Latest / At Your Own Pace / March 12, 2015 — The Day Everything Changed for Maurice Lowman (@marathonpandmaurice)

Transcript

March 12, 2015 — The Day Everything Changed for Maurice Lowman (@marathonpandmaurice) · At Your Own Pace

• speaker-0: This episode of At Your Own Pace is brought to you by me, Mike. I am the head coach at At Your Own Pace Coaching. I'm a three time certified running coach, R R C A, ISSA, and recently V dot Jack Daniels certification. I'm working on a couple more right now. To get into the Tokyo Marathon is a fantastic race. I've run it twice, it is fantastic, and it's one of my favorite races in the entire world. Those of you who are looking for someone to help you not just cross the finish line of Tokyo strong and with smart training, but someone who can help you build a lasting relationship. Whether you're trying to run your first race or you're chasing a personal best, my coaching focuses on sustainable progress, on confidence, and long-term consistency. As a three-time certified coach, I help athletes train smart and individualized training plans based off of your experience level and your goals. No two training levels, no two training plans are the same for any coachy that I have. I work with you from day one. I provide wraparound services, not just with the training plan for running, but with strength training, warm-ups, cooldowns, stretches, stability plans, what have you. We go over nutrition, we go over hydration, we go over everything that will get you to the starting line and help you run that race as smart and as strong as possible. And my plans are not just to get you to a specific goal at a at a specific race, but to help you go beyond that. And if you are looking for a coach to help you do that, I'm offering a deal for the rest of this month just because of the Tokyo Marathon charity acceptances for anyone who signs up this month. my usual pricing point is $250 a month. I am offering it for $200 just going forward for you. So it'll be $200. Throughout the entire time that you work with me. It's month to month, so there's no contract. And we work together to make sure that you are working towards whatever goals that you have and that you are becoming the runner that you know you can be. So reach out to me either on social media, Mike Runs Marathons, or send me an email at Mike at Mikeruns Marathons dot com and let's get started. But with that being said, let's get on with the show. Hello everyone and welcome back to At Your Own Pace. This is the show for runners who are showing up however they can on whatever week life is handing them. I'm Mike, and whether you're chasing a Boston qualifier, your first 5k or the next mile, you're in the right place. Every Friday we open up with a little real talk about my week on the run. Then we sit down with someone whose story is going to leave you a little bit more fired up than when you press play. So Lays up, settle in and let's run this one together. My guest for today is someone that I have been admiring for months. I'm so excited for you to hear the story of my guest for today. His name is Maurice, and he is an inspiration for I think anybody out there, regardless of whether you're a runner or not. He is somebody who has overcome addiction and utilizes running as a way to not only Work through his addiction? No. Not only uses running as an outlet to help with maintaining sobriety, but also uses it as a way to give back to organizations that provide services to those with mental health issues and those who suffer from substance abuse disorders. So the fact that he's gone out there and has utilized this hobby to do something so selfless and so helpful to a community of people who struggle the most in the world is Fantastic and something that I really admire. And for those of you that don't know, Maurice is sober and has been sober for several years, but he started his running while in the midst of addiction. And his story is not one of I running saved my life immediately and helped me get over the issues that I was facing. It took time. And running played a part in him being able to finally Realize his true potential and what he was capable of and who he was meant to be in this world, which is this lovable, helpful, supportive, and caring individual who gives back to the community and remembers where he was so that he can help others not be in that position. His story is very raw, very real, and something that some people will identify with. I know that there are a number of people who listen to this podcast who are sober themselves. So you may hear some portions of the story that you will identify with. I myself am sober. I've been sober. I apologize if you hear Lulu in the background. She is currently playing with some toys and is looking incredibly adorable. But anyway, I myself am sober. I've been sober for roughly about five years. It'll be five years in December. And that was not the first time that I tried to get sober. It's the longest that I've been sober. But I got sober initially because of, you know, some issues I was having. with my drinking and then what really kind of caused me to maintain my sobriety was actually running itself when I decided to start running the World Marathon Majors after New York City in twenty twenty one and signed up for Chicago in twenty twenty two. I decided that I was going to stop drinking because I wanted to take care of my body and not do any unnecessary damage to it. But yet sobriety does play a big part in my life. you know, to break my anonymity, I have gone to meetings, I have done the steps, I've worked with people, I've had people work with me, and it's really helped me a lot. And it's gotten me to a better place in my life. It's helped me understand my emotions more and my ability to under to process them and also to essentially deal with other people in the real world and live life on life's terms. So breaking my anonymity about that. I I'm I hope that some of you will identify with kind of where I've come from. And to also remind people that it is there's no shame in seeking help and there's no shame in either working the steps, working with a sponsor, or working with your therapist or just working on things yourself. Because Asking for help is one of the strongest things that you can possibly do, especially when you're dealing with something as painful and as damaging as a mental health issue that's not being treated, or substance abuse disorder. But before we jump into Maurice's interview, I wanna start with where we always start, which is with a check in. So here's what's been on my mind for the week. Those of you that can hear her in the background. Lulu is about to be six months old. And I cannot believe that that's about to happen. Those of you that have been following me for some time, you saw the pictures of Lulu when she was first born in January. She was just about five pounds. She went under five pounds when she was in the NICU for a few days. And now she's thriving and just being an incredible little baby. And As you can hear, very talkative and very active. And I just I cannot believe how much life can change in six months. And I I can tie that back to a lot of things in my life. I can tie it back to, you know, my my running account, my platform, and how just over the last year it's really gotten, you know, bigger than I ever expected. I've met so many incredible people virtually and in person and made friends with so many people that I just never thought would be possible. And it just makes me so grateful for what I've been able to kind of build and and help foster and grow. But more importantly, the biggest thing that I'm most proud of is she's right in front of me. This little one right here. Because I those of you that have probably heard my story. I grew up without a dad. My dad left when I was two, three months old, I think. And so I had no I know that there's no guidebook when it comes to parenting, but I had no reference for what a father should be. my mom is married four times and each stepdad was kind of worse than the other. And I didn't learn anything from them except kind of what not to do as a an adult as a person who wanted to be a functional human in society. And so I've been afraid kind of my entire life that two things would happen. Either I'd be a terrible dad because I just wouldn't know what to do and I would be lost and completely, you know, unable to raise somebody. Or two, I would end up like my dad and leave. I used to think there was some sort of like genetic thing that was in me that would that's like, well, you know, if he left then That's in my blood and maybe that'll happen. But I knew that that was never really gonna happen. Because one, I'm not a dick and two, I am an adult. I'm not gonna act like a child and leave somebody who is incredibly innocent and needs care and love. It like alone. And I remember being so scared up until the moment she was born. And I will never forget the sound I made when they so they had to do an emergency section on Emily. And when they took her out and they lifted her and brought her to the heating table, I I made this noise that I don't think I can repeat because it just was like so many different things at the same time. And in that moment, my mind just went, You can't be scared anymore. You have to be strong. And you have to be brave for her. And there was a switch that went on in my head. And it was like, I don't know if it was, you know, just human genetics and anthropology and things like that, where it was just our nature of what we do when we have a child. But I felt like there was something that switched in my head where I was like, I'm this is I'm in dad mode now. And I have been in love with this little girl since the moment I first laid eyes on her. And I ha I love her in a way that I never knew was possible and in a way that just People explained to me when like who had children what it was like, but I I knew I wasn't really gonna understand it until she was born and now I get it. It's indescribable. It's something that I can't explain and but it's just It's it's changed my life. And I find myself, I've talked to people about this, I find myself sobbing and crying all the time, just either thinking about her or looking at her, especially when she was like really young, you know, a couple weeks old, a month old, two months. I would look at her, I'd see how tiny she is, I would see how just sweet and innocent innocent she was, just lying like in her arms and sleeping. And I would just think two things. One my god, I can't believe we created this. She's so beautiful and precious. And two, how could somebody leave someone like this? Right? I grew up with a lot of family trauma. I have a lot of things that I'm still processing in therapy, both from my father and my mother. And looking at her and seeing just how pure she is, how helpless she is, how she needs. Me to help her with everything, lit literally every single thing. She cannot stand up for herself, literally. Is it just runs through my head all the time whenever I do something or whenever I see her act a certain way or do a certain thing of how can somebody abandon something like this? And I've processed my father a lot over the last 25, 30 years. So that is that has not really been on my mind. There's been a lot of things with my mom that has been on my mind recently, which If you follow me on threads, you know exactly what I mean. But I find myself just so, so, so grateful that I'm able to be the dad that I am for her. And the fact that she is six months old, you know, is is absolutely crazy. She'll be six months on the twenty-third. Six months on the twenty-third. And I just feel like it was yesterday that I was sitting in the NICU for Four days straight, not sleeping, feeding her every two to three hours, and setting up camp in her NICU room so that she wasn't alone and didn't feel like she was alone in that room, even though I knew she didn't know what in the world was happening. But I wanted to be there for her and I made sure that she knew that her dad would always be there for her. But You know, thinking about this interview for today, think about this interview for this week. I think about how sobriety has led to this moment, led to me with Lulu, has has led to me with my running, has led to me with my platform, has led to me with my nine to five jobs that I've had and just the success that I've had kind of overall. Because if I was heavily drinking or drunk all the time and all this stuff. I know that that would one hundred percent not be the case for what I have today. It just it just wouldn't be here at all. And so I I think