You Run – They See: How Special Operations Forces Soldier "Pikachu" Is Preparing for His First Marathon of Resilience After Being Wounded

For a Special Operations Forces soldier with the call sign "Pikachu," running has long since ceased to be just a sport. It’s not about stopwatches or medals, but about the endurance that saves lives in real combat.

This year, for safety reasons, the Kyiv Marathon of Resilience has changed its location and will take place on October 24–25 in Khmelnytskyi. However, the goal remains the same: “Pikachu” will run his first 42 kilometers to raise funds for thermal imaging cameras for his unit.

His own journey began much earlier: at a soccer academy, during grueling Special Operations Forces (SSO) selection, in Avdiivka, and on combat missions, where he had to carry two backpacks at once and evacuate the wounded. Channel 24 tells “Pikachu’s” story.

From Childhood Dreams to War

He received his call sign during military training. During training exercises, where he had to move quickly and shoot on the move, the soldier moved his feet so nimbly that his comrades compared him to a famous character from the Pokémon cartoon. That’s how "Pikachu" came to be.

Photo – “Pikachu’s” personal archive

Before the full-scale invasion, he dreamed of playing professional soccer. Starting at age 13, he trained at an academy, where his main strength was his speed.

“I saw nothing but soccer. It was my childhood dream. I had very good results over short distances. Thanks to my speed, I was good at breaking down the flanks, so I had a real shot at it,” recalls the Special Operations Forces soldier.

Unfortunately, an injury cut short his athletic career. Later came school, work, and entirely different plans. But on February 24, 2022, all that came to an end. "Pikachu" doesn’t call his decision to join the military an act of heroism, but rather a result of his upbringing:

It’s connected to national consciousness and a sense of self within this society. I’ve been in “Plast” since I was nine. There, they teach you not only how to hike in the mountains or build a fire, but also how to understand your country and take responsibility for it. I knew I had to go fight. For me, it wasn’t even a question of whether to do something else.

Pikachu didn’t join the Special Operations Forces right away. After the full-scale war began, he spent several months preparing for the selection process: he ran before work, swam, studied the different units, and looked for a place where he would be most useful. There were unsuccessful interviews, rejections, and disappointments. But he kept training and eventually passed one of the most difficult selection processes.

He went to the unit intending to become a sapper. However, after training, he had a brief conversation with his future commander, whose call sign was “Smith”:

I told him, “I want to be an engineer.” And he looked at me and said, “We can consider that, but I can see in your eyes that you’re a medic. There’s no need to even discuss it.” I didn’t argue. I thought: if the commander sees me as a medic, he knows best.

“Pikachu” completed medical training, studied abroad, and ended up in a special operations unit as a combat medic.

A combat medic in the Special Operations Forces isn’t someone who sits in the back waiting for the wounded. You move with the team, clear positions, and carry out the same tasks as everyone else. It’s just that if something happens – you become the medic. “I had an assault backpack, a medical backpack, and a stretcher. Basically, I was carrying two backpacks at once,” says “Pikachu.”

Sports have been a part of “Pikachu’s” life since childhood. But the war completely changed his view of physical training. When you’re carrying a weapon, two backpacks, and the responsibility for your comrades’ lives, endurance ceases to be an advantage – it becomes a prerequisite for survival.

I saw “muscleheads” and “big guys” in the war who carried the same backpack as I did and couldn’t even make it a third of the way. And when you have to run across open terrain, between trees, with drones flying overhead, you really have to run. You’re wearing body armor, carrying a backpack and a weapon. You have to run fast. Because it’s your life,” says “Pikachu.”

“I was born again”

Avdiivka was “Pikachu’s” first major deployment.

We arrived there when the city was already effectively under a semi-encirclement. The intensity of the fire was insane. Those were my first combat missions, and back then I was just thanking God that I made it out of there at all,” recalls the Special Operations Forces soldier.

He remembers one incident from those days particularly clearly. The group entered a house, unloaded their gear, and began setting up their position. A few minutes later, the enemy spotted them:

A drone flew into the house, got caught on the window, and fell right at our feet. It was truly terrifying... It fell but didn’t detonate – it simply didn’t have enough impact force when it hit the ground. If it had exploded, neither we nor the house would be here anymore. That moment, when it was lying right in front of you… That’s when I realized I’d been given a second chance at life.

