By LIFE Runners, est. 2008
All In Christ for Pro-Life!" This is the cheer for the LIFE Runners apostolate which was founded by 1989 O'Gorman graduate Dr. Pat Castle who now resides in Omaha. As the grand marshal and speaker for the 2026 South Dakota March for Life, Pat led hundreds with this cheer in and around the State Capitol. He has led this cheer for God and life at marches and events around the world, all the way to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world located in Africa. Pat shared that LIFE Runners are “God first, Life always, Teammates forever!”
LIFE Runners began in 2008 when Pat was a chemistry professor at the Air Force Academy. With him as the coach, a group of 12 raised funds for ultrasound equipment while training for the Chicago Marathon. Former alumni director, Carol Nesbitt ‘80, wrote an article about LIFE Runners for the Re-U-Knight-er in 2010, when there were 17 teammates racing the Sioux Falls Marathon. LIFE Runners has grown to be the largest Pro-Life team in the world with over 25,000 teammates in over 4,000 cities across 52 nations, including current O'Gorman students and many graduates. Pat presented Pope Leo XIV with a white LIFE Runners jacket which brings the ministry full circle as Pope Leo XIV is from Chicago where LIFE Runners began. Pope Leo XIV told Pat, “this [LIFE Runners] is very good.”
LIFE Runners in many ways began with Pat's parents Joe and Kathy enrolling him at Christ the King Elementary School and O'Gorman High School for his faith to be strengthened. Pat's mom was O'Gorman's secretary when he and his brothers, Joe ‘85, Dan ‘86, and Steve ‘94, attended O'Gorman High School. Pat and cross-country team co-captain, Dale Sundermann ‘89, were allowed by Coach Lindner to put Phil 4:13 on the team warm-up shirts. Pat and Dale both live in Omaha where they carry the big “REMEMBER The Unborn” banner in local parades and marches. Pat said the award he is most proud of is O'Gorman's Lee Dolan Award, presented to the athlete who best exemplifies the values of O'Gorman.
On LIFE Runners shirts and jackets are the Gospel values, also the O'Gorman Values, service and sacrifice for God and neighbor. The Trinity is on the front. The Cross reminds us that we are All In Christ. The Dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit bringing confidence, healing, and peace for our mission. Jeremiah 1:5 is God the Father declaring, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” On the back is the message “REMEMBER The Unborn”, which we carry to encourage our culture to choose life. The jersey is blue, representing Mary and her complete yes to God the giver of life eternal. The blue shirt also lines up with Pat’s blue Air Force uniform and blue O’Gorman jersey.
Pat’s brother, Steve ’94, has been a great help with LIFE Runners from the beginning with critical inputs: recommended the book Unbound, helped design the jersey, encouraged the LIFE Runners Creed holy card (liferunners.org/creed) and so much more.
The best news for some is that running is optional. Everyone wears the "REMEMBER The Unborn" witness, from babies in onesies to grandparents in jackets. This encouraging message impacts hearts and minds for saving lives. Eighty-two percent of post-abortion mothers reported that they would have chosen life if they had encountered an encouraging person or an encouraging message. Be that encouraging person with a life-saving message, join the team (running optional), register to receive the monthly update, and get a royal blue "REMEMBER The Unborn" shirt or jacket to wear your witness, liferunners.org/join. LIFE Runners directs the A-Cross America Relay, the largest spanning Pro-Life event in the world, which goes through Sioux Falls every September. Sign up to walk or run 5K segments on the course or in your neighborhood, details at liferunners.org/across.
LIFE Runners provides free "REMEMBER The Unborn" shirts for students (kindergarten to college) to wear at school on the first Wednesday of each month, request at exec@liferunners.org. Pat presented LIFE Runners to the entire O'Gorman student body in 2012 for Awareness Day. He has presented at Christ the King Elementary, Augustana College, University of South Dakota, and South Dakota State University. O’Gorman coach Aaron Strand invited him to speak to the O’Gorman cross-country team in 2025. This life-saving messaging ministry work has been supported by O’Gorman/Cathedral graduates and their organizations.
Pat is married to Angi with grown daughters Paige and Grace. He did ten military assignments, including the Weapons of Mass Destruction Defense Officer at the base closest to Osama bin Laden on September 11. Pat now defends against the greatest weapon of mass destruction, abortion, which has claimed over 65 million American lives.
Pat retired from the Air Force in 2014, after serving as the medical support squadron commander at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, SD.
Follow this timeline to see how God built the LIFE Runners apostolate from 12 to over 25,000 – All In Christ for Pro-Life!