back to where I was, where I came from, you know, eight, nine years ago, ten years ago, to what I have today. And it it blows my mind and makes me really grateful that I was able to f seek the help that I needed and that I was able to realized that I couldn't do this alone and that I needed support from others in order to head in the right direction. I know I still have a lot of growth to make. I'm not done growing. I still have a lot of things to learn, a lot of things to process and whatnot, but I know that I'm not where I used to be. And that is the important thing. And I want you to remember that too. Those of you that are struggling, you might be dealing with some sort of addiction problem or a mental health issue. family issues, work issues, just any type of problem that you're facing right now. I had a therapist tell me this one time. The biggest issue that you have faced that you thought you couldn't get through, you're still here and you got through it. And there's a number of reasons why that probably happened. But if you are facing an issue like addiction, substance abuse, mental health issues, or you know, even issues with your family and or friends and work, reach out to other people. Get help, get support. It doesn't make you less of a person, doesn't make you less strong. It doesn't make you weak. if if you are a male, it doesn't make you less masculine. If for some godforsaken reason you're listening to this and you're one of those people that thinks that you're an alpha male, it doesn't make you less of an alpha male, even though I don't think alpha males exist. But what I'm trying to say is seeking help is one of the bravest things you can do. And if you are and and those who are reaching out and getting support, I'm so proud of you. So just keep that in mind. Because like I said, nothing I have today would be here if it wasn't for my sobriety. And a lot of the sobriety I work on with myself now, I work on with my therapist. No. And I'm just really grateful for that. But without further ado, I want to introduce you to Maurice. I want you to hear his story. I w I cannot wait for you to hear her story. I cannot wait for you to witness the rebirth of Marathon Panda Maurice. So grab some water, find your stride, and meet me in the conversation because today's guest is someone that I have been so excited to introduce you to. Just to make sure I got it right though, your sobriety date is march twelfth, twenty fifteen. speaker-1: Thanks for doing some homework. speaker-0: Mark. Of course, man. March twelfth. mine is December second? I constantly I constantly have to look at it. December second, twenty twenty one. speaker-1: Nice. Yeah, my march twelfth, two thousand fifteen. And we'll we'll get into everything. This is cool. speaker-0: Of course, of course. So March twelfth, two thousand fifteen. That is a date my guest today knows in his bones. That is the day Maurice Lohman got sober. And it is the date that started everything that came after the running, the streak, the marathons, the community, the suit of Boston, the high fives, the whole thing. And you may know him as Marathon Panda, Positivity and Hope Dealer, Ultra Runner, Community Builder, Brooks Running Collective Ambassador, the guy who runs the Boston Marathon in a full two piece suit and a tie. Because if you are going to show up, you may as well show up. Maurice has run 44 marathons. He has finished eight Ultras. He's done two 100 mile races. He has held a run streak for 3,488 days, which is nearly 10 years of running every single day, before recently letting it end on his terms. But if you ask him, none of those numbers are the point. The point is that he is still here. The point is that he took the worst chapter of his life, turned it in the fuel for one of the most beautiful comebacks that the running world has ever seen. So Maurice, welcome to that your own pace. And I am really, really excited to have you on the show. speaker-1: That was an amazing, beautiful, awesome intro. So I'm already wicked, grateful, and excited for that. Thank you so much. And hi everybody and thanks for tuning. I'm doing very good. I'm doing very good. I I can't say thank you enough. So that was a really good intro. speaker-0: Thank you so much, sir. How you doing? No, I appreciate it. I appreciate it. So I have a couple buckets of questions here that I want to go through just to kind of introduce everybody to who you are, talk about your story, and then just kind of go from there. So what I want to start with is kind of before everything, you know, before the running, before the the suits, before the ultras, and before the running streak. So before the streak, before the marathons, before you were marathon panda, I want you to take me back to who Maurice was. What did life look like before March twelfth, two thousand fifteen? So speaker-1: Really cool question. just to give everybody, you know, we'll start stay on track and start from scratch. So born and raised East Providence, Rhode Island, which is Providence, Rhode Island, fifty miles from from Boston, for those that don't know, don't know where where we're at. Grew up in a two parent home with an awesome brother, biracial family. I'm proud of both sides, a public school education, computer tech. school after high school and my story, obviously we touched on it already, is that of overcoming some hardcore addiction and substance abuse and alcoholism. But before all of that, I was a kid that loved BMX bikes and and hanging out at the baseball, basketball, football fields. I never excelled at any of those sports. I played youth athletics until they didn't let me play anymore. I was the kid that they put in for a few plays because I showed up to every practice. but I was just never good At any of even though I love baseball, basketball, football, you name it. It's funny because as a kid, my my grandmother used to say things to me like, You have strong legs, you're gonna be a runner when when you get older and I never grasped it, never grasped it at all. Like track and field wasn't on my radar in junior high or high school. I knew what it was, but it just wasn't a thing for me. And then so As a high school student, I was still pretty only focused on like friends, academics. Like I s I thought I was like a cool kid that knew about fashion and I would like try to dress cool unless I was influenced by like hip hop culture and stuff. I didn't get into any bad decision making until my senior year of high school and still managed to like graduate with honors. But directly after high school is when and I never liked to use the word or the term peer pressure because I always made my own decisions, but I started being around the wrong communities, the wrong groups of people that weren't focused on longevity and academics and career paths, family stuff. So it just it led to devastating decisions being made over and over again. So before I graduated that computer tech school, which was a year after high school, I was already introduced to alcohol and substance abuse and a so-called street life where I was trying to be a hustler on the street where I grew up in the suburbs and didn't need to like be a drug dealer to put food on my table. I didn't need to. Always had a job, but just really got infatuated with this idea of like hustling on the street and it started with like selling pot and then it was party drugs and then it was just like that, trying to live a double life of being the guy at the party that was that was the party. And the problem with that is I never outgrew it. some men and women go through phases and learn how to quickly outgrow it. I continued down that path, would get jobs always did well with like a shirt and tie banker mortgage car sales type position and always justified my actions by the fact that I have a shirt and tie job. I can I can work hard, party hard kind of kind of mindset. This behavior continued for the next ten plus years of alcoholism and drug abuse, being a functional alcoholic drug addict, but losing jobs. Losing relationships, losing apartments, going to jail for short periods of time, like really, really bad circumstances that most people would say, Dang, I'm never gonna let that happen again. I just lost my job. My girlfriend left me. I don't have an apartment right now. I'm crashing on a buddy's couch. And I just kept that cycle that kept that it just kept going for years. And it eventually got worse. With that all being said, running was always like my go-to like exercise when I wanted to per se brush some dirt off my shoulder, feel better about myself on a Saturday morning or a Sunday morning, build some confidence, build some sort of positive self-esteem in my within myself because I knew I had just messed up. But I was never ever consistent with it because I was an alcoholic drug addict. Functioning. And I used the word functioning, but that didn't always last. So as you know, 'cause you you did some diving into my story, it didn't stop at just being like a party recreational functioning drug addict. I hit some real, real rock bottoms that didn't that included but weren't restricted to just jail time. In and out of rehabs, being homeless, unintentional overdoses where first responders had to bring me back to life. So now we're we're going into my late twenties, early thirties and Other than a couple of periods of time where I had sobriety for nine months, fourteen months, thirty months, I was still an active alcoholic drug addict in my in my thirties. Back on the streets, being homeless, and addicted to some hardcore stuff. That's what brings us to March. Of 2015. If we rewind right before that, I did get serious about running in 2008 and 2009. And I used it as the number one tool in my toolbox for mental health, physical health, and sobriety. However, that lasted about three years. And then I had some bad relapses and fell back into the and I'm just trying to paint the picture here for everybody. And fell back into some really bad ways. Fast forward again. Two thousand fifteen. I have already run my first half marathon and my first marathon. When I crossed the finish line of my very first marathon, and I had my mom there, my aunt there, some other important people in my life at the time, I promised myself that that was the only high I was ever gonna chase. I I did experience the runner's high. I did experience the adrenaline. I did experience the sense of accomplishment. If we go back and once again trying to stay on track. That very first half marathon in two thousand thirteen, I actually ran it after being released from prison only one week. And I wanted something positive. I had been running in prison. I had been staying clean. I'd been staying sober. It was easy when you're in prison to do that for the most part. So I get out nine months clean, sober, like I gotta do something positive. I gotta do something good. Sign up for this half marathon. I had never even done a 5k before. Run the half marathon. I'm immediately like and I was had been reading Runner's World magazine. I had been running outside for like an hour at a time whenever they let us outside. And I had that experience in 2008, 2009 of running consistently every day with like we're talking back when like I had a disc man and I'm running trying to like make it not skip and like Doing laps at the track and not knowing anything. Like I didn't know what an 800 was. I didn't know what a GPS Garmin was. Like I didn't know any of these things. But I had these big dreams of running a marathon, including the Boston Marathon, not knowing anything about like qualifications, charity entries, nothing. Not the history of it, the world majors. I knew nothing. Did the first raise 2013 became immediately infatuated with the community? I said, This is where I belong. I need to be around these people. There were so many cool things that happened that day that that really were like a catalyst to why I immersed myself in the community. I unfortunately did have a relapse in 2014. That's why I'm bringing up the the the multiple dates. But I was so grateful to kind of snap myself out of that immediately. So the the date that you mentioned in the in the introduction, March twelfth, twenty fifteen, no looking back, put down the drugs, put down the alcohol, and just got really, really serious about mental health. sobriety, physical health, and Running was there for me. So hopefully I stayed on track with that. Two thousand fifteen the sobriety started. Two thousand sixteen the the now over run streak started. speaker-0: That is such a powerful story. And for those who don't know, I'm also sober as well. I've been sober for I