When lifelong runners are forced to quit: The profound loss of identity and community
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Matt Fitzgerald holding a poster of the cover for his book, Running The Dream, at his storage unit in Flagstaff, Arizona, on June 28.
PHOTO: REBECCA NOBLE/NYTIMES
Liz Krieger
NEW YORK – For most of her adult life, Jamie Panzarella ran almost every day, often lost in her thoughts, barely aware of her body. “I felt like a horse – free and wild,” she said. “It was almost like dreaming.” Over the years, she completed five marathons and more than 20 half-marathons.
Then, a few years ago, the sensation changed. Her toes – slowly rigidifying from a form of degenerative arthritis – no longer bent properly, and over time she became acutely aware of every excruciating footfall. “I never got the groove any more,” said Panzarella, who is now 51 and lives in Austin, Texas. The dreamy dissociation she had relied on for years was gone.
