Remember the Blazeman...Ironman's Braveheart
That link didn't work for me...the correct link is... http://escapefromalcatraztriathlon.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html
P.S. I sorta get close to crying when I watch things about him... :'(
Awesome dude. You can check out some fundraising spins for this www.spinforals.com Know too many people affected by this.
IMO, the John Blais story epitomizes why most age groupers take on the challenge of ironman, or any endurance sport in general. Deep down everyone has their motivation (personal well being, the rush of a challenge, etc.) but I think that we all want to be a hero to somebody - and not in a selfish way. If you compete in any endurance race and inspire at least one other person to do something better for themself or those around them, then you have achieved that goal. Personally, I saw these stories of ordinary people achieving extraordinary goals, and felt compelled to ask myself, "What's your excuse? Why aren't you doing more?" Family, friends, work, fitness (or lack thereof) ... these were not excuses, but rather reasons for taking on the challenge. Inspire your family and friends to succeed by achieving extraordinary goals. Apply your training/racing mentality to work and you'll probably become more successful. If you train for months but fall short on race day, it's certainly not a loss. Chances are, you're in substantially better shape than when you started. John Blais is an inspiration because he set his goals, understood the challenges ahead of him, and rolled across the finish line - just as he predicted.
Absolutely amazing. I had never heard about Jon Blais or seen this story before. It gave me chills, made me a little choked up, but also gave me hope (not just for competing, but in general). Well done allswede for posting this initially and thank you for giving me the opportunity to see this story. It will stick with me for a long time.
Thank you all for remembering and being inspired by our son Jon. He truly was a remarkable son, brother and friend.
Please visit his foundation's website-The Blazeman Foundation for ALS which is www.waronals.com
We need to find at least a treatment for thid horrific disease!
Mary Ann
Jon's mom
Mary Ann Blais
Mary Ann -- Thank you for sharing your son with us. We won't forget him, or the sadness of ALS.
Miles of Life --- Powered by MarkyV
For those of you who don't have access to see the 2006 KONA, they have it on youtube. It has Jon in there... a year after he did KONA. Here's the link to the first video http://youtube.com/watch?v=xEU2fFpIltQ
If you have trouble finding part 2 or 3 or 4 etc. just copy the title of the video you just watched and paste it into the youtube search thing and replace the number of the one that you just watched with the number that comes after it (and realize that I think they mispelled Hawaii in the title of all of those vids so don't correct that... just leave it like they have it... "Hawai") So for example if you just watched part 2 and don't see part three just put in Ironman Hawai 2006 (3) and it should come up.





A truly inspirational guy. If you've never heard of him, check this video clip below.
Jon Blais - Ironman's Brave Heart