Aug 25, 2022
"I was in New York, and I went out and I had this experience of watching people run this marathon, and I broke down. I was like, 'Holy shit, this is the most powerful thing I’ve ever seen.'"
To legions of adoring fans, Zac Clark is known as the winner of Season 16 of The Bachelorette, who got engaged to Tayshia Adams. But today, we are getting to know Zac, beyond the Bachelorette. We meet the young Zac who grew up in New Jersey, and the Zac who discovered he had a brain tumor at 23 years old, and had to undergo emergency brain surgery. We meet the Zac who recovered from surgery — and became addicted to prescription painkillers. The Zac who had a rough few years after that. Who got a DUI, whose wife left him, and who spiraled. And the Zac who hit rock bottom one day, when he was saved by a bank teller.
Because of that bank teller, we get the privilege of knowing Zac today. The Zac who spent 4.5 months in rehab, and found recovery from addiction. Who not only joined the board of the rehab facility he attended, but who, in 2017, founded Release Recovery and the Release Recovery Foundation to help people through their own recovery journeys. And along the way, this Zac found running. Today, he is a 10-time marathoner who is currently training for his eighth New York City Marathon, and this month celebrates 11 years of sobriety.
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