Second Fitness In Recovery 5K promotes overcoming addiction through exercise

PITTSFIELD — One of the pivotal moments in Dylan Lundgren’s recovery from addiction was when he started running.

He will celebrate 20 years of sobriety in two days. He’s been running for almost as long as that.

But on Sunday morning, he had something else to celebrate — finishing first overall in the Fitness In Recovery 5K.

“When I first got sober, that was one of the few things that would quiet down my mind,” Lundgren said. “I still use it. It’s a balance for me of running while also being present with myself, not pushing myself too hard … I’m just trying to kind of run with the stuff that I have going on in my life, not run from it.”

Lundgren led runners with a brisk 18 minute, 58 second jaunt on the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail, Lundgren finished first overall in the Fitness In Recovery 5K — a 3.1 mile (or 5,000 meter) race. It supports a program at the Berkshire Running Foundation by the same name that gives people in recovery a supportive environment and community for exercise.

As a staff member at Living in Recovery at 75 North St., Lundgren tries to pass along the same tools that he used to others in recovery — namely exercise, yoga, meditation and healthy eating.

He’s hoping to establish a formal running group there soon, too.

Lundgren’s journey to Sunday’s finish line wasn’t easy. Getting sober is difficult, Lundgren said, and early on he injured himself as he was trying to mitigate suppressed pain by running more and more. It took a great deal of trial and error to figure out the right balance, he said.

Eventually, though, Lundgren realized he could harness the pain and redirect the energy associated with it. As he worked on his mental health and recovery, he realized that exercise was a great support structure for channeling anxiety and depression into positive momentum.

“It fuels a lot of my runs,” Lundgren said. “Part of the reason why I think I can run fast is it’s fueled by pain, anxiety — just all this energy channeling in a direction.”

Race grows

It was the second annual Fitness In Recovery 5K, which invited community members to support people in recovery and anyone whose life has been impacted by addiction. The race was held in collaboration by the Berkshire Running Foundation and Spectrum Health Systems.

Rebecca Polastri, regional executive director for Spectrum Health Systems, opened up the day’s events with remarks acknowledging September as National Recovery Month, “a time to celebrate individuals who are in recovery, celebrate those who are trying to find recovery and honor those who have lost their battle with addiction.”

The race saw growth in the number of participants from last year, according to Shiobbean Lemme, founder and executive director of the Berkshire Running Foundation — this year’s 85 registered runners was an increase of 30 participants from 2023’s inaugural run. The race also had 12 walk-ins.

Lemme said the program was founded last year with the same benefits that Lundgren has experienced in mind, acknowledging that “running or any physical activity is a component in a healthy recovery process.” She said the program borrows heavily from the Boston Bulldogs Running Club, which provides a similar mission of “bringing an element of wellness” into the lives of participants.

Lemme estimated that Sunday’s race had raised about $3,000, almost all of which would go directly back into the operations budget for the program.

Reasons for running

While all the participants were supporting the same goal, many of them ran for different reasons. Lauren Osborne, the first-place finisher among women in the race at 25 minutes, 5 seconds, joined the race while visiting her family in town. Her grandmother, a 100-year-old Pittsfield resident, recently passed away and she was on her mind as Osborne made the push coming back across the finish line.

“I was going to go out for a run today and I said, ‘why not do it for such an important cause?’” Osborne said. “Running is just so good for mental health, so I can absolutely understand why Fitness In Recovery is such an important [program].”

For Emily Russo (36 minutes, 42 seconds) and Peter Aronson (29 minutes, 24 seconds), a husband and wife duo who live part-time in Lenox, it was a chance to continue a burgeoning tradition of running 5Ks together. Fittingly, the first race the couple completed was the inaugural Fitness In Recovery run last year.

“We love running 5Ks together,” Aronson said. “We exercise a lot. We go to the gym a couple times a week, we exercise at home, we run on the streets … it’s really a lot of fun for us.”

“It’s a good pace,” Russo added. “I could never do a marathon, but a 5K is sort of attainable for me. It’s challenging but it’s doable.”

And for Jennifer Votruba (31 minutes and 32 seconds) and Rena Ferry (32 minutes, 29 seconds), it was a chance to show support for an issue that “hits close to home” — Votruba and Ferry both work in health care, and wanted to show their support for people embarking on their recovery journey.

Votruba is a physician’s assistant in a primary care office, and Ferry works as a behavioral health coordinator. Ferry said she often sees daily referrals of people struggling with addiction and mental health, but said in her personal life that she’s also lost many of her classmates to addiction, too.

Despite having relatively little running experience — Ferry just started in May — both women enjoy running 5Ks and intend to run more to support various causes. They both plan to be back for next year’s Fitness In Recovery race, too.

“You want to show your support because it could happen to anybody, you know?” Ferry said. “Whether it’s alcohol, drugs — you don’t know anybody’s battle that’s standing next to you.”