From functioning alcoholic to ultramarathon runner

HONOLULU (KHON) – Anthony Murata describes himself as a functioning alcoholic who turned his life around. Now, he’s embarking on an ambitious mission to help others struggling with addiction.

“I was a functioning alcoholic,” said Murata, 42.

“I managed restaurants. But, I was a binge drinker every night and woke up feeling, like, horrible the next day, every day. It was a vicious cycle. It really affected the people around me. My family intervened. They helped me along this path to sobriety and physical fitness.”

“Once I stepped out of that addiction and became clean, it was almost like I stepped into a whole new world. My mind opened up to possibilities. I’m so happy that I took that route, and finally turned myself around.”

Murata started running about 3 years ago.

“Last year, I decided to run the Honolulu Marathon, my first marathon. So this year, I thought: what can I do to challenge myself further?”

The Moilili resident decided to embark on a 52.4 mile run–the equivalent of two marathons–to raise funds for the Institute for Human Services.

“There’s a lot of homeless people out there, that if they want to turn their life around, they can turn to IHS and they can be that intervention,” he said. “IHS will take them from homeless, to a shelter, to jobs; and they could be on their way to a new life.”

Murata will embark on his charity run on Sunday, Nov. 13. He will begin his run at 5 a.m. from Makapuu, ending in Haleiwa.

“I just hope that people can look at this as kind of a little bit inspirational. Every little fire just needs a little spark to get started. Whatever you need to do, whatever your goals are, just keep hacking at it and you’ll get there.”