MAPPA
DEL SITO |
||||
Home |
Terra |
Aria |
Acqua |
Glossario |
David
Goggins |
B.A.S.E.
Jumping - storia |
Alex
Bellini |
||
About
me |
La
tuta alare |
All-one
2008 |
||
An
interview |
I
records con la tuta alare |
Incontri
nell'Oceano |
||
Patrick
de Gayardon |
Fidippide (Atene, 12 agosto 490 a.c.) è
stato un militare
greco antico, noto per essere stato un leggendario corridore.
La leggenda narra che Milziade, a capo degli eserciti di Atene, dopo la
vittoria sui persiani nellabattaglia di Maratona (490 a.C.), incaricò
Fidippide di recare la buona notizia ad Atene; la distanza tra le città
di Maratona ed Atene è di circa 42 km e Fidippide percorse l'intero
tragitto di corsa senza mai fermarsi; dopo aver gridato l'annuncio
della vittoria di Atene sui Persiani, gridando "Νενικήκαμεν"
(Nenikékamen, "abbiamo vinto"), l'araldo crollò al suolo morto,
stremato dallo sforzo.
David Goggins, un Navy SEAL che ha prestato servizio in Afganistan è un corridore Ultramarathon Dopo aver visto diversi dei suoi amici morire in guerra Goggins ha iniziato a fare "delle corse sulla lunga distanza" per raccogliere fondi. Goggins ha partecipato alla gara di 24 ore a San Diego ed è stato in grado di eseguire 100 miglia in meno di 19 ore, nonostante non avesse mai corso una maratona prima. Da allora, Goggins ha partecipato a diverse gare sulla lunga percorrenza come la Maratona di Las Vegas e il Badwater 135 Miler. Nel novembre del 2008, Goggins aveva guadagnato 200.000 dollari per le famiglie dei soldati. Nel 2008 è stato nominato un Eroe "di corsa" di Runner's World.
I’m nobody special.
Let’s be perfectly clear…I don’t like to run. I don’t like to swim. I
don’t like to bike. I do this to raise money for the
children of soldiers killed in combat.
I joined the military over 13 years ago to push my limits. When I first
joined, I couldn’t run down to the mailbox. I weighed 290lbs.
The guy at the recruiting office looked at me like I didn’t have a
chance.
He was very wrong. I became a Navy Seal.
Well,after 9/11 hit, I lost some buddies in a mission that went bad in
Afghanistan. I vowed to do something for the children of those fallen
soldiers. I started looking into ways to raise money for them.
I really didn’t think selling lemonade on the street corner would work,
so I went online and Googled the 10 hardest things to do in the world.
That led me to enter the worlds toughest endurance races – I figured if I experienced some serious physical pain it would inspire people to get interested and donate some money. Someone told me about this ultra marathon race in Death Valley called “Badwater” (a 135 mile race in 120 degree heat). I didn’t even know what an ultra marathon was.
So, I
called up the race director of Badwater to see if he let me in. He
asked me how many 100 mile runs I had done. I said, “None”. Then he
asked how many marathons I had done;“None”, I said.
He said I had to have at least one ultra marathon under my belt before
he could consider letting me in. Long story short, I got that ultra
marathon under my belt and haven’t stopped running since.
I know what it’s like to run 203 miles with busted-up feet. I know what
it’s like to be alone three miles out in the freezing ocean in the
middle of the night. I know what it’s like to bike 500 miles
non-stop.I’m not scared of extreme pain. I’m
nobody
special, but I refuse to say the words: “I can’t”.
With the Special
Ops Warrior
Foundation's help, we put 266 kids through college last year.
And
that's what keeps me going. Like I said, I don't like running. I don't
like biking. I don’t like swimming. I do it to raise money. But, now
that I'm in this sport I want to see how far I can push myself. What
makes me tick is that pain you feel when you do these ultramarathons. I
can take a lot of pain.
Show no weakness,
Goggins
ST:
You start your training runs in the
wee hours of the AM?
David:
Here's the thing. I don't like doing this. I don't like to
run, but it's one of the ways I can find out who I am in life. I can't
find out who David Goggins is by watching Sunday Night Football. I need
to set the bar high and then try to meet it. The only way I can that is
to do ridiculous things at the most ridiculous times. When I'm really
tired and want to sleep, that's when I go out there and do it.
ST: And you
(to Liza,David's wife),you don't mind it?
If he can run it, I can drive it.
David: It takes a
very supportive wife.
ST: What did
you think of Captain
Duncan Smith’s idea to parachute and then race?
David: I was
a support guy out here last year. I thought it was a
cool idea but I never thought it would happen. I just thought it was a
bunch of guys talking. Now that it's here, there are a lot of logistics
involved in this.
There is a lot of timing. You have to jump out right before the race
and get back to shore, make sure timing chips are working, making sure
all of your gear is on. Then to get back to the starting line and then
start going. I think it's a pretty neat idea, all in all, it's a pretty
neat idea.
ST:How
do you balance training for
these
endurance events with your professional SEAL career where your team is
counting on you?
David: For
me, when I'm going through my team workouts, it's hard
on the body, because going through the normal SEAL training is really
hard on the body. But, I'm the kind of person who believes there are 24
hours in the day so if you miss training, it's all on you. You may miss
an hour or two of sleep but then you can get in an hour or two of
training.
I wake up at 3 o'clock in the morning because I have to work by a
certain time. I judge my workouts so they fit around my work schedule.
I have to be to work at 7 o'clock so what happens is I wake up with
enough time to get in my morning run, then ride my bike into work - a
25-mile ride one way. To get all that stuff in I need at least a four
hour window.
When I get to work, the worse case scenario is I can't do anything
else that day. No run at lunch time, but I know that when work is over
I'm going to ride my bike back home.
ST: What
does work consist of for you?
David: Right
now I'm more at the instructional level. I'm doing
instruction type duties. I'm going around and doing a lot of mentoring
for younger kids. I'm flying a lot now, going around and going to
schools and telling people what it's like to be, not only a Navy SEAL,
but to be healthy in life. With obesity in American right now, I'm
getting out there and expressing to these kids what it means to live a
healthy lifestyle.
ST: Is there
a beneficiary you are working with?
David: For
me right now, I'm raising money for all Special
Operation units and branches. If you're a Ranger, if you're a Green
Beret, if you're a SEAL, I'm just trying to raise money for your
family. Being that I went through Ranger school (Ed note: Goggins
graduated Ranger school as the Honor Man) and I was in the Air Force
and now I'm a SEAL, I've been through all of them and I want to give
back.
As far as the obesity thing goes, I'm hoping that maybe someone
hears my story about weighing 280 pounds and now I weigh 185, and maybe
that will touch someone's life for them to think if that guy can do it,
maybe I can too.
On Saturday, October 11th, Petty Officer David Goggins, Commander
Keith Davids, and Captain Duncan Smith parachuted out of the C-130
(bird) and into Kailua-Kona Bay only moments before the professional
men and women's race began.
All three men landed successfully and completed the first ever
transition 0 (parachute to swim) and went on to complete the 30th
anniversary Ironman Hawaii. Although they competed separately, Goggins
and Davids completed the event in 11 hours and 24 minutes, and crossed
the finish line together. Smith completed the parachute, then
established a perimeter to ensure the other two men completed their
jumps safely and successfully.
To learn more about Special Operations Warrior Foundation, or to make a donation for the children of military Special Operations personnel who were killed on a mission or training accident, please visit: specialops.org. For more information on Goggins, go to his personal website.