This guy is a badass

I would be remiss if I didn't post this article, interestingly enough passed along to me by today's guest poster.

Former Marine Sgt. Jeremy Soles made history on Sunday when he set a Guinness World Record for running the entire 26.2-mile Marine Corps marathon while wearing a gas mask in an unofficial time of 4 hours, 29 minutes and 2 seconds.

Soles, founder of the nonprofit group Team X-T.R.E.M.E., dedicated his achievement to Marine Cpl. John Michael Peck, who suffered traumatic brain injury in Iraq in 2007 but insisted on returning to combat, only to lose both arms and legs in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan in May.

"He embodies everything that Team X-T.R.E.M.E is about: Overcoming mental and physical obstacles," Soles said in a phone interview on Monday.

Sunday's event was the culmination of two years of conditioning and training. The gas mask restricts his breathing by about 25 percent, and all the gear associated with the mask weighs 15 pounds.

Man. Running a marathon is hard enough (the two big toenails I lost still haven't entirely grown back), and doing it with added impediments is just nuts. I took an enormous pride hit during the Boston Marathon when I couldn't manage to keep up with the guy in the Cat in the Hat suit (seriously, that dude was hardcore), but I couldn't help but be impressed.

But running with a gas mask on? That's taking it next level. Bravo, man.


[Military.com]