Taking Up Running Helped This Guy Stay Sober and Lose 60 Pounds
After more than a decade, the first two words that come to mind when Sean Hennessy wants to describe himself are “runner” and “sober.” Hennessy, now 37 and living in Toms River, New Jersey, is a former Division One lacrosse player. At the age of 16, he began abusing drugs and alcohol; only a decade later, when he was 26, did he give them up. Since then, he’s been sober, and he’s become a runner—during this year’s New York City Marathon, he’ll be celebrating 11 years sober.
Hennessy had played sports for as long as he could remember, but he wasn’t a runner. He started early, with soccer, then moved into lacrosse, which took him to college on a scholarship. Running was instrumental, a way to keep him in shape while he pursued the sports that were his real passion. He only started running longer distances when he took up boxing and needed to cut weight before a fight.
And he did stay in shape, even as he abused drugs and alcohol. When he finally decided to get clean at age 26—September 29, 2008, he remembers—the drive and intensity he brought to sports got redirected into staying sober. “I began to value my mental health more than my physical,” he says, “and poor eating habits and a lack of physical activity led to a quick weight gain of 30-plus pounds.”
For the first time in his life, he was more than 200 pounds. (There was a mean irony in the fact that he’d wanted to put on extra weight during his lacrosse years, to better withstand the bruising play, but his body wouldn’t carry it.) Over the next ten years, he stayed sober, but his weight slowly crept up. “Any definition I had in my stomach, back, sides, legs, and shoulders was gone,” he says.
He peaked at 245 in the summer of 2018. Before when he’d gained weight, a combination of running and crash dieting had helped him bring it back under control, though that approach had its own problems. He didn’t know how to eat healthy, and this time the weight stayed on. His wife bought him a pair of pants for Father’s Day, in a size he’d previously considered “fat.” He’d lose his breath playing with his son; sleeping was difficult, and he had a terrible attack of gout. And at the doctor’s office, he looked down at the scale and saw that 245. He had to change.
For the first time in his life, Hennessy threw himself into running. It was the best option for him, after years of beating up his body, and since he had no interest in weight lifting. “Running,” he says, “has become the primary outlet for physical health, sport, activity, mental health, and personal accomplishment.” And he cleaned up his eating, dropping sweets, sodas, and fast food.
He started running daily in August 2018; by April 2019 he’d dropped to 175. In February he made the marathon; along with being able to see his two sons grow up, it’s been his main motivator. His wife has been on her own fitness journey, losing 105 pounds and further spurring him on.
“Running has been instrumental to my recovery over the years,” he says. Now 11 years sober, he’s headed to the New York City Marathon ready to take his running to the next level. “I smile every time I see I have set a new personal best on the app I use to track my runs,” he says, “and can't wait to see my family when I complete that race.”
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