think a little over four and a half years. So and I know there I know there are a lot of people out there in the running community who also have gotten sober for a number of reasons of running has helped them very tremendously. And that is one of the things that helps me as well. So just hearing about, you know, I know the bottoms, I know hitting that You know, that pavement where you just feel like you are at the lowest point that you can be is so painful and and hurts. And then there are you never you don't think there's another bottom, but somehow you find out that there is, and it just keeps going and going and going until finally you get so low that you realize, okay, I gotta do something or else like this is it. And the the fact that you had the strength to be like, the only high I'm gonna have is from this feeling of when I run these races is is such a very powerful, strong thing to do. So, you know, I'm I'm incredibly proud of you for that. And I'm glad you're still here. Especially with what you were saying about with the accidental overdoses. Now we have the version of yourself now, right? When you look at that version of yourself, the the person who was actively using and and in jail, homeless, doing all these things, wanting to be a hustler. What do you want the world to understand about him? Because I mean, I when I I speak for myself with this, but like the person that was drinking when I used to drink a lot, like it's still in me, right? what do you want the world to understand about that person? Because they're not wrong. speaker-1: Correct, correct. It was a I'm still an addict. I mean, you've you've been to meetings, you you know, like you you have to the way my and you meet so many people in the endurance field, whether it's fitness, whether it's CrossFit, ultra marathons, marathons, just going to the gym, you meet so many people that have replaced their old habits with their with their with their new habits, which are much healthier. What I want people to know is that person, that old Maurice was obviously crying for help in some way. I'm I still am working towards putting my finger on exactly what it was. I use words like entitlement, but I think the entitlement is paralleled with denial and also a a a total fear of success. Like I was almost scared to do the right thing for a continued amount for a consistent amount of time because I kept doing the wrong thing after having a little bit of of clean time. So I want the person to know that's listening, is that person still loved life? And still had a strong self belief in himself, and a still in a strong self belief that the world offered a lot more than what I was living with. It was the strength, it was the resiliency, it was the the power within that allowed and the and my higher power that allowed me to push forward and just have the hope. Just consistently have hope with the positive perspective. and I know I some of these words sound cliche, but that's the way I used to operate, and I still operate like I was like, I can live a better life. I just have to stop living this life. What's the first step? The first step is to stop drinking. The first step is to stop using. And not just for one day. Like, don't, don't not go to the liquor store today and think your your world's gonna be the problem's gonna be solved. Like, you have to do this every day. You have to find a new routine. You have to find a new way of life. For me, I was super fortunate to find the running Community. And today that word is thrown around so much, but I like to I've never had a negative experience with the running community. I'm not ignorant to the fact that some people have, but I feel like it's my duty to shine a light on all the positives. Like I do feel very strongly that running is super inclusive. I'm just a guy that loves to run. I'm never gonna win a race. Well, I think I ran a local 5K one time, but nobody fast showed up. But what I'm saying is I want to shine a light on the fact that like it gave me an identity. Running gave me something to build confidence off of, something to stand on and say, I'm a runner. I'm a marathoner. I'm a guy that loves to chase goals. I used to chase really bad things. Now I get to chase positive things. I get to be around awesome people that get to sh I have these mantras like we all have stories. I'm running the streets that used to run me. Stay grateful for the grind. Hashtag Grateful to be here. Like you've you've seen all of these, but they mean so much to me. I really am grateful to be here because 15 years ago, I wasn't a guy that woke up grateful and positive. I was like in regret and in sorrow that I had made a multiple mistakes and put myself in such a bad position. So I want people to know that that person was still a loving, compassionate, hopeful, positive person, but he was just masking it all with addiction. speaker-0: Yeah. b I mean I mean you kinda hit it on the head with talking about the the functioning part. Because a lot of people get very confused about that because they don't think that someone who uses in some way, shape, or form can still function in society. They they probably think of people like in I live near Philly, so like in Kensington. Correct. You know, you see the you see the pictures of the people who are bent over on the street or lying on the street, and that's not everyone, right? And and there's just people that decide that they the the functioning part is falling apart and they realize that the mask is coming off and they need to make a decision as to what's going to happen if that mask does come off. And so I I I really like how you pointed out, you know, that this was still like a loving, kind person. Like it it's not like when you become when you use you're some evil, mean person. You you still are a genuine person. It's just that you have this other thing that you're doing. And that that brings me to to March twelfth, two thousand fifteen. Was there I wanna I wanna know like walk me through that day, like why March twelfth in two thousand fifteen and d was there something that happened? Was there something in your mind that clicked, like a specific like event or something that happened that made that day the day that you stopped? So speaker-1: Thank you for the question. So in two thousand thirteen, two thousand fourteen, I already had this taste of sobriety and selfies at finish lines, which, you know, if you if you know me and you know my journey, I I take a lot of selfies with with the myself and with the community. Might have the the the mantra that like I wasn't taking selfies saying, Hey, look at me when I just, you know blew my paycheck on drugs and alcohol. So that's the whole idea behind it. It's like it's hey, look at me, but it's like, hey, look what you can do. That's that's that's the the drive behind this. Two thousand fourteen, with a couple of relapses before that, I ran into some two young men that were literally doing real street outreach. And I was on this I I say things in previous interviews. I was in the darkest corners of addiction. So not just jail, not just being homeless. Like shelters with bed bugs, backstreets with people doing whatever for for drug and alcohol money. I was there and I didn't belong there. I was better than that. And I believed I was better than that. And I'm always super grateful that I've had that self-awareness. I br believe very strongly that I put myself in those situations and it was my duty to get myself out. To pinpoint that exact date, probably f several weeks prior to that, two young men that I s I'm still friends with, Jonathan and Richard, were doing street outreach. They saw me on the street and they said, Maurice, like, we love you, brother. Like, do you need a clean t shirt? Do you need some fast food? Like, we're not gonna give you any money, but like we love you and we know you can be that guy that we saw on Facebook last year saying, I just ran a marathon, I'm sober, grateful to be here. Like, where's that guy? That's who you deserve to be. We need to get you back to that guy, because that's the guy that you deserve to be, and that's the d guy that the world deserves to see. And it just hit me so like I knew it, but to hear it from two young men that weren't judging me and that were meeting me, like they weren't like, Hey bro, you're a loser, man. Like, what are you doing out here? They were like, Hey, bro, we love you. Why don't you get back to doing the right thing? 'Cause that was pretty awesome. And it just really, really sunk in. And they gave me a ride, they gave me some clean clothes. I think they bought me cigarettes and fast food, if I remember correctly. And they were like, We love you, brother. Like Get back on track, man. We know you can do it. Like, and I didn't stop using that weekend or the following week, but I put it in my head. I was like, I have to stop using. I have to stop drinking. You have to stop hanging out at these places. And that date, I literally was back on the street, that same location, and I had the alcohol, I had the drugs, I had the cigarettes, I had cash on me. It's like an addict was having a good day. You know what I mean? All the things. I had all the things. And I said, This is it. This is it. I'm done. And like the young man that I was with, I passed the drugs off to him. I remember thinking I can hang on to the cigarettes and I can hang on to the to the bottle. So it was actually March tenth that I gave up the drugs and I walked away with this bottle of vodka and a pack of cigarettes. And I was like, I'm gonna get through this weekend and I'm gonna start Monday looking for a job without an ounce of drugs and alcohol in my system. And I just kept it going. And like the guy couldn't believe I like handed him the drugs, but I was done. I was done. And I promised myself I would never walk back to that neighborhood. Now I run there just to say I'm running the streets that used to run me to remind myself how far I've come. But at that moment, I mean I didn't go back there for a long time. And at that moment I knew. I knew it. And I was very, very fortunate I had You know, someone in my life that believed in me, that like you like let me crash on their couch for a while and was like, get a job, do the right thing, I'll help you out. But like, if you're back to drinking and drugging, you have no place to stay. So I had some some safety nets. I had some people that really believed in me. I knew I had a beautiful family at home. I knew I had, you know, two beautiful sons and awesome parents and an awesome brother that believed in me and that would cheer me on if I started doing the right thing, because they were all probably super disappointed that I was making mistakes again. so all of those things combined, that's how March twelfth became became the day. So no looking speaker-0: It's it's so crazy how sometimes the smallest thing that someone can say to you could have such a major impact without them realizing it. Cause I'm I I can only imagine hearing those two those two guys saying that to you. They they probably were genuinely just like, you know, we we really believe in you and we really think that you can do good and not realizing that the the whole the whole time that you were talking, the only thing I can think is planting the seed. Like as soon as you plant that seed, you cannot stop it from growing. Like you can try to rip it out, but it's gonna grow back. And that's what I just heard from your story the entire time. Was just the seed was planted and it just kept growing and growing in your head. And finally you were just like, you know what? They they're right. And, you know, it I I wholeheartedly agree with them because of everything you've been able to pull off since then. Everything you've accomplished and and been able to to celebrate. Because I I don't wanna think about what your life would be like if you had not decided on March tenth that that was that was the day that you were done with drugs and then March twelfth was the day that you officially stopped everything. Correct because, you know, I want to celebrate who you are as a person now because of the strength and hope that you showed leading up to that. But there is a little another gap in time that I want to talk about. So before or between March 15th and January 1st, 2016, you were sober, but the running streak had not started yet. what was that in between time like and and how did running kind of come about with wanting to start that streak? speaker-1: I was running to my my once the once the sobriety stayed consistent. Remember, I had already ran a couple of half marathons and a couple of full marathons at