Veteran marathon runner on a prosthesis: “My life has changed remarkably”
Roma loves obstacles that need to be “smashed through head-on”. He also likes to invent seemingly impossible challenges for himself. Even if he has to involve the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to implement the experiment.
While studying full-time at the university, he joined the Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps. After amputation, he pulled a 16-ton airplane down the runway. He went on an assault on a prosthesis designed only for bathing. On a marathon course, he refused the special food and water provided by the rules. This is all Roma Kashpur.
By the way, he is the first Ukrainian veteran with limb amputation to take part in the races of the most prestigious World Marathon Majors series.
Last year, Roma ran races in London and New York. His first 42 km 195 meters in 2024 will be in Tokyo on March 3.
«On the track in London and New York, I had one goal: to somehow make it to the finish line. I made a lot of mistakes — it's a miracle that I didn't fall to the ground from pain and exhaustion in those races. In Tokyo, I want to take into account my previous mistakes and work for the result,” Roman explained in a conversation with hromadske.
Butterfly Mine for Roma
Roma joined the Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps when he was a student at Khmelnytskyi University. He was studying to become a rehabilitation therapist and fitness trainer, while also attending volunteer training camps.
In 2016, when Roma was only 19, he was deployed to the Donetsk region as part of the Santa unit. The following year, he transferred to a part-time department of the university and signed a contract with the 74th Reconnaissance Battalion.
We went to places where you could turn gray in 10 minutes without firing a single shot.veteran Roman Kashpur
“At the time, there was a lull at the front. But my commander said that intelligence will always find work. If there are hostilities, there is work, and if there is a truce, there is even more work, because there are sabotage mines, ambushes, and unannounced advances.
Near Marinka, there were 28 Russian mines on two square meters, and we had to walk through these mines.”
Roma “found” his mine near Olenivka, Donetsk region.
“When I stepped on the mine, I immediately realized that I would have to have an amputation somewhere along my boot — I have seen how such situations end for my fellows. I was ready that this could happen to me, so when it did, I took it calmly.
I hit the mine on May 16, 2019, on the Vyshyvanka Day. I survived, although the Russians could be heard from the place where it happened — they could have killed our entire group. So I was born under the lucky star.”
Roma was undergoing treatment in Kharkiv, waiting for a prosthesis and dreaming of returning to his unit — if not as a fighter, then as a volunteer. And then he learned about the death of his commander, who was his unquestioned authority. That was the first time the soldier thought that he needed to change something in his life.
“Games of Heroes” and an airplane from Zaluzhnyi
In Kharkiv, while undergoing treatment, Roma saw a guy his age with the same amputation running on prostheses. He decided that he had to run better than the guy and live more actively than before the amputation.
Four weeks after his injury, volunteers offered Roma to take part in the “Games of Heroes”, an All-Ukrainian sports competition for veterans with disabilities.
Six weeks after his injury, Roma was standing on his first prosthesis — it broke in a few days because the guy tried to run and even jump on it.
“I quickly mastered the prosthesis. I guess my high pain threshold helped — I even refused to take painkillers after the amputation,” Roma recalls.
Two people helped the veteran find his core — a Ukrainian surgeon and a Latvian rehabilitation specialist. They told Roman that they had already done everything in their power, and now it was his turn to take care of himself — the only way he would get back on his feet. “If you give up on yourself, your pain will return. The way you set yourself up for life, that's how it will be,” Roma recounts the doctors' words.
Before his injury, he had never played sports professionally. He played soccer and dabbled in martial arts and power gymnastics. And in the “Games of Heroes”, there are elements of weightlifting, powerlifting, and gymnastics. This is a big deal.
“I decided to take part in the Games of Heroes for two reasons. I wanted to test my strength and abilities after the amputation. I started training 9 months after the injury when my stump had not yet fully formed. I also wanted to show my parents, brothers-in-arms, and family that I was fine.
In a month and a half, the head coach and co-founder of the project, Yuliia Koval, prepared me for the competition. She said simply: ‘You have a lot of strength, but there is no exercise technique.’
So I learned to squat properly, jump properly, and build my muscles properly.”
It was hard science for a guy who loved to go for it. At first, the veteran was going to compete among amateurs, but he was enrolled in the pro category. Roma came to the competition with the slogan “If you are going to get embarrassed, there should be a show”, and unexpectedly became a prize winner.
