Sober in the Work

Ben Rayner

I quit drinking in early 2024. And in those early weeks, I looked everywhere for examples of what sobriety might feel like—not just how to do it, but how to live inside it.

This piece from Lucie Beatrix featured by Tracksmith found me later, but it could’ve been there from the start. It’s not a conversion story. It’s a slow record of what it means to stay present—through meetings, miles, and a 76-lap solo effort around a Brooklyn track.

It doesn’t claim to solve anything. But it captures what many of us eventually learn: that clarity comes in laps, not leaps.

Read the full piece here.