that point. I one of the other reasons why it was easy for me to to bounce out of that last relapse was like I realized I couldn't be both guys. Like I remember being at like a drug house showing somebody my Nike plus app saying I'm training for a marathon and they were like, No, you're not. Like you're waiting for a drug dealer to get here. Like it and and it it just like it was such a smack of reality that like you're right, like just because you're wearing some Nike trainers and and using a Nike plus app, like you're not a marathoner if you're chasing drugs and alcohol. But that was the those were the conversations I had to have with myself. So when March fifteenth, when March twelfth, twenty fifteen came and I got back on track with running, running every day before work. I got a full time job, running, running, running. That's all I cared about. I had the Map my run, run keeper, the runner's world magazines, the Brooks, the ASICs, you name it. Like I was fully immersed. I was like, I'm a runner. This is what I do. And it was like a healthy, healthy habit and obsession to keep me focused. Signed up for every half marathon and every marathon that I could afford to travel to and and afford to sign up for. And just was injury free and running a ton of miles. Like was immediately up to like 200 mile months and tracking it and being proud of it and stuff like that. And it was actually at a Thanksgiving Dinner, my son's stepdad was like, Hey, you should do a hundred day run streak, like to hold yourself accountable. It's really cool. I just finished one. And I didn't want to be like Mr. Arrogant and Mr. Like, hey, that's not a big deal, like hundred day run streak, like I do that already. But in my mind, I mean, I'm gonna be honest, that it was a piece of ego and it was like, I'm kinda already doing that. So I said, that's a great idea. That's a great idea. I'll do I'll do a hundred day run streak. Cause I couldn't actually say that I had done a hundred days without stopping before, without without actually tracking it. I had the told you run keep them at my run with Nike Plus. So I said, you know what I'm gonna do? On January 1st, I'm gonna start running and shout out to everybody that has a run street. They're wicked cool and we're gonna we're gonna talk about mine. I appreciate the question. Because I'm not the only one. That's my other attitude is there's people that have been doing this for a long, long time. I'm just some guy that loves to run and I got in introduced to the community, you know, twelve, thirteen, fourteen years ago. So January first, twenty sixteen, I'm gonna start running and I'm gonna do every single run outside. Every day no matter what. So the immediate response I got was you can't do it outside. You can't do it outside. What if it rains? What if it snows? What if it's too cold? So that's all the motivation I needed to say, I'm gonna do it outside. He said you're not, I said I am. So January first, two thousand sixteen, I dot the run streak all outside. The minimum was a mile a day. However I was very proud of the fact that the rolling average was like six miles a day. So at the end of the year was three hundred and sixty six days because it was a leap year. So I'm like, I I'm a day ahead. I'm a day ahead of anybody else that's like doing anything. That I I know it's a crazy like mindset, but I it's in my mind, I'm like, that's the motivation I need. Three hundred and sixty-six days. Let's keep this thing going, right? And I kept it going. I kept it going. And then it became a thing where every New Year's Day I'm running this local half marathon. So I'm celebrating. Being sober on New Year's Day. I'm celebrating by doing like a half marathon, and I'm celebrating another year of the run streak. So there was nothing that was gonna stop me. And I stayed injury free, had some hamstring stuff, got into physical therapy and strength training and all that stuff. I stayed injury free. So the run streak lasted for nine and a half years. speaker-0: Yeah, three thousand four hundred and eighty eight days to be exact, which is absolutely wild. The longest that I think I've had was maybe six months. And yeah, shout out to everybody who has a run streak. I mean, there's some people that say that it's not healthy and there's some people that that say that they are. Listen, I just celebrate runners in general. So if you do have a run streak, I don't care if it's ten years or if it's ten days. It it's it's so much dedication to go out and do that. Especially the fact that you say you're gonna do it outside 'cause speaker-1: Just so close to ten years. speaker-0: I'm sorry, but me, I would look outside and see the rain and be like, I'm I'm going on the treadmill. I can't I'm not going I'm not wet my shoes. I'm not gonna get soaked. So that that's a lot of discipline right now. So and and a lot of people can't even imagine like nearly ten years of a run streak. That's that's insane. But what what did it what did the streak actually mean to you? Like was it was it about the running? Was it about the sobriety? Was it something else? speaker-1: So it it started to become and then so it ties into so many things 'cause you you can fast forward and talk about imposter syndrome and doubt and self doubt and and and like, you know, mild depression, like 'cause I had to end it and I'm like, Who am I now? It became such a piece of my story, such a piece of my journey. I got introduced to Instagram late by a very special friend's daughter. she was like, Hey Mo, you should try Instagram like people go on there with their fitness stuff and I can remember like The very first selfie I took with like a weighted vest and I had just ran a 10K. But I mean like I had really done it. Like it was not this how do I say this? Like I didn't know anything about Instagram. And I posted a selfie with a couple of hashtags because somebody recommended it. And I immediately got like a couple of likes and a couple of comments. And someone was like, 'cause I put like sober, grateful to be here kind of stuff, like it's 10K in a weight vest. And I immediately got this positive response. And I was like, this is awesome. Here's another community that I never knew about. Okay. So the run streak got so much positive feedback with this community that I was building over the next few years that I mean, I'm a former addict. I was missing the positive affirmations. I was missing the encouragement. I was missing the community motivation. That hey, great job. You're awesome. Thanks for sharing your story. Like there's so much to it. It's not just all ego driven. Like if I like I think I said before we jumped on, if I'm just a guy running around town talking about myself, that's all I am. But if I'm really trying to deliver a message of hope and strength and consistency and discipline and it inspires somebody else, whether it's from movement, I mean I really believe movement is medicine. But to answer your question more directly, sorry if I was getting off track, the run streak became like it became everything. It was like And we're talking like through food poisoning, through covet, through missing a flight, through work stuff, through family stuff. But I'll tell you what, like my first real sense of grief as an adult when we lost my my son's mom, I didn't know how to process the grief. Knew I had to run that night. And I went to the track for w for all for all reasons, who knows why. But I went to the track and just started sprinting around the track and listening to to music and crying and screaming and I was like I'm not gonna break the streak. I'm not gonna break the sobriety streak. I'm not gonna break the run streak. I don't know how this is gonna get any better, but I'm gonna do it again tomorrow. And then the next day, I had the running. I had the social media community that I could post and get some positive feedback and kind of put a subtle message out there that like life isn't always friggin' ice cream and rainbows or whatever you wanna say. But we have I had something. I had something to hold on to. So the run streak became that. I then got laid off from my job that had like changed my life. It was my first corporate sales job as a sober adult. They believed in me. They let me travel to be like the token like runner guy that like did the corporate 5K. Like it was like a cool job. Like I got promoted. I was making a very, very fair income. Like it gave me the confidence, the consistency, everything that you need at in sobriety to like be a catalyst to keep going. When I got laid off from that job, I had the run streak. As silly as it sounds, I had the Instagram community. I was like, How can I be Mr. Positive, Mr. Grateful, Mr. Happy Monday if I'm gonna change just because I got laid off? Like I ha you know what I mean? So like I was like, do your run, post, you Even though you're gonna pay your bills, like you gotta sign up for something, sign up for a race, keep yourself active in the community. And that's that's what it meant to me. I meant to to answer your question directly, like it meant everything to me. The run streak meant everything to me. So to fast forward to this past year, after finishing an ultra marathon with with somewhat success, I did pretty good. It was like eighty plus miles in a twenty four hour event, short of the goal, but still good. I went out running for to meet my local track club for for track practice. And I had a pain that I couldn't explain and I shut down the workout, went to a walk in and I they told me I had a stress fracture and I was like devastated. I was devastated. So the sprained ankle, shout out to my buddy at you know Apex Performance Physical Therapy. He got me back to running within like two to three days. But let's back up. Sprained my ankle on a routine, like three mile, easy run. I had never ever had a real injury that made me think about ending the streak. Once again, day after a marathon, day after an ultra, like I'm doing a one mile power walk, power jog, whatever you want to call it, to keep the streak alive. Outside. One mile on the GPS minimum daily run rolling average of over six miles over the eight plus nine plus years. So I was super proud of this run streak. I talked a lot of yap about it on social media and everything. Sprained ankle. So I'm with a good friend of mine and I'm like, I gotta go run tonight. I gotta go run tonight. And this was in the middle of like going to a walk in, they're telling me the ankle's probably sprained, setting up a time to see my PT, but I keep the streak alive. Barely, barely, like I'm struggling to do a power jog around the block to the tune of like somebody in their car stopping and asking if I was okay because I looked like I was in pain and I'm like point four left, point four left. So the streak lived for another day. It like it lived for another day. And then I was out to eat with my friend and I had like this conversation and it was like do you want to be the guy that says he never missed a day of outside running, but I can't train for marathons anymore? 