Aaron Rich

On the weekend of the NYC Marathon I will be a month shy of celebrating 6 years of continuous sobriety. Life is a journey of ups and downs, and sobriety is no different. I am a different person than I was 6 years ago, but still have numerous character defects to work through on a daily basis.

However, I am alive and healthy, and continuing to build a version of myself that I was always meant to be. I have been married for 16 years and have 4 beautiful children, ranging from HS age to 2nd grade. The last 6 years have been a miracle of healing and growth for our entire family. While not perfect, it is the product of recovery.

I connected with Herren Project when I was just 6 months sober. I fell in love with the mission and have continued to work to bring awareness to addiction and the resources that are offered by an organization such as Herren Project. I have represented Herren Project in several “Run Your Own Race” fundraisers over the past 6 years, and have been able to connect with many wonderful people by putting myself out there in the light.

I have run too many races to count in my past life, but since I have discovered running again over the past 6 years I have run 2 marathons, a 50k, a 50 miler at JFK, and a 100 miler at Umstead. NYC will be my 3rd official marathon, and what a special place it will be to participate in this distance again!