Drinking On The Jog

That alcohol and exercise don't mix will be news to no one who's ever performed a burpee on a hangover. But as a growing number of women give up alcohol in pursuit of a better PB, we ask, can you quit your way to fit? Words

- ERIN STROUT

Sarah MacKay Robinson recalls the exact moment she started questioning the role that alcohol was playing in her life. It was the day after she finished her crowning athletic achievement: competing at the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials, the once-in-every-four-years race where the top three finishers earn a precious spot on the US team.

Simply qualifying for the event is a major achievement, and after the race, Sarah celebrated months of intense training by drinking with friends. But while she's never felt addicted to alcohol or believed that there's anything wrong with choosing to drink, she began to realise her decision to have a glass of wine a few times a week, or to toast a big moment, wasn't adding value to her life.

"I was sitting in the airport, holding my 18-month-old child, a little bit hungover," recalls the 40-year-old brand and content specialist. "I remember thinking, is this really how I want to feel after one of the biggest and proudest moments in my life? Do I want to be hungover with my kids?" It wasn't the first time she'd found herself analysing alcohol's impact, either. "[By that point] I was so tired of questioning whether alcohol was good or bad for me. I wanted to free up that mental space for something else." It was around that time that she stopped drinking.

Just for a little while at first-on-and-off periods for anything from 30 days to 60 days. And as life went on, those experimental periods grew longer.

HIGH AND DRY