""I got hooked on it, and I destroyed my life," Raffucci, a 72 year-old from Fort Greene, said. "I left college and I left everything - so it was like a recipe for death.""
""I was crying in my apartment and I hit the table," Raffucci, who was 51 at the time, said. "I said, 'God, I'm going to do something with my life. At least I did one percent, God help me out with the other 99,' and it was hard what I did. After six months, one year, two years, I started seeing the benefits of being clean.""
""I started not taking the train, not taking taxis," Raffucci said. "I started walking from Brooklyn to Queens, Brooklyn to Ridgewood. It made me discover something in my persona that there is more for a human being to do to not be so lazy and just believe in yourself.""
Sal Raffucci became addicted to crack cocaine after leaving college and described destroying his life. He quit cold turkey in 2005 with spiritual support and began a disciplined recovery routine. He adopted daily walking habits of 10,000 to 15,000 steps, sometimes averaging 40,000 steps, and stopped using trains and taxis. He transitioned into running, completing multiple races including half-marathons, marathons and the 2024 New York City Marathon after only two months of training. In October 2022 he required cardiac ablation and experienced depression when he could not run, but he plans to run his hometown marathon again.
Read at Brooklyn Paper
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