Mishka Shubaly discovered his aptitude for running the day after a brutal New York bar fight. But this was not simply the adrenaline-fuelled short-burst stuff that comes with the territory when you live the way he once did: this was real running.Now an impressively frank writer and musician, Shubaly spent the worst part of 15 years at the bottom of a vodka bottle, with a side order of some seriously grim narcotics. As such, it came as more than a surprise that his booze-abused body could perform feats of supreme endurance. Less than a year after quitting the drink, the long-time waster was competing in ultrarunning events. "I've run a lot of 50 milers, a 100k race," he tells VICE Sports, displaying a curious lack of pride. The Lycra-clad elite were not people he ever thought he'd hang out with.
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"I don't run because I have any kind of passion for it or because I want to belong to the running community," he admits. "I run to keep the wolves at bay. I run because I fear exercise less than I fear death, less than I fear my old life.""Still, I own a pair of tights. It is what it is, man. Life as an alcoholic is far more humiliating than life as a runner."
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