Every time I speak to someone and hear about their experiences, it leaves me with a sense of running’s incredible power to help people overcome pretty much anything.

Each day, millions of people around the world put on their sneakers and try to deal with their personal demons and life challenges by going for a run. And, increasingly, they do it knowing that they are not alone: A growing and often virtual community is right there running alongside them. We are all, in some sense, running for our lives.

Rachel Ann Cullen’s first book, Running for My Life, described her own marathon journey through depression, bipolar disorder and body dysmorphia, and her revelatory discovery that running could transform her physical and mental well-being. Since hearing from people who had read about her experiences, Rachel wanted to tell some stories of other runners from all around the world—ordinary people living with mental health struggles, dealing with grief, cancer, and other unavoidable life events who have relied on running to get them through their worst days and to keep going.

Running for Our Lives shares moving accounts of hope and resilience; it demonstrates the power of running to help us all overcome adversity, and is a lesson for us all in learning not only how to survive life’s challenges but to thrive.