Aaron Burros: Real Men Don’t Cry — Until They Have No Choice
Glow For Hope: Sparking Conversation on Mental Health
REAL MEN DON'T CRY — UNTIL THEY HAVE NO CHOICE
Men's mental health, trauma survival, PTSD, resilience, and what it really means to ask for help when the world tells you not to
Host: Kelly Poelker
Guest: Aaron Burros, The Running Servant
Category: Men's Mental Health · Trauma · PTSD · Resilience · Suicide Prevention
WHAT HAPPENS TO A MAN WHEN EVERYTHING IS TAKEN FROM HIM AT ONCE — AND NOBODY COMES TO HELP?
In this episode of the Glow For Hope: Sparking Conversation on Mental Health Podcast, host Kelly Poelker sits down with Aaron Burros — known to many as The Running Servant — an RRCA-certified transformational run coach, ultra-marathoner, keynote speaker, and author of Medal Monday.
Aaron's story begins long before running. It begins with a kid from Akron, Ohio who moved to Houston at ten years old, found his way through faith and Bible college, and then watched his health spiral to nearly 400 pounds before a doctor's warning changed everything. What followed was one of the most remarkable physical transformations in the running community — 178 pounds lost, and a growing passion for endurance athletics that would eventually be tested in ways he never imagined.
In November 2015, Aaron was shot five times at his workplace. What followed was years of physical pain, debilitating PTSD, isolation, and a mental health battle that nearly broke him — fought largely alone, in silence, the way men are taught to fight everything.
This is the story of what happened after. The crying spells that lasted two to four hours. The hallucinations. The ten days without sleep. Breaking down on the side of a Houston freeway and finally realizing — in his mother's words — that he wasn't Superman.
And then, in 2021, lacing up his shoes and running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 weeks to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital — with a bullet still lodged in his body — because running was the only thing that gave him back a reason to get up.
Released during Men's Mental Health Month, this episode is for every man who has been told to push through, suck it up, and carry it alone — and for everyone who loves one.
IN THIS EPISODE
* What the messages men receive about strength actually cost them over a lifetime
* How Aaron went from nearly 400 pounds to competitive ultra-marathoner — and what running gave him that nothing else could
* What surviving a violent workplace shooting actually looked like in the days, weeks, and years that followed
* What PTSD feels like from the inside — not the clinical definition, but the lived reality
* Why men are still not getting the mental health support they need — and why Aaron believes it's getting worse, not better
* The moment on the side of a Houston freeway when Aaron finally broke — and what his mother said that changed everything
* How the 50/50/50 challenge became his path back to himself
* What running with chronic physical pain taught him about perseverance that no finish line ever could
* What he wants every man who is quietly struggling to hear right now
POWERFUL MOMENTS FROM THE CONVERSATION
> "People don't cry at funerals because of who passed. They cry because it's the only acceptable place for a man to cry."
> "The mental and emotional pain — I cannot describe it to someone to where your soul is pained. The pain I experience physically is nowhere near the mental and emotional pain I experienced."
> "My mom said, you finally realize that you're not Superman, you're not invincible. And that was that whole thing — because all my life you're being told, real men don't cry."
> "I would rather feel this physical pain from the bullet than the emotional pain. And so in 2019, I went back to running."
> "Get help. Don't wait until you don't have a choice. People are going to make fun of you. But there will be a chosen few that are going to be there to tell you — you're not crazy."
ABOUT AARON BURROS
Aaron Burros is an RRCA-certified transformational run coach, ultra-marathoner, keynote speaker, and author based in Houston, Texas. Known publicly as The Running Servant, Aaron transformed his life by losing 178 pounds through running and went on to compete in endurance events across the country.
In 2021, Aaron completed his 50/50/50 challenge — 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 weeks — to raise awareness and funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He now uses his platform to speak openly about men's mental health, PTSD, trauma recovery, and the power of running as a tool for healing. His book Medal Monday tells the full story of that journey.
CONNECT WITH AARON BURROS
* Email: aaronburros@yahoo.com [aaronburros@yahoo.com]
* Instagram: @therunningservant [https://www.instagram.com/therunningservant/]
* Facebook: Aaron Burros [https://www.facebook.com/aaron.burros]
* Book — Medal Monday: Available on Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/Medal-Monday-Quest-Marathons-States/dp/B0BYRXP1H9/]
* Supporting Men's Mental Health: NoStigmas.org [https://nostigmas.org]
IF THIS EPISODE RESONATED WITH YOU
If you're carrying more than you're saying — or you know someone who is — please reach out to someone you trust. You don't have to wait until things fall apart to ask for support.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 in the United States to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Find Mental Health Support [https://glowforhopenfp.org/resources/mental-health-help/]
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The post Aaron Burros: Real Men Don’t Cry — Until They Have No Choice [https://glowforhopenfp.org/real-men-dont-cry-aaron-burros-ptsd-running/] first appeared on Glow For Hope | Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Awareness [https://glowforhopenfp.org].
