For 10 years, haunted by the memory of 29 Marine comrades who fought with him in Iraq and didn’t make it home, Mike Ergo numbed his sorrow with drugs and alcohol, hoping that each time he passed out drunk, it would help him to forget.

Ever since he kicked his addictions five years ago and decided to channel his frustrations into competing in Ironman contests, “I feel like a new person with a sense of purpose.”

“When I’m running, I can feel the presence of the friends I lost, and not just in a metaphorical sense,” he says. “Several times, I’ve had the profound spiritual experience of feeling them running alongside me. I used to feel sadness, but now I’m overcome with gratitude and joy.”

Ergo, who was invited to compete in the Ironman championship as an ambassador athlete after he did well in two other competitions, says he’ll be thinking of his “lost brothers” this weekend when he swims for nearly two-and-a-half miles, runs 26 miles and bikes for 112 miles on the Big Island of Hawaii with more than 2,400 other athletes.

Instead of emptying a bottle of whiskey or vodka, Ergo, who today works as a social worker for the Veteran’s Administration, now thinks about his comrades while wearing a jersey covered with their names when training and competing in Ironman events. He also writes a blog about his newfound passion and is raising funds through the Sentinels of Freedom Foundation to help severely wounded veterans.

Soundtracks:
A Way Of Life - Hans Zimmer
Music to Rule the Universe - The Immortalist - Secession Studios

Speakers: Mike Ergo, TD Jakes
Videography: 2017 NBC Ironman World Championship

Motivation Video by Unger Motivation
Website: www.ungermotivation.com
Facebook page:   / ungermotivation  

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