Running Kept Me Sane

Running doesn’t have to fix your life to change it.

For ultrarunner and coach Brian Passenti, running has been there for nearly every version of himself. Long before the Leadville 100 finishes, coaching, ultrarunning and sobriety, he was simply a kid who discovered that putting one foot in front of the other gave him something he couldn’t find anywhere else.

And he never really let it go.

On Beyond The Finish Line, host Joe Hardin talks with Brian about a lifetime built around endurance sports and the role running has played through both the best and worst moments of his life.

“I’ve always had running,” Brian says. “I think running kept me sane for all those years.”

Running Doesn’t Fix Everything

Brian’s relationship with running makes his story different from the familiar narrative of discovering endurance sports after getting sober. He was already a lifelong runner.

Running was there on his wedding day when he needed a little space. It was there after losing friends to drinking and drugs. It became a place where he could clear his head when life got heavy.

But Brian is careful not to give running credit it doesn’t deserve.

“It doesn’t make me sober,” he explains. “But it helps.”

Running gives him an opportunity to collect his thoughts, reassess what’s important and return to his life a better person. Running isn’t the cure. The buckle isn’t the cure. Neither is another finish line.

Sometimes running is simply the place where we get enough space to figure some shit out.

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Beyond The Leadville Buckles

Brian’s endurance résumé includes triathlon, ultrarunning and ten Leadville finishes, earning him the race’s 1,000-mile buckle. Even after Achilles surgery forced him out of an attempted 11th Leadville, his focus remains on returning patiently and enjoying running again.

Maybe that’s why his closing advice isn’t about motivation.

It’s about consistency.

Show up. Test the waters. See what happens. Brian believes consistency ultimately matters more than motivation.

Because after a lifetime of running, the biggest lesson might be remarkably simple: Keep showing up.

Listen to Brian Pesenti’s full conversation with Joe Hardin on Beyond The Finish Line, part of the Everyday Athlete Podcast Network.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

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