbs. My whole life had now changed again in sobriety. Since that first half I now run 2 to 3 half marathons a year. Running is now very similar to alcohol it gives me a feeling I can not explain the good news is running doesn’t ruin my life it only enhances. I love my sobriety it has given me so much more then I could ever imagined. I love my running habit now because it is just me and my god going wherever we go! Life is pretty good today!