Sheena and Rob Archuleta's path to recovery began amidst personal tragedy. Following her father's suicide, the couple, battling long-term addictions to crack cocaine and methamphetamine, embarked on their sobriety journey. They filled their time with various activities to avoid temptation, including visits to a local pet store.

During one such visit, Sheena fell in love with a unique, blue-eyed, snow-white Siberian Husky puppy. Despite their desire to adopt him, financial constraints and concerns about their readiness for pet ownership initially prevented them from bringing the puppy home.

In a twist of fate, after the puppy was initially sold to another family, he was returned to the store. Seizing this second chance, Sheena secured unexpected inheritance money and adopted the puppy, whom Rob named Rayden after a video game character.

Rayden became an integral part of their recovery journey, teaching them about love and responsibility. He was by their side as they founded Addict2Athlete, a program helping addicts recover through exercise and education. Rayden even participated in the first meeting, running alongside recovering substance misusers.

For 13 years, Rayden was a constant in Rob and Sheena's lives, becoming their child and best friend. He passed away on September 25, 2017, leaving behind a legacy of love and support in addiction recovery.

To honor Rayden's memory and continue his impact, Rob and Sheena established "Rayden's Athletic Friends." This initiative not only commemorates their beloved companion but also promotes the powerful idea that animals can play a crucial role in the healing process. Through this program, they hope to inspire others to experience the transformative bond between humans and their furry family members, especially in the context of recovery and personal growth.

This story exemplifies the powerful role pets can play in the recovery process, offering unconditional love and a sense of purpose to those struggling with addiction. Rayden's legacy lives on, continuing to inspire and support those on their journey to recovery.

Rayden’s Athletic Friends will host the R.A.F. Rough 5K and 1 Mile Walk or Run.  The race will start at the City Park Pavilion at 8:00 a.m. all the proceeds will be distributed to local animal shelters to help house our furry  friends who haven’t found a forever home yet.  In this walk/run, you are not only allowed to bring your pet, you are encouraged to bring them!  Each pet will receive a race shirt, don’t worry, you will have an opportunity to buy a shirt also. Stay Tuned for more details, and a link for runsignup.com will be available soon.  THE R.A.F. ROUGH PARTNER WOD is also right around the corner.  Each team will bring  a 40lbs bag of dog or cat food that will grant them entry into the WOD. Each team will have to perform a series of movements with the bag of food. Movements may include bag thrusters, a bag run, bag cleans, and bag back squats. Keep an eye out on social media platforms for dates and times. Remember these events are for a worthy cause, and  great way for fitness finatics to Save a Life One Workout at a Time.

Rayden’s Athletic Friends is a foundation that is a part of Addict2Athlete the R.A.F. Foundation gives athletes an opportunity to save furry lives through fitness the same way that Addict2Athlete saves lives through Functional Fitness and Education. We will hold several Functional Fitness events and WODs as well as runs to help support the local animal shelters and their quest to keep all animals loved and safe.