His success inspired him: the veteran invested his second-group disability pension and the payment for his injury in his health, convinced that it would play in his favor. Over time, he adapted to living with the prosthesis so well that he can drive freely and often forgets that his right leg is artificial.
In 2021, Roma again won the Games of Heroes in three out of four categories.
“After these victories, I started thinking about how to motivate guys with amputations to live an active life.
Once I was driving by a military airfield in Chuhuiv and saw an airplane on the runway. I thought: if I pull it myself, it will become a media event. Then the guys will believe that amputation is not the end. I liked the fact that the plane weighed 16 tons, a number I associated with May 16, when I survived after hitting the mine.”
Roma found a sponsor for the event — the Kharkiv with You charity foundation. However, he resisted the sponsorship to the last: he is not the kind of person who would beg for something! But sensible people persuaded him.
He asked Valerii Zaluzhnyi himself for permission to organize a show at the airfield — the Commander-in-Chief turned out to be a Facebook friend of Roma's wife.
My wife did not know Zaluzhnyi personally, but she sent him a message. The Commander-in-Chief called back, set up a meeting in Kharkiv, and gave the green light.veteran Roman Kashpur
On December 2, 2021, 78-kilogram Roma pulled a 16-ton An-26 6 meters 40 centimeters. It took him only 44 seconds. He did it on the third try, but he did it!
The veteran's achievement was registered by an expert from the National Register of Records of Ukraine. Coach Yuliia Koval and two men from the team that set the record for dragging our legendary Mriia in 2004 helped him with advice. The men also shared their Mriia vest, the one Roma used during his first two attempts. He chafed his body till it bled.
Stormtrooper on a prosthesis
Even before the record with the airplane, Roma dreamed of running a marathon. But to do this, he had to solve a significant problem: to become independent of the state prosthetics program.
“When you do intense physical activity, the prosthesis wears out faster. The sockets need to be replaced more often, and according to the state program, it is possible only once every six months.
So I decided to become an ambassador for a foreign prosthesis manufacturer. I had some achievements that could interest them, such as winning the Games of Heroes and pulling an airplane.”
At that time, Roma had several prostheses, but the sports and everyday life ones had to be adjusted. And before the full-scale invasion, the man had just applied for prosthetics. He was left with only a prosthesis for bathing.
He volunteered to go to the front line, to a position in the Kharkiv district of Saltivka. “It was my least adapted prosthesis for active life,” Roma admits. He fought on it for a month and a half.
During the assault, I ran faster than bipeds — with the help of adrenaline and character. But that's not what the bathing prosthesis is for. I realized that I would be of no use to anyone because I was already the injured man.veteran Roman Kashpur
“In between battles, I started explaining the rules of handling weapons to the guys in basements under fire. Because a lot of them came to the front line, but until February 24, they had not held assault rifles in their hands,” thesoldier recalls.
Later, when the Russians were driven back a bit from Kharkiv, Roma began to conduct training sessions for the soldiers at the training ground.
And then the Citizen Charitable Foundation offered him help with prosthetics. The man asked for a special running prosthesis because he decided that participating in the marathon was his next life challenge.
Britain — USA
At first, Roman planned to run in Ukraine, but with the help of the Citizen Foundation, he took part in the London Marathon in April 2023.
Before that, the maximum distance he had managed to cover was 14 kilometers — a marathon distance is three times longer. He had only 3 months to prepare.
“I often do things like this — suddenly. But I decided that I would run with the help of my character,” says the veteran. His mentor, Yuliia Koval, found him a track and field coach, Natalia Krushynska. They worked out via video chat.
Training for a marathon is an art. For example, an athlete has to plan how much to run during each training session, and how many kilometers to run in a week — for a beginner, it's 10-15 (now Roman runs up to 50 km a week).
Another question is how to run. Downhill, up the stairs, with acceleration, with the heel roll and high hip lift. Special exercises for muscle training and endurance development, etc. Special attention to a complex of vitamins and minerals. Plus, a swimming pool.
A person with a prosthesis has another problem during training — to make sure that the stump is not injured. For this purpose, there are also special warm-ups, stretches, and exercises.
“In London, I made all the mistakes that should never be made. For example, on a marathon course, you need to drink water regularly, starting from the 5th kilometer. I started drinking it at the 20th kilometer when I was almost fainting from dehydration.
