'Healing through movement': Polish ultra runner to stop in Panama City for worldwide event

Nathan Cobb, The News Herald
·3 min read

PANAMA CITY − Tomasz Drybala, an ultra runner from Poland, will soon visit the Panama City area as part of a mission to run in different locations across the world.

Dubbed The Mindful UltraRun, the event was designed to positively impact the lives of as many people as possible, as well as raise money for UNICEF, a worldwide organization that supports at-risk children.

According to Lucy Walters, Drybala's project manager, Panama City will be his fourth stop in the global run, which he began about five months ago. He is slated to participate in at least four public runs in the area from March 27-30.

Along with being an ultra runner, Drybala is a wellness and mindfulness coach who works to help people improve their mental health and clarity through running. Walters described his approach as "healing through movement."

Tomasz Drybala, an ultra runner from Poland, will soon visit the Panama City area as part of The Mindful UltraRun event.
Tomasz Drybala, an ultra runner from Poland, will soon visit the Panama City area as part of The Mindful UltraRun event.

"A lot of his coaching is derived from meditation and mindful running," Walters said. "He kind of has this message to spread to people about mindfulness and how it can help them in their day to day lives. ... The planet right now is a bit of a precarious place, if you will, and he just wants to be able to help people cope with some of the realities of life at the moment."

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A news release from Walters says The Mindful UltraRun encompasses a series of runs in cities around the world.

In addition to Panama City, other U.S. cities included in the event are: Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, San Antonio, Tuscon, San Diego, Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, Santa Maria, Salinas, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Eugene, Salem, Portland, Tacoma, Seattle, New York and Vancouver.

Tomasz Drybala, an ultra runner from Poland, will take part in at least four public runs in the Panama City area as part of The Mindful UltraRun event.
Tomasz Drybala, an ultra runner from Poland, will take part in at least four public runs in the Panama City area as part of The Mindful UltraRun event.

Drybala's Panama City run schedule includes:

  • March 27 − A 10 kilometer, or about 6 mile, run from the Taco Bell at 7040 U.S. 98 to Florida State University Panama City and back that will begin at 6:30 p.m.

  • March 28 − A four kilometer, or about two and a half mile, run from the main entrance of the Russell-Fields Pier to Bahama Beach and back that will begin at 6:30 p.m.

  • March 29 − A five kilometer, or about 3 mile, run from Panama City Garden Club to Bay Memorial Park that will begin at 6:30 p.m.

  • March 30 − A 10 kilometer, or about 6 mile, run through St. Andrews State Park that will begin at 5 p.m. near the park's camp store.

"This run is going to take him three years, and we're at the start of it" Walters said. "We hope that through those efforts and those community running gigs that we can start to build that momentum, and then he will become kind of like the modern day Polish Forest Gump."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Tomasz Drybala to visit Panama City for The Mindful UltraRun event