'Cause like I've done severe damage to an already damaged ankle. Or do you want to be the guy that owns the fact that this is coming to an end, treat it properly, listen to your body, stop the streak, and just own it? Like this this is where you're at. And I was Mr. Own where you're at, build from that, like you know what I mean? Show up for yourself, be authentic. Like I can't say these things and then not live by them. I can't say I'm Mr. Discipline and Mr. Consistency and not live by the same words that I'm I'm yapping about in my community and on social media. So I said, that's it. The streak's over. The first day was tough. The f because I'm like But it was over. It was over. Like and then the second day was tough. And then my I saw my buddy the the PT, Alex, and he fixed it. And I was like able to run. And I was like, I could've never I could have kept this going. But in reality, I could not have kept it going. So I was like going to the gym, going to yoga, and I decided to make this post that like the run streak had ended. Okay. And The positive feedback that I got from my community that was like, Maurice, this is like a big deal. Like you're showing discipline. A real runner knows when not to run. Like, yeah, the run streak was cool. Now it helped me. It helped me open my eyes to be like, Your journey is way more than a run streak. Like I never stopped the sobriety streak. I never stopped being a cheerleader in my community. I never stopped showing up for people and sharing them on and and and And that stuff. So all of the thoughts that I had about like losing myself and losing my identity were starting to become overpowered by like, you're still the you're still the guy, you're still the guy that you say you are. You just don't have this run streak. Do you know what I mean? And then I started looking at it from a different perspective. Like, now you don't have to stress out about squeezing in a couple miles after work. Now you don't have to stress out about and and and hats off to all the people that keep the run streaks alive, because it it it's very, very difficult. For me, I think it became not as beneficial because there were days where I should have been resting or I should have been doing something else and I was just going outside to say that I had a mile or to say and then the days that I had a mile, I'm like, well tomorrow I gotta run more because what's a mile? And then y and it just became unbenicial where I threw I started throwing around the term like junk miles because they weren't beneficial to me. And then I got hit with the stress fracture and And it all happened for a reason. So now I'm out of running completely for a few months and I didn't listen. I tried to run the Chicago Marathon on a fractured foot and I I DNF'd at mile nineteen and then I took the doctor's advice and stayed in the boot for three months and recovered fully and now I'm back. No run streak, but no injuries. speaker-0: Hey, listen, that friend of yours was really smart to say, do you want to be the guy who can't run anymore but keep the run streak alive, but they can't run long distances because they damage themselves so much. So you want to be smart. And that's that's the thing about running is there's so many people who get into the sport and it's really weird. They feel like they like getting injured is just a thing that happens, but it's not. It's really not. When you get injured, you really need to stop and look and see what you're doing wrong or why it happens and and get it fixed because it's not a badge of honor. It's it's you're not really showing your perseverance and resilience when you're running while you're injured. You're kind of you're you're in that eco stage that you pointed out before. speaker-1: That's exactly what I had to do, was put the ego in the back pocket. speaker-0: Exactly. And I can only imagine the the way that you describe the like the first day was awful. The second day was awful. Reminds me of like early sobriety, of when you just start your first day. You're on day one and you're sitting there being like, How the f am I gonna be able to get through this? And and and it's like what they tell you is like, just don't do it for an hour. And then an hour comes, don't do it for the next hour. And then eventually that becomes the day, and then the days become months and then months become years and That that's what you really reminded me of because I can only imagine going from like almost a ten year streak to nothing. And that's like that's cold turkey right there. Like it that would have hurt me. Like I would have been crying probably on the floor, just like being like, I don't know what do I do with my time because like I I'm so used to doing this. But I love that you still stayed, you know, true to yourself and you're you're still authentic, which is one of the reasons why I I love your account. Because you still show up for everybody, you still show up for your community, you're still a cheerleader for so many people. and that never stopped, even though the run streak did. And I can't I can only imagine running trying to run a marathon on a stress fracture. And the fact you got the mile nineteen in Chicago is blows my mind. Cause I'm just like, I don't know if I I I there was a woman that I follow who I think she she lives in the United States. She flew to Tokyo for Tokyo Marathon and she got to mile one of the Tokyo Marathon and had the DNF. And and you know, one that takes a lot of like a lot of courage to make that decision at that moment. But like I I couldn't imagine like being in that position, like what it would feel like. And I can only imagine for you, you know, not just the physical pain that you're in, but also the mental pain. Cause I I beat myself up when I have a bad run. And DNFing at a major marathon, you must have been beating yourself up so much because of that. But I'm glad you listened to your doctor's advice. You're in the booth for three months. And and it worked 'cause you ran the Boston Marathon recently, which is fantastic. But before we get into the Boston Marathon, I wanna talk about your username. So your username is, you know, Marathon Panda Maurice. Where did the marathon panda come from? Like tell me the origin story of it and how it became this whole identity. So I always speaker-1: Love that question. So go back to my nana, my grandmother growing up. She gave me my first panda bear stuffed animal when I was like a toddler and I never went anywhere without it. was always like obsessed with the animal, got national geographic posters and and just really loved the animal. So and she was the one that used to tell me I was gonna be a runner. So now I'm I'm a runner. I'm running half marathons and marathons, you know. And I found Instagram. So it's funny because the people that have been following me for eleven plus years know this. It's actually pretty hilarious. I'm obsessed with cars too. That's the industry that I'm in now. I sell cars for for a living. But I'm obsessed with cars that I can't afford. So I used to call myself the Ferrari panda. And my Instagram account was Ferrari Panda Running. It was long and silly, but I had Ferrari dreams. I think like my passwords were like Ferrari dreams and stuff like that. But the panda, I'm half black, I'm half white. I've always been a little chubby. Well, maybe not anymore because I'm trying to get jacked and stuff, but it was my thing. You're not supposed to use the word spirit animal, but like it it's my spirit animal. Like I I it makes me feel like I'm paying tribute and honor in my grandmother's memory. 'Cause she's the one who put planted the seed for running. So to answer that question, like the panda is who I wanted to like I had this idea that I was gonna be like this fun loving, like roly poly running guy, you know, passing out like love. And that's where the panda came from. And the story that I talked about about the corporate sales job that gave me all this like motivation and positivity and and and drilled home the positive mental attitude stuff, I met a young man. That like really thought that my story was cool about like overcoming drug addiction and becoming a marathon runner. And he said, Hey, man, he's like, he's like, you ever he's like, I just found your Instagram account. He's like, it's pretty cool. He's like, You ever think about he's like, not to say you're never gonna have a Ferrari, but he's like, You ever think about calling yourself like the marathon panda? He's like, You've already run marathons and not everybody can say that. He's like, I bet you there's nobody in this room that runs marathons. He's like, I just saw something where like you ran a bunch of them. He's like, that that's pretty cool, the marathon panda. And I was like, not only is that pretty cool, that's the coolest thing ever. Right. So I so I ran with it. And like, and and it's funny because like it's like with anything, you always have this big vision. And I'm not I'm just some guy that that loves the community and loves to run. I'm super grateful for the small community that I have and that I've been able to grow over the years. And it's opened up doors and stuff like that. But it just it was so cool to have somebody that was like giving me a fun suggestion, but he like actually cared and it yeah, so that's where I came from. So now I'm the marathon panda and I got like shirts made and all this stuff 'cause I always thought the vision was always bigger than what than what it was at the time. speaker-0: Love that. That is that is such an amazing thing. I love how you're you are also honoring your grandma in a way. My grandma was my biggest running supporter as well. She passed away about a little over three years ago now. And when you were talking about your mom or not your mom, your your your son's mom. passing away and how you went to the track that night and you just ran as hard as you could. That's actually what I did when my grandma passed. I went to the gym and I ran on the treadmill, probably the fastest 5K at the time that I had ever run in my life. It was I was I was completely wiped when I was finished. but I needed that. You know, it's it's it was something that helped me process it or at least begin to. And it got a lot of the the not all of it, but some of the anger out that I had inside of myself still. But yeah, my grandma always used to say to me, run forced, run. That was our whole thing. And we we would always talk before my races and after my races and she would always put write on my wall. I have a a big poster that my wife made for me of a bunch of the Facebook comments that my grandma would leave for me during my runs or after my races that I would post about. And yeah, I mean you you never know who's gonna inspire you to do something. And we we try to find ways to honor those people that do. My my daughter is named after my grandma. My grandma's name was Louise. And that's awesome. She named our our Louise. The only thing I wish is that she could be here to see her, but that's I know she's still here in some way. But I now I want to jump to kind of what you're known for. So you wear these suits, right? You in to in your races. You ran the Boston Marathon in a two-piece suit. You're going around giving people high fives. You got all these positive vibes going on. Like how how first of all, like I know there's a reason because you've talked about it before. on on other channels and things, but like, what was the purpose of wearing the suit and what were you hoping to accomplish by wearing it during the race? speaker-1: So it all started I I've grown and matured in my role as a charity runner. I'm not fast enough to qualify. The Boston Marathon. So shout out to all the people that have qualified for World Majors, Boston specifically. I got my first charity entry with a small nonprofit for for autism and and families that are affected by that. And I ran two successful Boston Marathons with them. And then I was introduced to the Rhett syndrome community, which is a rare neurological disorder. And those families face a bunch of really, really tough challenges. And my run coach, mentor, friend Lori, she was like, We gotta do something crazy for like you to because like of who you are and your personality like we gotta get people fired up about you being a charity runner for Boston and and and raise some money and raise some awareness for this great cause that not everybody knows about. So she introduced me to the Rhett syndrome community specifically the chapter in Massachusetts and we came up with this idea that I was going to wear a purple suit and run the Boston Marathon and raise money and awareness for Rhett syndrome. Their color was purple. And there's so many layers to this story. I had just read an article in a GQ magazine while I was at the barbershop that said the the literal headline of this article was You can run a marathon in this suit if you had to. So obviously I wanted to read it. And they were talking about like this athleisure company that made this cool suit that you could like jump on the subway, jump to a board meeting and go to dinner and still feel comfortable. So I reached out to them. Believe it or not, they were out of Boston Ministry of Supply. I reach out to them. I a tell them what I'm doing. I asked them for a suit and they said, Listen, we can't give you a free suit. But if you do this, if you run the Boston Marathon in one of our suits and you tag us on social media, we'll give you, I think they said thirty bet. Okay. So I was like, that's pretty fair. So I buy the suit. They didn't have purple. They had this color that they called lavender. When it came in, it was like gray. But I ran the Boston Marathon in a gray suit with the purple singlet, purple shorts underneath, and all that stuff. And I and I did raise a bunch of awareness and stuff. And and on my own social media channels, like it got some buzz. And then I wanted to jazz it up. So the following year I I like bought a purple suit off Amazon and it ended up being polyester. because I'm the least organized individual on the planet. So I waited till last minute. I ran like around the block in this suit and I was like, this is pretty heavy and uncomfortable. And it rained that year. So the