Name: Andrew MacPhail Age: 52Hometown: New York, New YorkOccupation: Chief of staff at CAI Global, a health and human services nonprofit organization in NYCTime Running: 16 years Reason for Running: When I run, I feel completely alive. I quit drinking and smoking more than 22 years ago, and I started running soon after doing so. Running was and is a vital component to my living sober. It provides a sustainable natural high, as opposed to temporarily checking out and hiding behind substance.
Around mile six, I was already feeling a bit sluggish and had to make the decision to either dig really deep and push hard to meet my initial goal of 3:15 or to have fun and take the time to interact with the crowds and fully enjoy the marathon as a celebration of the human spirit. I went with the latter and had a wonderful time! Meeting my fellow Runner’s World teammates after training with them virtually for the past 16 weeks was incredibly heartwarming.