Pachyderm Luncheon with Pat Castle, Founder of LIFE Runners

Dr. Pat Castle is the founder and president of LIFE Runners, an international pro-life apostolate established in 2008 and based in the Omaha/Papillion, Nebraska area. The organization has grown into one of the world’s largest pro-life teams, with more than 25,000 teammates across thousands of cities in over 50 nations. Members wear distinctive jerseys featuring a cross and the message “REMEMBER The Unborn – Jer. 1:5” as a public witness, with running optional and prayer central to the mission.

Castle grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He earned a Ph.D. in nano-analytical chemistry from the University of Illinois and served more than two decades in the Air Force, rising to lieutenant colonel. His military assignments included serving as a chemistry professor and marathon coach at the Academy (where he helped develop an ethics curriculum) and as medical squadron commander. On September 11, 2001, he served as the Weapons of Mass Destruction Defense officer at the base closest to Osama bin Laden during the attacks. He retired around 2014 to focus full-time on pro-life ministry.

A sub-3-hour marathoner who has completed races including Boston, Pikes Peak, and the Great Wall of China, Castle traces the inspiration for LIFE Runners to a profound spiritual experience during the 2006 Pikes Peak Ascent, which he associates with St. Padre Pio. He directs the annual A-Cross America Relay (a major multi-leg pro-life event spanning thousands of miles), has spoken widely, participated in the film Unplanned, raised substantial funds for pro-life causes, and met with Pope Leo XIV. He is also involved in pregnancy-center work, sidewalk outreach education, the Notre Dame Vita Institute, and related Catholic initiatives. He resides in the Omaha area.

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