polyester heavy suit became soaking wet. But I'm still running a suit. I'm still running the marathon in the suit. The following year I do the same suit, and it was the hottest Boston marathon in recent history. so once again, dr drenched in sweat, felt like I was wearing weights. But now I'm the guy that wears the purple suit at the marathon. So I can't back out of that. And and it all the stuff that I believe in, the commitment and all that stuff. I've had I had people like say, you know, take off the suit jacket, you'll feel better. But that's the whole point. Like if I if I take the suit jacket off, I'm just a guy that runs 13 miles in a marathon in a suit and not 26.2. But then I really start embracing this and I got introduced to the Heron Project and then learned to cope, which are both addiction and recovery based nonprofits. And the the logic behind it became there are so many people in this world facing much bigger challenges than me putting on a suit for twenty-six miles. I love to run. I love that, hey, look at me, look what I'm doing type type attitude. So it was easy for me. It's easy for me to be the guy that puts on a suit and runs twenty-six miles. There are people that that don't have it easy. So that's what I wanted to shine light on. And then it became more than that. Then I really started embracing the fact that like This is the freaking Boston Marathon. Like right here on Commonwealth Ave, like mile twenty-two, mile twenty-one, you were homeless. You were addicted to drugs. You lost your apartment. You lost your job. You lost your relationship. Like all because of being an alcoholic drug addict. Like you need to shine some light on that. And now I had the opportunity to run for a cause that highlighted that. And here I am putting the suit on as a testament to how far I've come and how much I've overcome. I did the shirt and tie. Instead of the singlet for the first time two years ago and it went people went nuts. They were like, This guy's nuts. You know what I mean? And I know I'm not the only person in the world to do this because I never get negative comments on social media, thank God. But one time somebody said something like, this guy's not original. I didn't it it's n I've always been influenced and inspired by so many people. I never I never focus on negativity. But it in my like at the time it was like it was my thing. And so last year Two thousand this this year, 2026, run the Boston Marathon, Chart and Tie. When I crossed that finish line, WCVB, Boston Local News, interviewed me. And that video immediately gained a ton of traction on their Facebook, on their Instagram. Other channels started picking it up. My friends were like, my gosh, that's Maurice. He's on the news. He just ran Boston in a suit again. So it was actually my fifth Boston in a suit, but my first one gaining that much traction. And they played a clip of me saying, We are the lucky ones. I'm out here trying to deliver hope and and inspire people because of my story. And everybody loved it. And I was like, This is the this is awesome. This is like what I dreamed about. Like I want people to know why I do this and what I'm doing. And it was like a runner's social media runner's dream come true to have his story like gain that much traction. And the local news in my town called, I had to ask for time out of work to be interviewed at the local, like news station, I was on this television show, my friend texted me and said, my gosh, you were just on the Today show on Sunday morning. So I had to look it up online and find the clip. Like it was nuts. So really, really grateful that it gained that much Traction and got that many people to pay attention. And for years I've had people reach out saying, Thank you for being so open. Thank you for being so transparent about your story and talking about overdoses in prison and homeless shelters. Cause like now I can have the conversation with my brother. Now I can have the conversation with my partner. Like, you're so real, you're so transparent. Like I never want to make it like a war story, like shining a light on all the graphic bad stuff, but that's that's my story. I'm living in the light now and not in the darkness. So yeah, I'm the guy that ran the Boston Marathon in the suit. I just spoke at a meeting Monday night, and the young lady was like, You're the guy that ran the Boston Marathon in the suit. So that made me feel good. And she's like, I just she was like, That's so cool. And she knew that it was for like addiction and and and and recovery and stuff. And she's like, That's awesome and and good for you. So it's really, really something that fills me up with gratitude. speaker-0: I I love that so much because one, I am a massive fan of anybody who runs for any cause or any charity because those people, you know, I'm I'm pretty sure that while you're also doing this, you're raising funds for charity, you know, to help the organization. I've done that for five of the World Marathon majors. And the way that it feels when you cross the finish line, i in my opinion, is so much different than if you were just running the race and crossing it. Because you have not just the the happiness of I just ran a marathon, but also I've raised money for the services or research or something that helps somebody that could not do this. And I love what you said about I think about this all the time. You're you're running in a suit, whether it's raining or it's hot and you're struggling and you're like, this is awful. Then you it pops in your head like there are people that are so much worse off that I'm trying to help. And so I can't stop now because they're counting on me. That I think is is one of the most speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-0: powerful things that you could think of as a charity runner because you know I've I I've I've run 17 marathons, but I struggle at some point during all of them at some like there's some mile or some area where I'm like, why am I doing this? I don't understand. But when I have a charity behind me, I remember, you know, why I came here, why I have to finish, who I'm helping. And I I remember there's a phrase that someone used before with me, which is like, I don't have to do this, I get to do this. I get to do this. And there's so many other people that don't get to do this. speaker-1: I say that all the way. speaker-0: Want to, but they can't because of, you know, so many other things that are affecting them. And I just I just love the like the perseverance in your your story of just like I just want to start doing this to try to raise money for rhet and then it's shifting into like in my opinion, I it shifted into something that I think is so much more powerful and important to you because of just the the massive lived experience you've had where you know exactly these people you're raising funds for, like those people that are in those programs. Like I was there. That like that's what I would be thinking if I were in your position. It's like so like there is an like an even deeper like need to be able to finish these races and know what's going on with these individuals that you're trying to help. But yeah, when when I saw you were probably one of the first people that I saw online after the Boston Marathon that came up for me because of what you were wearing. And I was just like, This guy is incredible. And I literally was like, I gotta get this guy on my podcast because like I I knew the story because I saw one of the interviews where you talked about why. And I think there was an article that came out that I saw somewhere about you. May have been shared on a social media, maybe on Facebook, maybe a group I was in. But I was really inspired by that because I've never done anything like that before. And you you really like you you really gave me like an inkling to like want to do that at some point with with the charity that I that I would run with in the future. Fun fact, I was supposed to run the Philly marathon last year in an Eagles costume. But I got but I got the costume and it was so thick. And for some reason, Philly is two weeks after New York, so it's the end of November. It was so hot. It would have been closer. I couldn't wear it. It was so thick and so hot that I just returned it. But I was really upset because I really wanted to run it. But you know, I just I love how you did something so much bigger than yourself, you know, when you run these marathons. speaker-1: Yeah. And it and there's people out there like someone broke the record for doing it in a banana suit. People do it in full firefighter gear, people do it in, you know, with rucks and stuff, you know, for to to honor those that have lost their lives in service and and whether it's service as a first responder, police, fire department, armed forces, like there's so many different things. People like the guy there was a guy that did London in a tuxedo and had his buddy like make him a martini at like mile eleven or something. Yeah. So like they're in that speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: That's why I always like to shine the light on like the fact that like I'm so grateful that people pay attention to my little story and my little journey because we all have stories and we all have journeys and that's so cool about about running, how it brings everybody together. And like even tonight being able to chat with you. Congrats on the world majors and congrats on all the marathon finishes. Like we're the lucky ones that get to do something crazy that we love that shows other people in our life. Like the discipline from training for our marathon, whether it's a world major or just a small local race, that carries over in other areas of life. Like if I don't want to be disciplined at work for any given reason or any given moment, I remind myself like you can't be disciplined on the road when you're training and then not be that guy at work. Or you can't be not trying to chase improvement as A son, a brother, a partner, an employee if you're Mr. Chasing Improvement at the gym and and on the treadmill and on the track and all that stuff. So speaker-0: Yeah, absolutely. I mean that's that's probably reason number one for why I run is just to try to inspire as many people as I possibly can to to get active, especially in today's society with you know everything at our fingertips. But also, I mean, you know, and you pointed out yourself, like if my name is Mike Runs Marathons, like if I'm not gonna walk the walk and just talk it, then I change my username. So like I gotta show So I mean so like speaker-1: So speaker-0: Like I got that. I gotta do that because it's just like what that's just who I am and it's what I'm known for. Not to say that I don't love running marathons, but like if I'm gonna try to inspire other people, like I have to show, you know, what it's like. And I also like what you said about when you share your story and what people like about it is that you're so authentic and you're open about it because I've received the same thing. I'm very open about mental health because I faced a lot of mental health issues growing up and I don't shy away from it. And some of it's gritty and some of it's raw and it's not fun. But I've had people reach out to me just be like, thank you so much for sharing this because I've dealt with something like this too. I I didn't know how to talk about it, didn't know what to think about it, thought there was something wrong with me. And to hear that other people have gone through something similar or have felt kind of the similar feelings that I felt makes them feel seen and makes them feel heard. And it you you you never know like your post that you're making. I tell everybody that when I make a post that is You know, where I try to be as positive and supportive as possible to other people. What I'm really doing is I'm talking to the person back when I was like deep in depression, deep drinking, like at the lowest point in my life and like supporting them. Like I'm seeing that person when I send these posts out. And and to know that they are affecting other people just means a lot to me. And it's also nice, you probably will agree with me on this too. Sometimes I feel like I'm just throwing things at the wall. And when somebody connects with something that I put out there, it's like, wow, there's actually people that are listening. Like I'm not just like talking in a silo. There's like actual people reading my stuff and and and commenting and liking it and and messaging me about it. And that and it it makes you feel like, you know, like what you're doing is is worth it. And it's you're you're