Yesterday and today, I tested the lesson below in three separate group. One group was made up of married, working, individuals living on their own in intact families. Another was made up of single men women in a rehab. And a Third was made up of men living voluntarily in a sober-living home.

I predicted that some group members would struggle with the metaphor of running a race. I was wrong. Nearly everyone saw the parallels and made appropriate responses.

• Running a marathon takes a plan. You can’t get up each morning and decide haphazardly what you will do to train. You follow the plan that you made up in advance.

• Old friends and even relatives that still use drugs are distractions that I need to get rid of.

• It’s very much a mental game. Negative thoughts, defeatist attitudes, and laziness are distractions.

• I get distracted when I am alone. Thoughts and emotions swirl around me leading me to bad choices.

• Too much sympathy for my using friends could pull me back into using with them

• This afternoon I saw someone on the street I used to do drugs with. I had to excuse myself and get back to work or I would have used today.

• I had some extra money and was seriously tempted to buy some pot.

About 20% of the people objected to the idea of focusing on life-long sobriety. They felt that thinking too far into the future was ineffective, and might be a distraction in itself.

Looking at how people answered the questions, I am going to eliminate facilitator question 2 and break question 1 into 2 parts. When I do this tonight, I’ll ask these questions:

• What might distract you from winning the sobriety marathon?

• How can you eliminate these distractions?

The second half of the meeting followed this page

These questions seemed to hit the mark. I got a range of answers to question one: “ If you win the race by staying sober, what are the prizes you will collect both now and in eternity?”

• Just not being sick and hungover and depressed is a prize.

• I saw my daughter for the first time

• To have my family ask me for help instead of cutting me off from them

• To have a sober mind and be able to contribute something helpful in a stressful situation instead of being the source of my wife and family’s stress.

• Being present, instead of foggy.

• My Girlfriend is pregnant. Having a baby and being a good father is the greatest prize.

• It was so much work lying about where I was and what I was doing. What a relief not to have to spend all that mental anxiety on dreaming up lies and keeping them all straight.

The second question brought up a number of challenges that people are facing: “How will your sobriety be tested in the next month or year, and how will you joyfully complete the test?”

• I am going to retire soon. I want to do this well and not relapse

• I am working on establishing better relationships with my children

• I am going to a family reunion where many people will be indulging. The test will be to stay sober—and also to not feel superior to those that do drink.

• I am starting a job for the first time ever. I want to do well and have money to help my children.

• When I get tempted to get angry at work, I need to remember that I am their servant, they aren’t there to serve me.

• I am leaving Rehab in two months. I’ll need to stay focused

Except for the changes I suggested above. This lesson seems ready for the editor to review.