When Paula Elliott says “running saved my life”, it’s no exaggeration. Ravaged by years of alcohol abuse, accelerated by two miscarriages, the Wellington grandmother’s life was once spinning out of control.
Depressed by the fact she and husband Thomas could never have kids together, Paula experienced what alcoholics commonly refer to as their “rock bottom” moment on September 10, 2013, in a very public way.
“I went to the toilet at work and sculled back a small bottle of Lindauer, as I used to do,” she says. “I hopped on my bike to leave work, hit a bollard outside the building and fell on my face.”
The manager called and asked if she had been drinking. She was tested for drugs and alcohol and lost her job.
“I rang my husband from work and said, ‘You need to come and get me,’” recalls Paula, 48. “I told him how I was feeling and he rang the crisis line. I knew I needed to do something to turn my life around. If I didn’t, I’d be dead.”
Yet Paula has everything to live for – a loyal and supportive husband, a gorgeous grand-daughter, Ella, now four, and a wider loving family – so she made the courageous decision to stop drinking.
“I don’t know what made me finally quit at that exact point, but I haven’t touched a drop of alcohol since,” she tells.
In her battle to beat the booze, Paula tried AA meetings but found solace in exercise. Having previously enjoyed running, she was encouraged to enter several trail races. She found the experience rewarding and also liked the fact that, through running, her body was changing shape. Then on the recommendation of a friend, she started training for the 2014 Queenstown Marathon.
“It took me a while to get my head around the thought of doing a full marathon, but I knew I needed to sort my life out and I thought running would help,” she reflects.
A little over 12 months on from her marathon debut in Queenstown, Paula has completed a total of four full marathons and four half-marathons, plus the Tussock Traverse run through Tongariro National Park. Content and sober, running has proved Paula’s saviour.
Thomas has remained Paula’s superman throughout the trials of their last few years together.
Fun at first
Growing up in a large, social family in the Hutt Valley, Paula married her first husband aged 19 and the couple had a child together, Michael, who is now 25. The pair divorced when he was a toddler.
A naturally outgoing person, Paula admits she was a heavy weekend drinker for much of her adult life, immersed in the local softball scene. However, Paula’s drinking started to slide out of control around her 40th birthday, after work stresses in her role as a team leader at an energy company triggered a bout of depression.
“I couldn’t cope with what was happening in my life,” she admits. “I was drinking throughout the day, simply to get through the day.”
Following a period of sobriety in 2010, Paula made the thrilling discovery that she was pregnant. She and husband Thomas were elated, but some eight weeks later, Paula had a miscarriage.
Devastated by the loss, she returned to the bottle. The following year, she miscarried a second time. Her drinking accelerated until she endured her “rock bottom” moment in spring of 2013. From there, her life was to take a very different course.
Just two months out from training for the 2014 Queenstown event, Paula’s world was rocked by the death of her father George. But instead of drowning her sorrows in alcohol, she used the tragedy as motivation to run.
“My dad was proud that I had overcome my demons and he knew I was training for the race,” she says. “My son was also very proud.
“I kept thinking while I was running the marathon in Queenstown, ‘I can’t let anybody down again. I’ve let my husband down so many times. I’ve let myself down so many times. I don’t want to do it again.’”
Running has proven to be Paula’s saviour.
Positive steps
In November 2014, Paula completed her marathon challenge in Queenstown in a time of four hours and 40 minutes, with husband Thomas a further 35 minutes behind. Running has changed the life of the accounts payable team leader.
Today, she runs five times a week and has recently secured a place alongside her husband to compete in the 2017 New York City Marathon.
“Even after 23 years together and all the dramas in my life, we are very close,” smiles Paula.
Running has given her a second chance at happiness and she is not about to let go of it.
“It gives me time to breathe and allows me to de-stress,” adds Paula, who has registered for a number of running events this year to act as a focus.
“I see some of my friends getting older with ailments. They drink too much and are out of shape. I’ve changed my whole life around because I am running. I’ve always been close to my family, but my sobriety has made us closer.
“My life is now focused on my loving, supportive husband Tom, our granddaughter Ella, and achieving health and fitness goals I never thought possible before.”
Giving up drinking for good brought Paula closer to her son Michael and granddaughter Ella.