I don't want to say you're doing a good job, but it's just like it's making a difference. Yeah. Now so I want to jump to, you know, just kind of like who you are now as a person because you call yourself a positivity and a hope dealer, which speaker-1: It is. It definitely is. speaker-0: I love based off of, you know, the entire story that you shared so far. If somebody is listening right now, right, and they're in the same place that you were on before March twelfth, like s let's say March ninth, twenty fifteen, what do you need them to hear? So speaker-1: I never have a short answer. You have to take the first step. You have to do the work. You have to it there's so much to it. Don't be afraid to ask for help. But the hope piece, like I always had hope that life would be better if I stopped living the life that I had. I got interviewed by the Boston Globe once and I rambled and talked for over an hour. Can you believe it? And the piece that they took from it was this guy knows how to make positive changes one step at a time. And the one step at a time is like the one day at a time. Like it wasn't easy. It's like what you just said, you know, fifteen minutes ago. Like early on in sobriety, it's not easy. The first day you have all these questions and doubts and now Never mind 30 days later when you're facing emotions that you never faced before because you were always drowning them in a bottle or a substance. So you just have to have you just believe in yourself. If if it if it's not asking for help, it's believing in yourself and taking that first step, having the hope and having the faith that things will work out. Not tomorrow, not the next day, maybe not the first of the month. Like it's gonna take a while, but you have to stop. Today, the number one thing is to stop using. And if it's not substance abuse, like I always say the same thing, like I won't want my story to just be one layered. I want people that are facing any of life's adversities, whether you did lose a job, whether you did lose a partner, whether you lost a loved one, when whether you're getting over a relationship breakup or something like that, like you can do it. Like you can do it. I'm chairing for you. If you can look to see what I came from and use that as like start, like I wish I didn't have to start from scratch. I could wake up every day and be, you know, regretful and and and sorrowful and and and and upset and negative about all the things that I don't have and all the time that I lost. Or I could be super grateful and positive and and have hope and perspective of a great future because of all the things that I do have. I'm healthy, I'm young enough to still make changes in my life, I'm sober, I have a community, I have a family. I have two beautiful sons. Like it's like there's so many things that I can that I can focus on. But I want people to know that like it is a message of hope. It is a message of inspiration and encouragement. People notice. People notice when I turned my life around, the amount of acknowledgement and encouragement that I started to receive was overwhelming. And that's what helped me stay on track. And I think people need to hear that. Like we're all We're all facing battles, we're all going through something, but people are out there that want to help you. They really are. And when they see you helping yourself, you'd be surprised at how many doors open and how many hands come up. speaker-0: Absolutely. One thing that I learned back in in twenty eighteen I I made an attempt on my life and I I r I realized not too long after that that what I have been telling myself my entire life. I appreciate it. Yeah, I've got What I realized that I've been telling myself up until that time was I'll do it someday. Like I'll I'll you know, I'll get sober someday. I'll work on my body. I I'll work on myself someday. I I will take therapy seriously someday. I'll start exercising someday. And after that moment I realized someday's gonna run out and I need to do it today. And I that really I really identified with what you were saying of like, you know, you have to make the decision today, like not tomorrow, not next week, but like you have to make it right now and and just take it a day at a time. Cause that and and it I like how you said, you know, it's not easy. It's gonna be painful. There's going to be things that come up. I can't tell you the the amount of things that came up for me in my first like ninety days of being sober. It's absolutely wild and ridiculous. But You learn to live life on life's terms and you learn to cope and you learn to deal with things as they come to you and you become a stronger person because of it. And then you're able to help other people, which I think is probably the most important thing. And you are right about the amount of it it's so crazy. Once I got sober and started working on myself in in a bunch of different ways, my personality completely shifted and changed. And what that brought were my true friends into my life. The people that I I never known in my entire life just walked in one day and have not left since. And I don't think I would have found them or had them as friends if I had been who I used to be. So yeah, being being in that position of being able to turn things around, like you reap the rewards. Might not come in like immediately, but as you work on yourself and you work on things and you know, you start to really understand life in yourself, it it does really start to get to get better in in in ways. Obviously life still happens, but you're able to deal with that life. in a much more productive way. Now I wanna talk though about what's next for you because you ran Boston, you have Chicago in your calendar. Now is this have you run Chicago before or is this gonna be a redo of what you tried to do before with your speaker-1: the redemption it'll be my first Chicago finish Chicago it'll be my first Chicago Other than the DNF. So I'm looking forward to finishing it. It's my redemption run. And I have the big ultra coming up in less than thirty days. It's a twenty-four hour event. It's my fifth year in a row. I've never ran a hundred miles in twenty-four hours. I have two one hundred mile buckles. They both came with a twenty-eight hour finish because they were thirty hour cutoffs that I that I beat the clock. My personal best in a twenty-four hour event is ninety miles. So I know that's a far cry from a hundred. But the goal is a hundred. I'm training my butt off for it right now and in less than thirty days I'll be running a two and a half mile loop, two point four five miles to be exact, around the very place where I ran my very first half marathon. So it holds a special place in my park. It's a local, beautiful park with trail and pavement by the water. It's amazing. Anchor Down Ultra, shout out to the community, shout out to the OGs and the veterans. But I'm going after the one hundred mile buckle in less than thirty days. speaker-0: That is incredible. That is incredible. I'll be in Chicago too, so maybe we speaker-1: So we gotta do collab. We gotta do some videos and up and uploads and all the live uploads that the speaker-0: Definitely. I'm I'm so down for that. Now, my last question in this segment is you know, you've lived honestly you've lived multiple lives inside one body. The name of this podcast is at your own pace. So what does that term at your own pace mean to a guy who has been through what you've been through in your life and gotten to where you are today? So speaker-1: No, it it actually it it means a lot because I say things all the time like I found my own lane. I I found a way to make something work for me. I can't say it enough. Like I'm just a guy that loves to run. I'm not that good. Like talent didn't take me this far. Consistency did. Being a positive guy, being someone that loves to show up, being someone that that shows up for other people. The pace thing, especially now with it being thrown around. I've never been pace shamed for being slow. Like nobody ever said the fastest you've ever ran is three forty. You're you're not a marathoner. Like nobody's ever said that to me. So I think my average marathon time is if you did them all together, I'm probably a four-hour guy, maybe four ten. No one ever said, like, you run marathons at four ten, like you're not you're not fast enough. You're not a marathon. So my own pace means and I I look at things like I can't say it enough. It took me a long time to figure out. That I couldn't be a recreational or a moderate drug and alcohol user. Like it took me forever, like decades. Okay. So I discovered life at my own pace. I discovered the joys of sobriety. I discovered the joys of like meaningful connections and friendships it at my own pace. So I mean, that kind of describes my whole journey because in instead of being upset and depressed about all the time I wasted, I'm super grateful. Like that's why it's. Hashtag grateful to be here. That's why it's like, let's keep moving forward with, you know, a positive perspective because like we're the friggin' lucky ones that get to wake up and open our eyes and get after it, whether it's at work, at the gym, at the yoga studio, at the marathon training cycle, like any of that stuff. speaker-0: That's actually a perfect ending for this segment. So I'm gonna actually leave it right there. Okay. Now this next segment is what I call the hot seat. These are just some quick rapid fire questions that I ask everybody just to help everyone learn a little bit more about your your own running preferences. So we'll start with the first one, which is trail or road? speaker-1: Okay. Road. I do love the pavement. Hashtag potty on the pavement, running the streets that used to run me. I love the benefits of the trail and the nature and the unpredictability of like having to pay attention to your feet, but I prefer the pavement. speaker-0: Same. I've fallen way too many times during trail running. What is your what's your favorite running shoe brand right now? Brooks. That's right, you're part of the Brooks Collective. That's right. Are you an earlier speaker-1: So when I first started running in two thousand eight and nine, all I wore was Brooks and Asics. And then I strayed away from that and got into Nike's Hokus, New Balance, which I still love a lot from all of those brands. But I got back to basics with the Brooks and the Asics and then was super fortunate to be hooked up with Brooks. So it's not just me answering it because like I'm a brand ambassador. Like I feel like they have a lot of good choices. And if I had to say a second choice, it would be A six, third. I mean, let's keep it with those two. I mean I love Hoker and I love Nike, so speaker-0: Now I'm I'm an ASICs guy myself. Are you an early alarm or a late runner? speaker-1: Early, early. I I find the benefits of getting of of getting out there early and getting it done and you feel great about the rest of your day. I'm doing two a days right now, which I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with, where even when I get home from work and I don't feel like running, I still have to run just to train the mind and the body to run on tired legs. But I do prefer getting it done in the morning. The same with the gym. I'd rather work out in the morning than at night. speaker-0: Very smart. I'm trying to get into that. It's very difficult for me to wake up early. For your long runs, do you prefer them solo or with others? So I speaker-1: I find so much joy, solace, and like benefits of of training solo. I love community. I've kind of gotten the feeling that not the feeling, but like I feel that there are days for community, whether it's a crew, a club, or an actual race that I love and I enjoy and I embrace and that's like my party. Like I don't go to the clubs, I don't go to parties, like I go to races. But I love training solo. I love training solo. I r I really do. And it's not to be anti community or ig or ignorant to anything else, but I I really do love training solo. speaker-0: Honest, I'm I'm the same way. I I love the solace of just I run on a bike path like consistently and just running on that by myself. It's just me and the woods around me and that's all I really need to focus on and it's it's very peaceful. Now, what is your favorite post marathon meal? speaker-1: There's a lot of shepherds pie, any type of pizza. Yeah. So something that has like chicken and potatoes or meat and potatoes, but yeah. Maybe a whole pack of Oreos doused in in some sort of coconut milk or something. I'll eat it like s I'll eat it like cereal when it's really not cereal, so speaker-0: that I love that. Then