By Catra Corbett
Getting out is the first step. You don’t have to become a runner. Just get out and see what the world has to offer. – Catra Corbett
What challenges have you faced in your life? Does it come from childhood trauma? Is it rooted in personal insecurities or failures? Or could it just be a transitory moment? Whatever the case, we’ve all gone through challenges that could have derailed our journey momentarily or permanently. Catra Corbett shares her personal challenges in her book Reborn on the Run: My Journey from Addiction to Ultramarathons.
Corbett is open and vulnerable as she shares her experiences with drug addiction – both as an addict as well as the sister of an addict. As a young child, she watched her sister wrestle with drug addiction that eventually led to homelessness and death. Fortunately for Catra, after a run-in with the law, she turned from her own drug addiction to a running lifestyle that borders on addiction.
Readers will learn about Corbett’s life journey while following her passion for running and the path from her first 10k to her first marathon…and then on to the world of trails and ultrarunning. This journey calls the reader to reflect on life’s challenges and past responses. We all face challenges day in and day out. We all choose how we will respond – even if the choice is made with little thought. The call here is to seek all that life has to offer. Corbett’s journey included extreme endurance. My journey…your journey…may require a different response.
Why do I continue to do it? Well, I don’t think to set limits on myself. Sometimes you may not want to get out there, but you just keep going and trudging along and doing the best you can. I just do it and don’t think about it. That’s how I get through a tough run. That’s how you get through life. – Catra Corbett