This hero workout is in honor of my friend and classmate Capt. Mark “Pitbull” McDowell. Four took on the challenge and were rewarded with a sunrise for the ages. Here’s what we did:

– Run 1 Mile
– 5 Minute Plank
– 200 Calf Raises
– 300 LBCs
– Run 1 Mile
– 100 Muscle-ups
– 200 Merkins
– 300 Squats

Mark was a 4.25 GPA student, captain of the soccer team, and an all-around great young man. He was the guy you wanted to hate because he was good at everything. But once you got to know him, you learned that he was the type of guy you strived to be. When he graduated high school, he attended the Air Force Academy. Upon graduation in 2005, he completed Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, and Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. Captain McDowell completed the Basic Qualification Course – F-15E in May of 2008 and was assigned to the 336th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.

Mark’s plane went down in Afghanistan. He left behind a wife, loving family, and many friends. As his grandfather said at his service, “He was born to fly and he died doing what he loved.”

If Mark were here today, he would have been the guy crushing the workout from the front with a smile on his face. He would have been the guy to encourage the whole time.

Remember, we GET TO do this. Some others aren’t as blessed.

-IJ