Avdiivka was just the beginning. Ahead lay new rotations, dozens of combat missions, and a gradual coming of age in war. Over time, the combat medic “Pikachu” became the group’s deputy commander, and with that position came greater responsibility.

In August of this year, during one of the fiercest battles, the enemy threw a grenade right at the group:

I just felt a sudden, searing pain. I immediately said, “I’m number three hundred.” The commander ordered me to assess my condition. I checked my arms, looked at the wounds, saw blood, but nothing critical. I waited a minute, checked again: the bleeding wasn’t getting worse, so I just kept working.

“Pikachu” sustained wounds to his hands and buttock. Despite this, the group fully completed its mission and successfully evacuated. A few small pieces of shrapnel still remain in his body, but he speaks of his injuries with restraint, without unnecessary drama:

I was actually very lucky. To have only a few small pieces of shrapnel after three years of war – that’s a stroke of luck. Just a week after being discharged from the hospital, I went for my first run, and now I’m practically back to the same physical shape I was in before the injury.

During the war, “Pikachu” became fully convinced: running begins where comfort ends. It’s no longer about aesthetics or sports, but about a basic survival skill. The body and brain must memorize this exertion before they find themselves in a critical situation.

Photo – “Pikachu’s” personal archive

“Run to Survive”: Why Endurance Is Needed Not Only on the Front Lines

Why run? So that your brain retains a memory of this exhaustion. You’ve run a half-marathon, and then you find yourself having to run 400 meters in body armor, with a backpack and a weapon. And at that moment, you thank yourself for having trained,” says “Pikachu.”

Photo: “Pikachu’s” personal archive

That’s exactly why the soldier is convinced: running is necessary for everyone, not just the military:

Even from a purely practical standpoint, people should run regularly. You have to be prepared for the fact that life can change abruptly. No one knows what tomorrow will bring. But when your body and mind have already been through such challenges, it’s much easier to adapt to any circumstances.

However, running provides more than just physical endurance. On long runs, “Pikachu” finds time for thoughts that he simply doesn’t have the energy for in his daily routine:

When you run, you have the chance to analyze problems or, conversely, to distance yourself from them. There’s no point in wearing yourself out with thoughts about things you can’t change. You can’t save everyone and everything. You have to give something back to this life, not just take from it.

The soldier already has two half-marathons under his belt, and the longest running distance lies ahead.

“I want to prove to myself that I can do this. It’s a test of my health, character, and my own limits. I’ve never run this many kilometers in a row before, so for me, this is a real challenge,” says the soldier.

The first 42 kilometers will be a personal test for him. But this time, he’s taking the starting line not just for his own goal: his run is meant to provide real help to those who continue their own marathon on the front lines.

“These Are Your Eyes in the Dark”: Why Special Forces Need Thermal Imaging Devices

For “Pikachu,” it doesn’t matter whether he runs alone or among thousands of people… The soldier knows full well why this technology is the difference between life and a fatal mistake:

These are your eyes at night. Your eyes in the twilight and in thick fog. Even if the enemy is camouflaged, lying in cover, or not moving, you can see their thermal silhouette. For us, this is a huge advantage: we see the enemy before they see us.

For special forces operatives, a thermal imager is just as essential a tool as a weapon, communications equipment, or a medical kit. This is especially true during nighttime operations or in dense forests, where human vision is powerless.

Photo – “Pikachu’s” personal archive

“If visibility is only 10–20 meters, a thermal imager lets you spot what’s hidden from view. And that means there’s a chance to detect the threat first and return from the mission alive,” says the veteran.

“Pikachu” recalls the initial sensation of spotting the enemy through the scope:

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel anything. When you see the enemy in your sights, your heart starts beating much faster. You see him, but you don’t know if he sees you. At that moment, the most important thing is to keep a cool head. You remind yourself that you trained for exactly this, and you just do your job.

"We’re all going through this together"

“Pikachu” is convinced that today, more than ever, it’s important for Ukrainians to stay connected with one another and not lose that sense of community:

We’re all in the same boat right now. Let this marathon remind us that we are one. No matter how much we might want to divide society into civilians, military personnel, or veterans, we’re still covering this long distance together.

Every registration, every bib number, and every kilometer run can turn into support for those who go out on combat missions every day. It doesn’t matter where exactly you’re running: through the streets of your hometown, at a stadium, or during an online race. Run for yourself – for your health, strength, and personal challenges. And for those who are currently covering very different kilometers – in the forest at night, under fire, and on combat missions. Because…

You run – they see.