There are many reasons people start running… Some run to get faster. Some run to lose weight. Some run to chase medals.
And some run because running literally saves their life. That was the case for Paul Trehern.
Today Paul is a marathoner with a 2:53 personal best, a grandfather who still races hard, and a member of the CRC Marathon Lab community where he shows up every day encouraging others.
But his story didn’t begin on a starting line… It began at rock bottom…
Paul wasn’t always a runner.
Like many people in their 30s and 40s, life got busy. Marriage, kids, building a career. Fitness slowly disappeared. Alcohol quietly took its place.
At first it felt manageable. A coping mechanism. Something to take the edge off the stress of daily life. Until it wasn’t. Alcohol slowly began to rule his world.
Then in June 2016, everything collapsed.
Paul lost his father to cancer. The grief sent him spiraling. He was drinking heavily, and everything that mattered to him was at risk: his family, his health, even his job.
Eventually he hit the moment many people fighting addiction know all too well… Rock bottom.
But the voice that finally broke through wasn’t his own. It was his daughter.
One day his youngest called him out on his drinking. And in that moment something shifted.
His last drink was January 30, 2017.
He has never looked back.
Not one day.
The first year after quitting alcohol wasn’t about running. It was about survival.
Then something unexpected entered his life: Fitness.
Paul had run cross country in high school, but that felt like a lifetime ago. Now in his 40s, he was 245 pounds and completely out of shape.
Running wasn’t easy. But something about it kept calling him back.
Every time he went out for a run, he felt something he hadn’t felt in years…
“When I ran, I felt free. My thoughts, my body… I could connect with it. I felt at peace.”
That feeling became addictive in the healthiest possible way.
So he kept showing up.
Paul went all in. He started racing.
Obstacle course races.
Spartan competitions.
Hyrox events.
Eventually he even qualified for the Spartan World Championships in Lake Tahoe.
And then came marathons. In the nine years since he got sober, Paul has run six marathons, including three World Marathon Majors
His marathon personal best? 2:53.
A time many lifelong runners dream of, but the medals and the times aren’t the real victory.
The real victory is the life he rebuilt.
But even after all this transformation, Paul is honest about something many runners don’t talk about.
“I’ve had self-esteem issues since I was a kid. I hide it well, but deep down it’s there.”
Confidence still comes and goes. Sometimes motivation fades.
Sometimes injuries show up… plantar fasciitis, Achilles strains, and most recently a herniated disc in his lower back that sidelined him for two months.
But Paul keeps doing what runners do best. He adapts. He learns. He gets back up.
When Paul joined CRC Marathon Lab, it wasn’t because he needed another training plan.
It was because running can be a lonely sport. But healing doesn’t have to be.
“I’ve followed you for a while. I love your passion and enthusiasm. Then bringing that into a community of folks who have experienced setbacks and need a positive environment to share with one another… I love it.”
Paul is exactly the kind of runner who makes communities like this powerful.
He shows up. He supports others. He shares honestly.
Because he knows firsthand that sometimes the biggest victories happen far away from race day.
Paul’s story isn’t about perfection.
He openly shares that during his darkest years he even spent two days in jail for drinking and driving.
No one was hurt. But it was another wake-up call that helped push him toward change.
Today he doesn’t hide that part of his story.
“If you want to change bad enough, there is always a way and someone to help you.”
If you’re a runner rebuilding after setbacks, injuries, or just trying to stay consistent through life’s chaos, you’re not alone.
That’s exactly why I created CRC Marathon Lab — a space where runners support each other, share the messy parts of the journey, and learn how to keep moving forward.
If you want to be part of a community like this, you can join the waiting list below.
👉 Join the CRC Marathon Lab waitlist
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