With a bright yellow shirt and American flags flying behind him, it was easy to spot the jogger moving methodically through downtown Franklin.
Chadwick von Lukenstien moved with purpose and determination, a smile on his face. Every step he took put him closer to his goal of running 300 miles over the span of 50 days.
More importantly, his highly visible runs allow him to achieve his true goal — raising awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder and the burden it has on veterans.
“Every time I go out there, I’m meeting some really awesome people that are coming to me and asking what I’m doing,” he said. “I put myself out there, so they’re questioning me, wondering why I’m doing this.”
For the past three years, von Lukenstien has done his 300-mile challenge. He gets his miles in any way he can — quick runs during lunch breaks or before work, longer routes on his days off.
He uses each run to engage people about his mission, while posting extensively on social media. In doing so, he hopes that people better understand mental health and the struggles that many veterans endure.
“I want people to see the cause. There are statistics that say 22 veterans die by suicide each day, and I had no idea about that,” he said. “Getting them to see that, that’s what matters.”
For von Lukenstien, any place and any time is right for a jog. He runs around his home in Columbus, taking advantage of trails, parks and side streets. Sometimes he travels beyond Indiana, even doing a run in Louisville earlier in the summer and running across the Ohio River.
He lived in Franklin when he started his running challenge, and still comes back to the city to run the route he perfected while he lived here: east and west on Jefferson Street and King Street.
“If I wake up early before I have to go to work, I get out there. On my lunch break, instead of sitting down to eat pizza, I’m out there. If I have time before I go to bed, I’m out there,” he said. “I just want to get it done as soon as possible.”
Every time he goes out, he hopes he’s opening people’s eyes a little bit.
The tragedy of post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide hits hard for von Lukenstien. His grandfather, who served in the Vietnam War, died by suicide, which continues to impact his family.
“It’s still tough to talk about,” he said.
But von Lukenstien didn’t know how to attract attention to the problem, until he learned about the work of another Columbus resident. Kyle Killinger is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and the founder of Because He’s My Brother, which raises money to fight post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans and raise awareness of it through running.
Killinger started out by running approximately from Alabama to Columbus five years ago, and has continued to make the trip each year. This summer and fall, he’s traveling 3,000 miles, from San Diego to Washington D.C.
The mission inspired von Lukenstien.
“He told me about why he was doing it, and I had no idea about the numbers of veterans who died from suicide every day,” he said. “I had no idea that 21 other families every day were feeling the same way our family was. It was like my grandfather put his hand on my shoulder and told me to listen.”
Talking with Killinger, he decided the best option was to run 300 miles around Franklin and other locations throughout central Indiana in 100 days or less. He got started in 2019.
Von Lukenstien was not much of a runner; the first 20 miles of his journey, he ran in Vans skateboarding shoes.
“It about wrecked my legs,” he said.
Still, von Lukenstien stayed committed. The mileage piled up, and after 62 days, he had met his goal of 300 miles. The experience was so successful that he kept going, eventually logging 900 miles over the course of six months.
Then in 2020, he did the whole challenge over again. This time, he reached the 300-mile mark in 54 days.
This summer, he’s ahead of schedule to hit his mileage number in fewer than 50 days. As of Aug. 1, he had gone more than 250 miles.
“When I first started this, I did not know if I had it in me. I just knew that I said I’d do it, and when I say I’ll do something, I try to keep my word,” he said.
Raising awareness of PTSD is at the core of why von Lukenstien runs. But at the same time, he’s enjoyed the fringe benefits of regular exercise that he’s found. Just in the past five months, he’s lost weight, going from 235 pounds to 198.
More importantly, running has helped his mental health.
“Before I took this on, I’d struggled with some issues with depression and stuff like that. After starting to exercise and take care of myself, I found that my mind followed with my body. I wasn’t feeling down as much any more,” he said.
