The first run came without much of a plan.

In the months after Justin Britt’s NFL career came to an abrupt end, he would hop on his Peloton bike and churn. The former offensive lineman dropped weight. He tightened his diet. He tried to pedal through the dark cloud hovering over him. Still, something was missing as Britt tried to grasp who he was without football. Who he was without something to chase.

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“The more I was out of it, trying to figure out who I was,” he said, “it felt like it wasn’t the way I wanted it to go. It wasn’t the way I wanted it to end.”

Then, on a warm Houston day in June 2023, Britt’s wife suggested he go for a run. Following that advice spawned “an accidental love story,” Britt said, one that creates more peace every time he presses start on his watch’s timer and hits the road.

It just may not have been love at first stride.

“I couldn’t even complete one mile,” he said of that first run in the thick Texas heat, “and I’m about to collapse.”

On Sunday, a little more than two years after those first grueling steps, Britt will take on 26.2 miles as he arrives at the starting line for his first marathon in Chicago. He won’t just be there to finish, either.

Justin Britt says running has made a big improvement in his mental health. He said his mental health “had spiraled downhill and this has spiraled me back up.” (Courtesy of Justin Britt)

“The A-plus goal for Chicago is to run sub-3 (hours), which is averaging under a 7-minutes-a-mile pace,” said Emily Venters, a professional runner who has coached Britt d