You need to eat energy gels to constantly replenish your body's energy reserves. This is necessary from about the 15th kilometer, and I started eating them from the 39th kilometer. I thought: I didn't eat them during training — God knows how my body would react to them.
As a result, from the 39th kilometer, I could no longer run — I could only walk. I walked, drank water, and ate gels, and eventually, I felt better. At the 41st kilometer, I had the strength to run again. That is, out of 42 kilometers, I ran 40 in London, and walked two more.”
After the first race, my blood boiled and I wanted to run all 6 top marathons in the world. Along with the London marathon, I had to run New York, Tokyo, Chicago, Boston, and Berlin marathons.veteran Roman Kashpur
After London, it turned out that Roma had become a pioneer again: the Presidential Commissioner for Rehabilitation of Combatants told him that he had become the first Ukrainian veteran to complete a top marathon on a prosthesis.
The race in London paved the way for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., as well as the coveted race in New York.
The race in Washington was on October 29, and the one in New York was on November 5, 2023. This is a serious workload for anyone. But Roma again “used his character” — he went to both races.
Before going to the US, the marathon runner got a brand new running prosthesis and special orthopedic sneakers, which he had never had before. However, no one told Roma that a new prosthesis and sneakers at such a distance would be suicide, because his body had not yet gotten used to them, so they felt like a Spanish boot on his feet.
He ran the first 18 km in Washington normally, and then he started to feel the pain. Despite this, Roma forced himself to run another 6 km. Then he could barely walk. At the 30th kilometer, he was given the prosthesis he had used in London, and he managed to finish with it. In New York, he ran on his old “brace”. He even stocked up on painkillers, but he made it.
When I train and run, I forget about my injury and amputation. Real and imaginary limitations disappear — I become like everyone else.veteran Roman Kashpur
“I love the spirit of sporting unity with other people that arises on the course. I am convinced that sport is the most effective way of physical and psychological rehabilitation.
During the training, all your negativity and aggression remain in the gym. You get rid of them. And when you come out of the gym, you don't want to fight, you want to hug your wife and play with your kids. You start loving life,” says Roman Kashpur.
For his brothers-in-arms and sons
Roma wanted to do veteran sports, but he also wanted to serve in the army. In the end, he figured out how to satisfy both desires.
Now he is an active serviceman of the 808th separate regiment of the Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, holding a rear position. Formerly an intelligence officer, soldier Kashpur teaches guys how to fight, conducts information and patronage work, prepares for marathons, and motivates his fellows to lead a meaningful life.
He also became an ambassador for the Icelandic prosthetics manufacturer Ossur. Today, the company provides Roman with all types of prostheses and their components free of charge — now he has four branded feet for all occasions. He, in turn, advertises the company's products, helps to test them, and participates in seminars for Ukrainian prosthetists.
Unfortunately, many prosthetic companies in Ukraine learn from patients, and this is very bad for the guys.veteran Roman Kashpur
“The state does allocate funds for prosthetics, but there are very few highly qualified prosthetists in Ukraine. The demand for prostheses is constantly growing, so I am happy to be of service to our manufacturers and fellow soldiers in need of prosthetics,” explains Roma.
According to the soldier, after his injury, he lacked a person to call or text to talk about life with a prosthesis. So now he constantly encourages the guys to contact him and ask questions — about prostheses, training regimen, psychological rehabilitation, and communication.
“Maybe I'm adding more trouble to myself, but these questions need to be answered. Because I was looking for answers through my pain, and it's a hard path.”
To answer these questions, Roma even started writing a book. About war, trauma, life on a prosthesis, sports. He is writing it for his two young sons and his wife, without whom he would not have been able to overcome himself.
“There are moments that cannot be talked about or that one does not want to talk about. But you can write about them. I want to tell the truth as it was for me, not as it was invented by politicians or journalists.
To tell how I saw it, how I came to it, what I experienced — so in the book, I write my truth for my children. I am very lucky in my life — to have my family, and my friends, for events. I must have done something good in my life, or have yet to do if I am so lucky.”
Roma is going to Tokyo as an experienced man. He is going to run not “with the help of his character” but using strict calculation. He has tested his prosthesis and his running shoes and understands everything about water and gels. He knows how to save energy on the track, to “turn on” the power in the right place. He covered the distance in London in 5 hours and 53 minutes. In New York — in 5:54. In Tokyo, he wants to run faster. Let's keep our fingers crossed for Roma in all his future races.