Danny’s story is one of struggle, helplessness, and the desire to become something more.
Three years ago, Danny Domres was leaving detox when he learned one of his highschool friends was leading the Leadville 100 trail race. “The feeling that swept over me was one of complete helplessness, sadness, and despair.” he said.
Sitting in his car that day, he reflected over the past several years. How did he get here?
Following highschool, Danny joined the army, and at 19 he was deployed to Afghanistan. “After I got out of the Army, I went into a very dark place with alcohol,” said Danny. Something he would struggle with for several years. He remembers that day in his car, “I was completely lost. I was at my lowest possible moment and one of my friends was doing something that I could only dream of.”
“A question popped into my mind over and over again,” said Danny. “What if I could go more than a week without drinking?”
He had been lost for so long, but in that moment, he finally saw a path, a way out of this life, and toward the man he feels he was destined to be. He immediately enrolled himself in an outpatient treatment program, and started running.
It has been less than three years since that day, and Danny has already amassed an impressive list of running achievements including setting the Indoor Marathon record for Minnesota in 2:37, and running a 32:09 10k, both just last year.
He had planned to run a 24hour race this spring with hopes to one day make the USA National 24 hour team. But when his race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he signed up for the Personal Peak Quarantine Backyard Ultra. He ran 24 laps (100 miles), achieving his goal. He then signed up for the Summer Race Series winning the first event, a 20-minute time trial, with 3.99 miles (6.42 km). He ran both races on city streets within two miles of his Minneapolis home.
Danny says he no longer asks himself “what if?” Instead, he focuses on “what’s next?”
So often running is seen as an escape, an opportunity to “run away”. But for Danny, running is not an escape. Running is a return. Running has become a lifeline, a way for him to reconnect, recenter, and regroup.
When Danny began his journey of recovery, running became the first piece of something concrete, something he could circle back to when the world had him feeling lost. Three years later, he still uses running as a way to find some certainty when things have never been more uncertain.
He notes that running is not the only piece he can rely on. It is simply one piece in this new foundation he has built for himself. Along the way he says he also, “met the girl of [his] dreams.” And she, along with his family, has become another piece.
In times like these, when it seems the world is constantly being thrown upside down, having these pieces is more important than ever. The pieces he can rely on. The pieces that bring him back. The pieces that keep him from getting lost. The pieces of certainty he knows he can count on, that mean he can handle whatever the world throws at him.
Danny uses running as a way to show up. Not running away, but running in circles.
What is it you come back to? What centers you when the world is upside down?
You can follow Danny on Strava: Danny Domres
Or, Instagram @dannydomres
————–