Strides in Recovery Inc

Strides in Recovery's goal is to reduce the rate of addiction relapse by bringing recovery-focused, goal-oriented, group running/walking programs to addiction treatment programs with Los Angeles County. By coaching program participants to complete events ranging from 5Ks to full marathons, we help the newly sober grow physically, mentally, and emotionally stronger so they can do their best at the hard work of recovery. Our recovery-focused messaging promotes mental, emotional and physical healing, while reinforcing the life skills and mindset needed to support long term sobriety. Our welcoming and supportive environment promotes a sense of community and belonging for all.

Our program was developed by an RRCA-certified running coach who has helped hundreds in early recovery cross the finish line of the Los Angeles Marathon, and has seen firsthand how life-changing the experience can be. Our program is based on science, and backed by hundreds of participant testimonials.

Exceptional Customer Service
For our treatment provider partners: Each program is customized based on the organization's values, the number of participants, length of stay, and scheduling preferences.
For our participants: Each team is led by Strides in Recovery head coach, along with assistant coaches, giving participants as much individual attention and support as possible.
For our staff: We host events which bring together our coaches and behind the scenes staff throughout the year. We provide them with free bibs to any event their teams or other Strides in Recovery teams attend. We ensure regular communication with them through a monthly newsletter as well as social media posts and quarterly calls.
For our community supporters: We publish a monthly newsletter to demonstrate the impact they are making and invite them to the events that our teams are participating in.

Sense of Community
At the discretion of each treatment provider we serve, program participants run/walk in local races ranging from 5Ks to full marathons. Camaraderie grows as the individual teams train toward these goals, and when they meet each other at events, we give them the opportunity to feel part of the larger Strides in Recovery community. We also foster this sense of community by hosting our running/walking events just for Strides in Recovery participants, as well as a larger event that brings our teams together with the local running community.

We have an exceptionally committed staff and volunteers who make our program possible. Nearly everyone has a personal connection to recovery, either being in recovery themselves or having been deeply affected by the addiction of a loved one. Many also have a passion for exercise, having experienced the mental, physical, and emotional health benefits. Everyone involved in making our program happen is doing their work from the heart.

Our founder and Executive Director is an experienced runner and running coach who also brings several decades of professional experience in clinical process improvement, and financial and operations management. She is guided by a board with decades of senior level business experience in marketing, finance, and strategic planning. Each board member also exercises regularly and has witnessed the effects of addiction on one or more family members, and thus they are passionate about the cause.

Serving More People: During the 12 months ending June 30, 2023, over 900 people went through our program. We currently serve 18 locations throughout Los Angeles County. We have doubled our impact in the past year.

More Robust Program: Due to limitations on treatment provider resources and our own resources, we have been leading one training session per week at most of the locations we serve (some are able to pay for 2 sessions/week), even though most treatment providers wanted us to be there more frequently. In late June, we secured funding which will enable us to offer the additional weekly sessions that our treatment providers have been requesting, at no additional cost to them.

Outcomes Measures: We have begun surveying our program participants about the impact of participation in a single session (e.g., reduced anxiety, improved mood, outlet for stress, etc.) as well as the impact of regular participation over time (e.g., increased self confidence, improved focus, enhanced sense of belonging etc.) with over 80% responding "frequently" to questions about improvements after a single session and 60-99% reporting "significant" or "moderate" improvement in longer term measures.