what is one piece of running gear that you can't live without and you can't say your shoes? speaker-1: quality, reliable belt that holds my phone because I don't like running and not being able to take pictures. So shout out to Lululemon. I've been hooked up with them for a couple of years and I have the belt that's like it's weightless and I can fit my phone in there and I can take it out and take pictures and selfies and videos and all that stuff and text people when I'm running. So that's pretty important. I know a lot of people run without music and without phones and I'm just not that guy. Yeah. speaker-0: Yeah, I'm I'm kinda the same way. Do you have a dream race? speaker-1: and a watch. I mean I can't r now that I'm addicted to Garmin GPS watches, I can't run without a watch. I mean if he if it's not if it if it's not tracked, did it really happen? So I I get it. Like I know that there's a lot of benefits to being with no electronics, but if I run seven miles before work, I'm the guy that wants people to know. So speaker-0: That's true. That's true. I'm the same way. I'm the same way. Do you have a do you have a dream race that you've always wanted to run? speaker-1: Yeah, the Badwater one thirty five in Death Valley in the middle of July. So you need four one hundred mile finishes, one of them being within eighteen months. So I have two. So I need to get two more and have one of them be within eighteen months of my application. So that's my dream race. I crewed for my run coach and mentor Laurie out there, and it's just it's amazingly almost impossibly difficult to imagine finishing that race, and that's why I want to do it. speaker-0: Wow, that's incredible. Now, if you could run that race with anyone, who would it be? I mean, I can only I can only imagine you and your kids running Badwater 135. I've watched videos about it, I've read books about it. my god. Like it used to be a dream of mine, but then I realized like this is just way too impossible for me. Like even if I train as hard as possible, I really don't think I would ever be able to do it. Just because I I mean, it was a hundred degrees here a week ago and I could barely handle that. speaker-1: Probably my son. speaker-0: You're telling me that I'm gonna have to handle a hundred and thirty degrees. Final degrees. I don't think I can handle that. Now these next two are things that I collect from everybody that I interview. One is what I call the motivation library. So if you could pick one quote, a mantra, or a line that gets you through the tough miles, what would it be? speaker-1: Gratefully grinding. Great like we are the lucky ones. We get to do this. I know we get to do this as super recycled, but I really I really yell out we are the lucky ones all the time. Like things could be so much worse and we're literally outside doing something that we love to do. So yeah, we we get to do this. I'm grateful I'm able body, mind and heart. speaker-0: I love that. Now I want to imagine you're at Chicago in October. You've passed mile nineteen. You're at twenty six point one nine. You see the finish line. What song is going to be blasting through your headphones as you cross that finish line? speaker-1: really really get fired up with like dance hall music like specifically like nineties and two thousands like reggae dance hall as much as I love hip hop and techno and house and all that stuff. So there's this song called Big League by Mavato and it's like you're in the big league. I think that might be one of them. I really really get fired up with that song. And then there's another one called Summertime. and it just gives you like a upbeat, fired up vibe. But yeah, those are two of my like must haves on on my playlists. And then any like nineties hip hop would would do it too. So some Wu Wu Tang Clan or Jadakus or something like that. speaker-0: Love that. I love that. So my last two questions for you are kind of talking about the essence of what this podcast is all about. so the first question is, what has running given you that you didn't expect when you first started? speaker-1: A new identity, like a new reason to be super self confident and something to lean on when when things aren't going a hundred percent. And it gave me it's it's literally the foundation piece to my entire journey. So I say it's the number one tool, but it's the foundation piece to how who I've become in the community, to who I've become as an individual with discipline and fitness and And stuff like that. It's opened so many doors of new friendships, new relationships, brand partnerships, opportunities, raising money for charity for marathons. Like I never if I'm not physically running, I still want to be involved in the community in some way. Like I mean, I shout out to Gary from Ocean State Multisport. Like he met me eleven years ago and was like, as long as you stay sober, like you never have to pay for a race. And like to me like that kind of like it's indescribable. So now I have this local race director that anytime he's holding a half marathon, I can just go and get a bib because he knows my story. He knows that I love to like promote kindness and love and positivity and hope. And he knows that like I'll be an ambassador for his event with no questions asked. Like not because like I'm getting a free bib, but just because that's who I am. So that it's given me like it's allowed me to kind of bloom into this person. that I was probably always meant to be. Like I love I love being a beacon of light and hope and running has allowed me to like become the positive, grateful, loving, compassionate Maurice. That I just I love people. I love to talk. So like community podcast, like this stuff is crazy. Like to think that I'd be, you know, on a podcast like you know, twelve years ago it was like an impossibility. Nobody wanted to listen to my story, what I was doing twelve years ago. speaker-0: I love what you said about how it helped me bring out who I think I was meant to be because I feel the same exact way with running myself. If you had I always tell everybody and no one really believes me, but if you had spoken to me eight years ago in twenty eighteen, or or before that, and you spoke to me now, you would not believe that I was the same person, physically and mentally, just because of everything that I was going through, you know. And once I started to, you know, get into running and really understand how it could change my life, it just brought so much to me and helped me realize just the kind of person that I really am and the kind of personality that I'm I sh I was supposed to have because that's who I was, but I was hiding behind something else. So now I I really appreciate you saying that 'cause I really identify with that. Now my last question is very ambiguous. So I apologize for this. And it's it and it's very simple, but it is why do you run? speaker-1: So I have another mentor in my life that says I don't run to stay sober. I run I I I get to run because I am sober. I don't want to give it up because it was there for me. It's to honor my grandmother. It's to continue to improve my mental, physical and emotional well being. Like it it it allows me to become the best version of myself. I truly believe that. It it it it definitely allows me to chase the best version of myself. speaker-0: is i i gotta say man i do not have the words for you know what this entire conversation was was all about and i think that there's a lot of people listening who probably feel the same exact way i i really gotta thank you maurice for being on the show today because you took the darkest part of your life and you turned it into something that lights up entire finish lines races just groups of people you know runners around you that you support and you show up in in a suit right to to raise money to bring awareness to, you know, the the the need to help people that are in the struggle of substance abuse and addiction. and and you give out those high fives and you built your run streak that, you know, outlasted almost any every excuse that a person could make for being aware. Because I can tell you right now, if I were doing that, there would be so many possible times that that would end for me. because I would come up with some sort of excuse for it to happen. And and you did all of it while you were staying sober and one single day at a time since March twelfth, twenty fifteen. And yeah, that is it's not just running. This is a whole life that was rebuilt. And so everyone, please go find Maurice at Marathon Panda Maurice on Instagram. It's all one word. speaker-1: Okay. speaker-0: Follow him, watch the way he shows up and learn from the way that he treats his community. And if you want to support the causes that he runs for, including the Heron Project, the links are in his bio. You can always reach out to him if you have questions as well. He's more than happy to share that with you. But Maurice, I gotta thank you, man. You know, for your honesty, your energy, your hope, and for being this living proof that no matter where you've been and that you can decide today to write your next chapter. And to everyone listening, whatever chapter you're in right now, Just a reminder, you do get the right the next one. Keep going. If you're struggling with addiction, if you're struggling with anything dealing, you know, with substance abuse, feel free to reach out. You know, there's so many people out there that are willing to help, whether it's you know, someone you know online or someone a friend, a family member, a you know, a fellow runner, for instance. You know, we we are here to support everyone. But keep showing up and keep running because you will get to that finish line, I promise you. But for me to go speaker-1: is is is not where you always have to stay. So I can't thank you enough for having me. It means a lot. I hope If anybody made it this far, that means they listened to me rambling for quite a bit. So I appreciate that. I did try to stay on track. But sometimes it's a little difficult for me. So thank you for having me and thank you for allowing me to share my story and and I hope some people got some stuff out of that. So thank you everybody that's listening. And that's the message. Where you are right now is not where you always have to stay. And if you love where you are, be grateful and lift somebody else up. Lift somebody else up. speaker-0: Absolutely. I love that. Thank you so much, Maurice. speaker-1: Thank you, brother. And I hope to see you in Chicago. We gotta make that happen. speaker-0: you will. You will, don't you worry. I'm I'm gonna try to set something up with a bunch of people so I hope to see. speaker-1: Let's do it. I want to be included. Much love, brother. Thank you so much. speaker-0: Of course, man. Thank you. Again, I cannot thank Maurice enough for coming on the show this week. It is an honor to know him. It is an honor to hear his story. And it is so inspiring to hear someone who has gone from their lowest points in life to where they're at today. Running for incredible organizations in a suit to help raise awareness for. Mental health issues and for substance abuse disorders, and to provide the services that are necessary to those individuals so that they can find their way back and find the life that they deserve to have. Because Maurice knows what it's like to be in that position. And again, if any of you are dealing with any issues like this, do not be afraid to reach out. Do not be afraid to ask for help. My DMs are open if you w need anything. Feel free to reach out to me. I'm always happy to help in any way I can. And I know that there are others out there who will do the same exact thing. But that's a wrap on this episode of At Your Own Pace. If there's one thing that I hope you take away from today, it's this there's no such thing as too slow, too late, or too far behind. The sports this sport belongs to you exactly as you are, wherever you're coming from, at whatever pace you're running. Every mile counts, and so do you. If this episode moved you, made you think, or made you want to lace up, just do me a favor, share it with someone who needs to hear it, follow the show, leave a review, and come find me, Mike Runs Marathons, over on Instagram, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, and Facebook. I would love to hear your story. If you're interested in being on the show, feel free to either reach out to me on social media or email me at Mike at Micruns Marathons.com. But until next time, take care of yourself, be kind to the person running next to you, and keep showing up at your own pace. I'll see you on the road. Bye.