Monday Motivation

Louis Zamperini: Run for Your Life

By Brayden Koch|Updated on July 6, 2023 (originally published on January 31, 2022)

Louis Zamperini was an American highschooler turned olympic runner in the 1930's. He set the national collegiate record for the mile in 1938 with a time of 4 minutes, 8.3 seconds. In 1941, he was drafted into the US air force. While overseas, he experienced plane difficulties, which led to his abandonment at sea for 47 days before being captured as a prisoner of war. Zamperini suffered starvation and brutality, but through perseverance and strength, he survived and was rescued and returned to America to live a long life.

While he was being held prisoner, word got out about his running fame, and those holding him prisoner made him run (after being starved and beaten), just for the heck of it. He never ran from challenges but instead, embraced them, thus running for his life. Pictured above is Louis Zamperini running with the torch through Nagano, Japan during the 1998 Winter Olympics. Just 30 miles south of the camp he was taken prisoner. When asked about this Olympic run compared to his first Olympics, he responded simply with “This was the greatest.”