Running for Resilience: Medical Students Honor Veterans and First Responders

Two MCW medical students logged a combined 150 miles in an ultramarathon to highlight care for veterans and first responders.

In October, fourth-year medical students Adam Plotkin and Geoffrey Rodriguez ran a combined 150 miles to raise awareness for the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Building Resilience through Action in Veterans and First Responders (BRAVE) program. Both U.S. Army servicemembers and future physicians, they set out to honor the strength of those healing from traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, and other invisible wounds of service.

An ultramarathon is any footrace longer than a traditional 26.2-mile marathon. Distances typically start around 31 miles (50 kilometers) and can extend to 100 miles or more, often completed within 24 hours. Some ultramarathons span multiple days and are run in stages, testing not only physical endurance but also mental resilience and recovery.

For Adam and Geoffrey, the run became a way to connect their military experience, medical training, and personal conviction. It was a test of endurance and compassion – one that reflected the same strength and resilience BRAVE helps its patients rebuild.

Transforming Trauma into Recovery

BRAVE is the first program of its kind in the Midwest dedicated to treating mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and related injuries. Through a three-phase, interdisciplinary model, BRAVE condenses what typically takes years of care into an intensive three-week outpatient program that integrates behavioral health, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, and other therapies.

The program’s expert team – many of whom are veterans – takes a holistic, culturally informed approach to help participants heal and regain independence. Launched with support from the Avalon Action Alliance and sustained by philanthropy, BRAVE connects veterans and first responders nationwide to compassionate, life-changing care.

Gregory Burek, MD, MS, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine and medical director of BRAVE, is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served from 1999 to 2003 and deployed during the invasion of Iraq.

“The military is its own culture,” Dr. Burek explains. “We have our own language, our own experiences, our own values. Some of those experiences – like getting a traumatic brain injury – are almost part of the job. You just shake it off and get back to the mission.”

He adds that many veterans and first responders don’t realize this type of treatment is available – or that the symptoms they live with are treatable. “It’s really important to normalize and de-stigmatize a lot of the stuff that they’ve been through,” he says.

Geoffrey agrees. “A lot of military members get out and already feel some type of aversion toward medical professionals because they feel like they’re being taken away from the team,” he says. “When I came here, I knew I needed to help break those barriers.”

Adam, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, spent his psychiatry rotation with BRAVE. “I had four weeks of learning all about the program and seeing the great work everyone does here,” he says. “I learned more about the moral and mental injuries veterans experience and how the team helps them heal.”

Honoring Sacrifice With Determination

The idea for the ultramarathon came from their shared military background. “The 50-miler came as a request from my buddy Adam,” says Geoffrey. “A year prior, I had asked him to do a 30-miler with me, and of course he was the only one not smart enough to say no,” he adds with a laugh. “So naturally, when this 100-miler came up, I was the person he asked.”

“I think there’s beauty in running these super-long races,” says Adam. “It’s just you and yourself – your mind and body versus the road. People don’t often discover what they’re capable of. It was never about the running. I wanted to find solace in the suffering. The mind will tell you to quit, but the body can keep going. It was 100 miles to draw attention to the BRAVE program – that was the end goal.”

For Geoffrey, the distance itself became part of the lesson. “At mile 40, I had never been that far before. You’ve gone so far, but you’re still 10 miles away,” he says. “Truth be told, I woke up that morning with no question in my mind that the mileage was going to get done. I’m able to do things that so many people who paid the ultimate sacrifice don’t get to do. I had the choice to be out here and make something meaningful.”

“This event was not an event,” Geoffrey continues. “It was two medical students with a crazy idea who had worked in this clinic and said, ‘Hey, we need to highlight the amazing work they’re doing here – because there’s nothing like this anywhere else in the country.’”

Dr. Burek explains that BRAVE serves participants “as young as 18 and as old as their seventies,” including first responders such as law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMS personnel, and dispatchers. “You’ve got the sacrifice, the ‘suck it up,’ the ‘push through the pain’ mentality,” he says. “We see the whole spectrum.”

Geoffrey relates that mindset to his own experience. “We tend to hide our struggles and carry these invisible wounds,” he says. “If you just show up, push through the pain, and allow yourself to seek help and be vulnerable, that’s what this run meant for me.”

“If you took the kind of treatment that we’re giving here and the number of appointments with those clinicians, it would take over two years to get anywhere else,” says Dr. Burek. “We’re doing it in a three-day evaluation and a three-week intensive outpatient program.”

Adam describes the change he witnessed. “You watch the individual come on day one and you watch them leave a few weeks later – you see a huge change,” he says. “I learned a lot of things that I’m going to be able to implement in my clinical practice.”

The Impact of Philanthropy

Dr. Burek notes that philanthropy makes that transformation possible. “Donor support is essential because we’re trying to address all of the barriers to care – de-stigmatization, normalization, and logistics,” he says.

Contributions make BRAVE accessible to more patients in need. “We bring people in from around the country and cover their airfare, travel, and meals because expense and logistics are two of the biggest barriers,” he adds.

Geoffrey concludes, “It doesn’t take much, but a little adds up—a little and a little and a little. Whatever people are willing to contribute is very appreciated.”

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