A gifted runner raised in a remote Kenyan village, Marko Cheseto earned a scholarship to race for an American university and moved to Alaska in 2008. As his star rose on the track, Marko began to feel increasingly pressured and displaced, struggling with his own mental health. The struggle worsened when Marko’s cousin and teammate died by suicide in 2011. Later that year, Marko went for a run having taken too many antidepressants. He lost consciousness in the snow for 3 days. Somehow, he survived, but his frostbitten feet were soon amputated. From his hospital bed, Marko didn’t know if he would ever run again. In this episode of No Off-Season, Marko shares his harrowing story with Crisis Text Line’s Natalia Dayan, a licensed social worker and therapist. He explains why mental health care needs more cultural sensitivity, the importance of spreading a message of hope, and what he’s determined to achieve—beyond smashing records as a Para athlete—by sharing the most difficult details of his own experience.

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