DAN BROSTEK knew he wanted to be a soldier ever since a young boy as his granddad, a tanker in WW11, would excite him with stories from the war. Dan went on to fulfil his ambition and served his country when he joined the United States Military Academy. He was graduated from West Point in 1996 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army. 

After leaving the Army Dan spent 14 years in a career in ‘Corporate America’. Today he has tuned back to his roots and currently works for Team RWB (www.teamrwb.org), a non-profit organisation founded in 2010 with the mission of enriching the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their communities through physical and social activity.

In this touching and extremely thoughtful interview Dan talks to us about his work for the organisation as well as his passion for running which was born from his desire to get back into shape after his retirement from the army. Read on to hear about his dedication to his work as well as his biggest accomplishments in sport including competing in his first ultramarathon.

When did your first realise you wanted to be a soldier and could you tell us a little about your career with the US Army?

I knew I wanted to be in the military from an early age and I owe that to my grandfather, John Lickvar. He was a tanker in WWII and he received the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation for his service with the 3rd Armored Division in Europe. I remember sitting on his couch with my brothers as young boys listening to his stories about the war and looking through old Time Life books. He was our hero. He had a huge impact on our development, and although he died when I was 13, he had already shaped our thinking about serving our country. Over the following five years my brothers and I would take different paths, but we all joined the military in some form upon leaving high school.

My path took me to the United States Military Academy. I graduated from West Point in 1996 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army. My MOS was Field Artillery so I spent about six months learning my trade in Fort Sill, Oklahoma before I departed for my first duty station in Fairbanks, AK. After a few years in Alaska I went to Fort Leonard Wood, MO, where I finished my five-year service obligation and transitioned to the civilian sector. The world was a very different place when I was on Active Duty. I left the military in May of 2001, just a few months before 9/11, and needless to say, everything changed after that.

What lessons did it teach you for the future and how much do you owe your character today to the time you spent with the US Army?

West Point and my military service had a significant impact on the person that I have become. I spent the most formative years of my early adulthood being shaped by amazing leaders at one of the finest institutions in our country. My work ethic, leadership traits and values were all shaped during the nine years I wore a uniform. I learned how to problem-solve, persevere and deal with challenging situations… all characteristics that have served me well in my career, with my running and my family.

Tell us about some of the work Team RWB does for veterans and what inspired you to star working for the organisation?

Team RWB is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation founded in 2010 with the mission of enriching the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their communities through physical and social activity. Team RWB has over 103,000 members spread across 180 chapters and communities located throughout the world. We have two core programmes focused on chapter and community engagement and leadership development. We recently co-authored a research report that provides a great overview of our founding story and outlines the impact we are having on veterans’ lives.

I joined Team RWB last August as their marketing and communications director after being a member since 2010. After spending 14 years in Corporate America I knew I needed a change and I wanted to get back to my roots. I was honoured to be the right fit for the role that they were trying to fill.

How can our readers get involved and support Team RWB and veterans in general?

There are multiple ways to support Team RWB. You can become a member, a volunteer leader and/or donate to our veteran enriching programs. You can learn more by visiting www.teamrwb.org. At the end of the day the best way to support our veterans is to engage with them… build authentic relationships with them in your communities.

When did your passion for running begin and could you tell us about any events and races you’ve participated in?

When I left the Army in 2001 I was in the best shape of my life. However, it didn’t take long once I started working in Corporate America for that level of fitness to completely fall apart. In less than three years I put on 50 pounds and was totally out of shape. It was at that point that I figured I would set a goal to run a marathon and regain my fitness level. For the record, I hated running at that point, but I needed an ambitious goal to give me a swift kick in the ass to get going again.

After my first marathon I started to realise how much I enjoyed the solitude of long distance running. I ran a couple more marathons and then I got connected to a small group of runners that were running trails and doing ultramarathons. It was at that point that I knew I had found something special. I ran my first ultra (JFK 50) in 2008 and I’ve been hooked ever since.

It’s hard to explain the joy and peace that can be achieved while participating in these types of events, but I think people who run ultras get it. You get to take a ride on the pain train, you suffer, and in return, you discover a lot about yourself. Since that first ultra I’ve participated in numerous races of varying distances, and I think my biggest accomplishment to date was getting into Western States in 2015 and going sub 24 for a silver buckle.

How often are you currently running and is there anything in particular you are training for?

I’ve been taking it easy since last fall. After Western States last year I changed jobs and we moved from Connecticut to Oregon so it was a good time to rebalance my life and focus on other priorities. I’m just starting to ramp up my training again. I have the Bigfoot 100k in Washington in October and The North Face Endurance Challenge in San Francisco in December. Besides that, I’m just trying to enjoy as much time as possible outdoors with my family in and around Bend…and lately that’s been mainly snowshoeing and skiing.

Do you have any exciting plans or projects either with work or in running planned for the rest of the year and beyond?

Personally, I will be focused on the races highlighted above. Professionally, Team RWB organizes an awesome event that we call the Old Glory Relay. Starting on September 11th, 62 teams of runners will carry a single American flag over 4,200 miles across the country from Redmond, WA to Tampa, FL. This will be our third year running the relay. It’s a truly amazing experience and you can learn more about it at www.oldgloryrelay.org.