Running, Finding Balance, and Mental Health Awareness with Michael Kasper
Michael Kasper is an ultramarathon runner, Danville native, and soon-to-be author that documents the sights of the city on his daily runs with an iPhone camera, offering unique perspectives of Danville institutions and everyday life on his Instagram page under the handle @rundanville. He averages 5-10 miles on each run, often taken early in the morning while the rest of the city is barely waking up.
Michael recently completed two pretty impressive feats: he ran 41 miles with internet sensation Paul Johnson on April 7th, then turned around just 2 weeks later and ran 42 miles with Andrew Linder on April 21st. Johnson and Linder separately made transcontinental journeys across America from Los Angeles to New York on foot, fundraising along the way for philanthropic organizations.
Johnson completed his trek in 52 days, raising over half a million dollars for Team Red White and Blue, an organization that helps armed service veterans improve their health and wellness. Linder is currently accruing funds north of $85,000 for Sisters Rising Worldwide, which brings awareness to human trafficking prevention. At the time of publishing, Linder remains a few days away from accomplishing his goal, and Michael has joined him for a second time on May 16th.
In the same spirit, Michael has committed to running across Illinois this October to raise funding to help It’s In Your Head continue to provide mental health training and resources to school students and staff, first responders, healthcare workers, and other high-stress groups in the Danville area.
We chatted with Michael about his habits, motivations, and hard-earned bits of wisdom for Mental Health Awareness Month.
Michael says that before finding running, he was miserable.
“I was drinking, smoking, eating whatever. I started running just because I was trying to change my habits. I did 75 hard because I needed a change. On March 1st, 2021, I stopped drinking, started running, quit eating junk food, started working out twice a day, and pretty much changed my life. Now I bike 30 miles on a Sunday and I’m like, “What did I do today? Nothing.”
When asked why he runs every day, Michael says that the reason changes constantly.
“It revolves around mental health and retaining my sanity,” he says. “It can be a meditation or a quiet time for myself. I rarely listen to music. I’ve worked through a lot of sh*t on runs…but also, I have this thing where I thought I had to run every day or I’m gonna die.”
“Recently I’ve had to not run – or I’ve elected not to – because I’ve had a hamstring injury that I’ve had to work through. It’s relieving to find out that I’m not gonna die. You can get so sucked into these habits that you think are so good for you and necessary for your mental health when you really need to take a step back. Recovery is the magic. Someone said that to me in different words the other day and it completely changed my perspective.”
We agree with Michael here – there’s a balance. Having habits and rituals in place to maintain baseline is a necessary part of life, but becoming so rigid in those habits that it leads to injury or doesn’t allow for flexibility in different seasons of life can lead to more harm than good. We firmly believe in establishing routines that support you, knowing you can take a break from them and they’ll always be there when you’re ready to return.
He continues: “I ran with Paul Johnson who ran across America for mental health awareness – he was suicidal and whatnot. I hear so many people say ‘I could never do that’ but when you’re up close, this guy is just a dude. That, like me, found running and felt relief. It’s just about waking up and deciding to run and then 52 days later, he made it.”
“You have to find the will to keep going in ridiculous amounts of pain,” he reflects. “But at some point, the pain just goes away because you accept it. Your mind at some point wants to shut down. Both guys talked about how from a few days in up to day 10-14 they were calling each other talking about how miserable they were and how much pain they were in because a few miles in your body goes into shock and wants to shut down. But if you get through that, your body stops hurting.”
“The theme of it is that we are a hundred times more capable than what we think we are.”
Wise words, Michael.
Michael’s forthcoming book about running and Danville history is scheduled for release this summer. Sign up for launch updates and preorders on his website. Sign up for our newsletter for updates on the IIYH x Run Danville fundraiser coming later this fall.
