Real Men of BAMFness: Sam Felsenfeld

"Operation Jack will be an attempt by Sam Felsenfeld to race at least one marathon a week in 2010 (61 total for the year) to generate attention that will raise funds and nationwide awareness for Train 4 Autism, an organization that works tirelessly to raise money for Autism charities." - OperationJack.org.

Running a marathon-a-week (well, at least one marathon a week, since 61 marathons is 9 more than Sam needs to run for his 1x/week quota) is BAMF enough as it is. But when you can do something like that, where the only other activity that you'll want to do is sleep, and do it all with the idea of raising money and awareness for something other than yourself, that's what makes you a real man of BAMFness.

But doing BAMF things is nothing new for Sam. "After breaking his neck in a swimming-pool accident when he was 16, he was lucky to have use of his legs. Later, after taking terrible care of himself in college, his weight soared to 261 pounds. A former smoker, Sam started walking less than five years ago. Walking turned into slow jogging, and eventually, slow jogging turned into his first marathon.

Now, he’s completed 70 marathons and four ultramarathons, and has 24 Boston qualifiers and a personal-best time of 3:00:05. He knows that if he was able to work hard enough to complete this transformation, he can work hard enough to run 61 marathons in Jack’s honor. And he knows that as tough as Operation Jack might be, it’s nothing compared to the daily grind Jack suffers through as he battles the nasty neurological disorder he was born with."

Bravo Sam. Train4Autism is lucky to have your support, and Jack is lucky to have you as his father.

SF, you are a BAMF.

CPO Sanchez On The Radio

CPO Tom Sanchez did the Competitor Radio show with Bob Babbitt & Paul Huddle. I think it's a wild story, but of course, I'm biased because that was my blood he mistook for transmission fluid and my neck into which he stuck his hand. It was an unbelievable moment to have Tom with me in Arizona. With my wife, my in-laws, and my parents there, it was only fitting that the newest of member of my family - Tom - was there as well. I wouldn't have been at that race - or anywhere else - if it wasn't for Tom. I will never be able to say, "Thank you!" enough. But I'll try.

You can listen to the show online or download the podcast to take with you on CompetitorRadio.Competitor.com.

Real Men of BAMFness: Jeff Glasbrenner

Jeff Glasbrenner of Little Rock, Arkansas, is a below-the-knee amputee who is doing something that has never been done before -- he is challenging himself to complete eight full “Ironman” competitions in eight months. Click to read the full article on FoxNews.com (shocking, I know, that I'm linking to Fox).

Jeff lost the lower part of one leg in a farming accident when he was eight. Since then, he's pushed the envelope on what a para-athlete can do. He's a a three-time paralympian, two time world champion, and the national record holder with a 63-27 double-double in the sport of wheelchair basketball. Looking for a new challenge, the multi-time Ironman finisher decided to undertake a quest to complete 1124.8 miles of Ironman racing in eight months. On one leg. My two good legs are very impressed. And afraid...

JG, you are a BAMF!

Happy Endings

Sometimes, there are happy endings. Thanks Adam Foxman & the Ventura County Star for sharing this one. Read the "finale" HERE.

Just under eight months later...

Real Men of BAMFness: Marc Herremans

Herber Krabel just did a short piece for Slowtwitch.com on Marc Herremans, one of the baddest BAMFs around. There's an awesome, awesome video from a new Johnny Walker ad campaign that tells Marc's remarkable story. The tag line for the ad campaign is, "When your reality changes, your dreams don’t have to." The ad is profound. I will admit it made me cry. The final caption sums it up perfectly, "Marc Herremans. Paralysed 2002. World Champion 2006."

MH, you are a BAMF.

Now go watch the video...

Swim. Bike. Run. Rock - and help fight the war on ALS

IRONBAND holiday single released on Blazeman Record Label with 100% of proceeds going to the Blazeman Foundation in support of ALS awareness and research

It's not often that something that started as a humorous side project intended to simply bring smiles to runners, cyclists, and triathletes evolves into something with a greater purpose. And frankly, despite our being involved in a few modest philanthropic efforts over the past couple of years, you've come to know us as a bunch of semi-musically inclined, middle-of-the pack triathletes who generally don't display a note of seriousness among the off-key notes in our music.

As luck would have it, an opportunity to use our music to help fight the war on ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease) fell into our laps this week and we're both humbled and excited to play a small part in the efforts of a fantastic organization...

Click HERE to read the rest on the IronBand site. Or buy the song on iTunes and help support the Blazeman Foundation.

Real Men of BAMFness: Jim Halley

Upon awakening from the surgery, a neurosurgeon began talking to me, saying things like, "losing use of your legs isn't the end of the world," and "you can still live a happy life from a wheelchair." My Marine Corps career and my life as I knew it seemed to be gone. The surgeon explained that I had shattered my spine in multiple places. Spine surgery was needed to repair the damage but I couldn't have the surgery until the fractured vertebrae had fully healed. A year later my spine was repaired enough to have the surgery and I underwent a 9 ½ surgery to put 12 rods, 14 screws, and 4 hooks into my spine to hold 7 vertebrae together (yes, I set off airport metal detectors).

And so ends - and begins - the remarkable story of the eight year USMC veteran Jim Halley. It was only two years into his career in the Marines, when a jump gone bad almost cost him both his career and his life. A strong wind blew another Marine underneath him, sucking the air out of his parachute. Jim dropped 120 feet - 12 stories - in 3.5 seconds. He didn't bounce. He hit. And hit hard. But it wasn't the end. The hardware in his spine meant that he couldn't really damage himself doing activities. His only limit was his willingness to suffer. How willing was he to suffer? Five months after the accident, he ran a 21:27 5km. But Jim says it best himself.

To this day, I wake up every morning with pain I will never be able to describe.

Every day I take more ibuprofen than I do water. Each night I struggle to find a position comfortable for my back (after 10 years, I've decided there isn't one). But most importantly, each day I train. I swim, bike, or run, I get a little stronger, a little better, and one day I will be back to where I was before. I'm not stronger or more courageous than other athletes on the race course; I was just given an extraordinary opportunity to demonstrate those qualities.

You can read the whole story HERE.

Yes, that's his spine...

JH, you are a BAMF!