{"id":264898,"date":"2026-01-26T19:55:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T18:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/?p=264898"},"modified":"2026-01-26T19:55:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T18:55:57","slug":"upcoming-indie-film-spotlights-man-running-500-miles-on-psychedelics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/nl\/blog\/upcoming-indie-film-spotlights-man-running-500-miles-on-psychedelics\/","title":{"rendered":"Upcoming Indie Film Spotlights Man Running 500 Miles on Psychedelics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Somewhere on a quiet stretch of road near Olathe, Colorado, Dante Liberato sat down and wondered if he had finally gone too far.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By that point, he had already run more than 240 miles. His legs were wrecked, his mind was foggy, and the desert stretched endlessly ahead. Whether it was exhaustion, emotion, or the subtle influence of psychedelics, something forced him to stop.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt absolutely miserable in that moment,\u201d<\/em> Liberato recalled later. \u201cI was realizing how much further I had to go, and how much longer it was going to take.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This moment \u2014 raw, human, and unfiltered \u2014 sits at the heart of Dante<\/em>, a forthcoming documentary that follows Liberato as he runs 500 miles from Colorado Springs to Moab in just 11 days while experimenting with psychedelic microdosing. But the film isn\u2019t really about running. And it isn’t necessarily about drugs either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s about transformation. About listening to the body. About discovering what happens when you stop running away<\/em> from yourself \u2014 and start running toward<\/em> something deeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo by Tom Gainor on Unsplash<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From Cage Fighter to Long-Distance Runner<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dante Liberato didn\u2019t grow up dreaming of ultramarathons. For years, his world revolved around combat sports. He was a professional mixed-martial-arts fighter with ambitions of stepping into the UFC octagon. Pain was normal. Violence was the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, in 2021, everything collapsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A ruptured quadricep during a fight ended his career, adding to a long list of serious injuries that already included broken bones and a fractured spine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was the last of a bunch of serious injuries,\u201d <\/em>Liberato said. \u201cI had broken my spine, broken arms and legs \u2014 I\u2019d been through it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, his personal life was unraveling. An unhealthy relationship, a heavy drinking habit, and an identity built entirely around fighting left him unmoored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One evening, almost by accident, he ran home from a liquor store. Then he did it again. And again. Something clicked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to prove to myself that I was more than a fighter,\u201d <\/em>zei hij.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running became a way out. Not just physically, but psychologically. It offered solitude instead of aggression, endurance instead of dominance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psychedelics as Tools, Not Answers<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

During this transition, Liberato began working with a psychotherapist who introduced him to MDMA-assisted therapy. The experience cracked something open. Other psychedelic substances followed, always in therapeutic or intentional settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was a fighter, I was consumed by the thought of hurting people,\u201d <\/em>zei hij. \u201cIf I was going to become a better human being, I was going to need to find a new way of thinking.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This perspective is key to understanding both the run and the documentary. Psychedelics weren\u2019t magic shortcuts. They didn\u2019t erase pain or hand over enlightenment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy biggest takeaway is that none of these medicines will give you the answers to your problems,\u201d <\/em>Liberato said. \u201cYou have to first go through a process internally of creating a healthy relationship with your environment and your community.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That philosophy now underpins his work. He runs a Manitou Springs gym called The Den<\/em>, blending MMA training with mindfulness and emotional awareness \u2014 a place some locals affectionately call the \u201chippy gym.\u201d <\/em>He also founded Couchmilk<\/a><\/em>, a platform exploring psychedelic-informed recovery and performance for athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Spark That Lit the Fuse<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The idea for the 500-mile run was born during the 2024 Silverheels Trail Run, a 100-mile race in Breckenridge. Around mile 85, Liberato was broken. A friend offered him a psychedelic dose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shift was dramatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt brought me out of this hole,\u201d <\/em>zei hij. \u201cBy the finish I really wanted to keep running.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That moment planted a question that wouldn\u2019t let go: What role could psychedelics play in endurance, focus, and emotional resilience over long distances?<\/em> Not in theory \u2014 but in lived experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To explore it, Liberato dreamed up a bold experiment: run nearly 50 miles a day, every day, for almost two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter the Camera<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Around the same time, filmmaker Fernando Gonzalez crossed paths with Liberato at a retreat center. Gonzalez was searching for a subject to anchor his first major film \u2014 someone honest, complex, and willing to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was very driven and had this positive energy that made you want to work with him,\u201d <\/em>Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What followed was more than a year of filming: training runs, therapy sessions, home life, doubt, ambition, vulnerability. When Liberato finally set off in October 2025, Gonzalez and his crew followed \u2014 along with nurses, therapists, pacers, and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was going to do something that was supposed to be intimate and personal,\u201d <\/em>Gonzalez said. \u201cAnd I hijacked it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n