Ginger Zee’s forecast is steady, but her story is braver: decades of managing depression, an eating disorder, and past crises then finding that running, alongside therapy and medication, became the routine that kept her above rock bottom.
For millions of viewers, Ginger Zee is the steady presence delivering forecasts each morning on Good Morning America.
Behind that composure, Zee says, she has been managing depression for her entire professional life.
In interviews and in two bestselling memoirs, Zee has spoken openly about an eating disorder that began at age ten, two suicide attempts, and a psychiatric hospitalization just days before stepping into her national television role. She was diagnosed at 21 and has treated the condition ever since.
“I was a master at hiding my mental health issues,” she has said. “Especially from myself.”
Running, she explains, became part of that treatment almost by accident. What began as exercise evolved into a stabilizing force. The darkness did not vanish, but it thinned.
“Running kept me above rock bottom many times,” she has shared.
In 2024, Zee made that connection public by running the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon with Team Still I Run, a nonprofit focused on mental health awareness.
She trained through early mornings and family life, finishing the 13.1-mile race and speaking about it on air the next day.
Zee does not frame the miles as a cure. She frames them as maintenance alongside therapy, medication, and community.
if(window.strchfSettings === undefined) window.strchfSettings = {};
window.strchfSettings.stats = {url: "https://therunningweek.storychief.io/good-morning-americas-ginger-zee-says-shes-lived-with-depression-her-entire-career-and-running-is-how-she-stays-ahead-of-it?id=462979947&type=26",title: "Good Morning America's Ginger Zee Says She’s Lived With Depression Her Entire Career, and Running Is How She Stays Ahead of It",siteId: "23843",id: ""};
(function(d, s, id) {
var js, sjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) {window.strchf.update(); return;}
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = "https://d37oebn0w9ir6a.cloudfront.net/scripts/v0/strchf.js";
js.async = true;
sjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, sjs);
}(document, 'script', 'storychief-jssdk'))
Start your running journey today!
No spam. Cancel anytime.
