“It is well with my soul”

            Her favorite running shirt is red, Nike brand, nothing fancy like the ones she sees on other runners. It has traveled from Bedford to Boston, to New York and back. It has endured millions of pavement-pounding strides and has soaked the dripping sweat of a marathon runner. She wore it last year in the Johnny CASA 5-miler at LakeWatch Plantation, where she beat out younger, less road weary runners.

            But it is something else, just six simple words that make the shirt Pam Rickard’s favorite. A white, fabric-painted quote adorns the back, a constant reminder of where she’s been and where she’s going, both on the road and in life:

            "It is well with my soul."

            Rickard, a Franklin County resident, 47-year-old mother of three and recovering alcoholic with more than three years of sobriety, has much to be thankful for this holiday season.

            But it was not always this way.

The Road to Bottom

            Rickard’s first experience with running distance races was the result of an alcohol-induced dare. Like many of her peers at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, in the 1980s, alcohol was part of the college experience. One Friday night while partying, a friend dared Rickard to run a University-sponsored 5k the next morning.

            "I did it, and it wasn’t so horrible that I didn’t want to do it again," recalled Rickard. "Even though I was hung over, I liked the race and knew I would do more."

            Running soon became "her thing" in a time before the sports-crazed and exercise-centric 1990s. "None of my friends ran. It gave me an identity, and I liked that," she said. "I was Pam, the runner."

            After college, Rickard continued running — and drinking. A marriage to her college sweetheart, Tom, the current librarian at Dudley Elementary, to whom she is still married, a move to Roanoke and a job in advertising followed graduation. While her friends cut back, Rickard found herself still drinking at night to unwind.

            "I found myself drinking wine at night after dinner. Everyone else did too — friends or dinner guests — but I always drank much more than everyone else. I would black out a few nights a week," she said.

            It was during that time that Rickard also became most serious about her running, which in turn, justified her drinking.

            "I was running marathons. How could I be an alcoholic? That was the reasoning I used," she said. "I was going to work, being a good mother, running more than most people could dream of. Drinking problem? Me? No way."

            Rickard ran seven marathons as an alcoholic. She also received two DUIs. Her third DUI, in February of 2006, turned out to be the turning point in a long line of alcohol-fueled missteps.

Hard Time and Hard Lessons

            After receiving her third DUI conviction in two years, Rickard entered a rehab facility in Williamsburg where she learned the 12-step program she still uses to maintain her sobriety. She was five months sober when she was sentenced to three months in jail. She served 33 days. A judge also indefinitely revoked her license to drive. She is a convicted felon.

            "That was rock bottom. I couldn’t stand myself. I had been drinking to numb the pain, and now here I was, in jail," said Rickard. "I learned, literally, at the Roanoke City Jail, they can take everything from you — they take everything from you except your wedding ring. I was five months sober, and I thought, ‘No one can take away my sobriety and no one can take away my relationship with God.’ "

"Life is Good"

            Now sober for more than three years, Rickard is still running. She completed the New York City Marathon in 2007 and 2008 and the Boston Marathon earlier this year. Both are considered among the most prestigious races in the world and require an extremely competitive qualifying time.

            However, Rickard has not forgotten her journey to the bottom and back. She works as a consultant out of her Boones Mill home and recently was featured in a book published by HarperCollins. "A Race Like No Other," by The New York Times reporter Liz Robbins, is about the 2007 New York City Marathon. Rickard’s story is one of several in the book that tell about the race and New York City itself.