Ultramarathoner visits Notre Dame to promote men’s formation program
Endurance athlete Johnny Kuplack visited Notre Dame on Friday, April 4, completing the two-thirds point of his 3,500 mile journey from Dana Point, California to Auriesville, New York.
Known as the Via Magna or “Great Way,” his pilgrimage will consist of 100 Ultra-Marathons in 100 days, and is meant to raise awareness for Sebaste, an organization for young men that Kuplack co-founded.
The run has been an extraordinary challenge. Every day, Kuplack runs 35 miles, speaking with local families, students, and media. In his first week running, Kuplack noted how he stress-fractured his foot, further mentioning how he has also injured his achilles tendon and experienced muscle avulsions in addition to a variety of other health problems.
Joe Meyers, Sebaste logistics coordinator and friend of Kuplack, is also completing the Via Magna. Commenting on their journey so far, he said, “We wanted to do something really difficult, something hard … there’s literally going to have to be a hunk of bones sticking out of his foot or his leg for him to call it.”
Nonetheless, this all contributes to the spirit of pilgrimage ,according to Kuplack. He said, “In true pilgrim fashion, we started this pilgrimage with no money, and so we’ve been traveling across the United States for the past 70 days living on donations.”
In an interview with the Rover, Meyers said that Sebaste’s mission is to “free young men from whatever is holding them back from entering a direct relationship with God.” He specifically identified distraction, isolation, and addiction as the three key things that Sebaste is trying to address, with the goal of breaking these vices by pushing young men out of their comfort zone.
Designed to provide formation to young men through physical endurance, Sebaste’s flagship program features an undergraduate men’s summer experience in New Mexico. While growing in faith and community, participants construct an adobe rosary walk shrine, which Meyers noted is just three years from completion.
Kuplack additionally described how Sebaste seeks to push back against two extremes. Citing the rise of complacency among men, he said, “Half the guys we get, they’re so addicted to comfort.”
Kuplack also went on to detail the danger of diminishing virtue to mere physical achievement, continuing, “And then there’s the other half of the guys that are in the savage category. They’re not warriors, they’re savages. They’re working out all the time. They’re obsessed with their physical appearance. They might be very capable at physical endeavors: sports, fighting. But they’re not warriors. They don’t serve.”
To both types of men, Kuplack asserts, Sebaste offers an alternative. Jokingly describing the program as “getting punched in the face,” he explained how it both helps men who want to escape their idleness while also helping those who want to break down their ego.
Pete Nagy, a senior in O’Neill Family Hall, participated in the Sebaste program for three summers. Reflecting on his time with Sebaste, Nagy said, “I had an experience of friendship and brotherhood that was unlike anything I had experienced before.” He continued, “It was real life, and something that I was yearning for.” Moved by his experience to continue with the program, Nagy will return to New Mexico after graduation as a foreman for the rosary walk project.
In addition to its current work serving young men, the Via Magna run is also the official public launch project for Sebaste as it undergoes a time of transition, looking to begin work with homeless shelters in poorer dioceses and federal Indian reservations.
“[Sebaste] is hoping to expand itself into a larger reality,” said Meyers. “It’s a pilot, so it’s going to be small. It’s going to be geared towards people in minor institutional, educational leadership roles, and it’s going to involve a lot of corporal works of mercy, stuff with the same sort of adventure ethos as the shrine.”
Meyers shared different ways to get involved, saying, “Yeah, send us 100 bucks for gas … make noise about the run … and take a look at applying for the programs if you think you’re a guy who wants it.”
While applications are closed for this year, Meyers said that “Notre Dame actually has probably pound for pound, the best group of guys that we’ve gotten out of any of the liberal arts colleges.” Above all, he stressed, “If God wants us to happen, it’s going to happen, and we’re just going to try to do everything that He wants us to do.”
“That’s my mission, and that’s my purpose, and that’s why I’m running across the United States,” Kuplack explained. “I want to be able to get in front of people like you. I want to be able to see these guys again, talk to high school, college guys, grade school kids from all over all across the country. I want to tell them that guys, you know what, if you don’t think there’s a path forward, and you’re stuck and you’re despairing and you’re one of the hurting and helpless, one of the lepers on the side of the road, where you’re just clueless that you’re in the middle of a war. There’s a place you can come and we can help wake you up.”
As of April 9, Kuplack is on day 82 of 100 and has run over 2,800 miles. He is on schedule to complete the Via Magna on Divine Mercy Sunday at the Shrine of the North American Martyrs in New York. Donations can be given at https://www.sebaste.org/donate.
Darius Colangelo is a sophomore majoring in honors mathematics and the Program of Liberal Studies. He can be reached at dcolange@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: Irish Rover
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