Running is part physical, part mental. And the longer the distance, the more mental
it gets.
The simplest mental exercise I know is reading books, in particular,
books about running. Thru the years, I
have been blessed to have accumulated a dozen or so of these books, ranging from the
international bestseller "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougal to the thought-provoking "Eat & Run" by ultra
superstar Scot Jurek. Some how to books
like "Boston Marathon: How to Qualify" by Jeff Galloway and Runner’s World "Big
Book of Marathon and Half-Marathon Training."
Now add to this list "Badass Ultimate Death Match" by Ben
Thompson.
Say what?
A compendium of skull-crushing true stories of glory and
honor in the battlefield in ancient times (B. C. circa) to modern warfare era. The book deals with
well-known historical figures like
Richard the Lion Hearted and Cyrus the Great, but has a lot of ink for some
lesser-known heroes like the Mapuche chieftain Caupolican, the deadshot Russian
sniper Jacob Pavlov and Israeli tanker par excellent Zvika Greengold. What
these men-of-war have in common is that they all have been significant and
defining players in some "badass" military engagements in history.
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| Red Army’s Pavlov |
What makes a "badass" battle?
The author Ben Thompson, founder and administrator of the
website www.badassoftheweek.com, enumerates 3 key elements that make any confrontation "badass" : high stakes, impossible odds and blaze of
glory.
Talk of glory and impossible odds can’t help but motivate
runners to go for those ridiculous amount of mileage we encounter in ultra
running. This is the rationale why I
procured (at a 20% discount from Fully Booked) and added "Badass Ultimate Death Match" to my running
book collection.
Perhaps someday, I can upgrade and rebel yell "Old Man my
Badass". 
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