"Running single-handedly saved me during this last year."

Carl Radke is best known as a longtime cast member on Bravo's Summer House. Through nine seasons of the reality show, he's been open and honest about his mental health struggles and his history with drug and alcohol addiction. Carl got sober in 2021, and this year, he opened Soft Bar, a non-alcoholic bar and café in Brooklyn, NY, where he lives. His memoir, Cake Eater, comes out next month. And this month, Carl added another title to his resumé: marathoner! In this conversation, Carl talks about how he found running and the role running plays in his sobriety journey, and he shares every detail from his first 26.2-mile race at the 2025 New York City Marathon.

FOLLOW CARL @carlradke

SPONSOR:

• Oofos: The best in recovery footwear! Check out Oofos's 2025 Project Pink collection, where 10% of every purchase is donated to cancer research.

In this episode:

• How it feels to be a New York City Marathoner (1:50)
• On the fear of not finishing (11:30)
• Carl's history with the New York City Marathon (13:05)
• Carl's journey to becoming a runner (15:30)
• All about Carl's training (21:45)
• How Carl fit training into his busy life (26:55)
• Is a Soft Bar run club in the works? (32:35)
• How Carl spent the days leading up to the marathon (41:00)
• The stress of race morning (44:35)
• Carl's sights and sounds from the start line (52:45)
• Carl's high points from race day (1:00:45)
• What Carl wishes people understood about him (1:13:15)
• Carl's advice to first-time marathoners (1:16:45)

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