Team BadAss: Eric Harr

A long time ago, in a blog far, far away, I named professional athletes to Team BadAss. These are the professional athletes that embody what a professional athlete should be.

Today, I'll just do a quick intro of one the members of Team BadAss Eric Harr:Eric Harr was a guy who had fallen out of shape, was overweight, and working at a law firm in the Virgin Islands. He decided to sign up for a triathlon to help get him back into shape and ended up doing pretty well (finishing ahead of some pros).

Harr decided he was going to do something that few ever have the courage to do, follow a big dream. He decided, after just one race, that he was going to become a pro. He left his work, trained, ate well, trained some more, and by the end of his first year as a "pro" triathlete he was ranked #6 in the world.

Since then Eric Harr has continued racing, reported health segments on television, written a few books, given a ton back to charity, started his own online magazine, and raised awareness for global poverty and national obesity.

Here's a guy who had the balls, yes I said it, the balls to leave his profession for something many of us can only dream of. Granted, he can probably thank genetics a little, but still. How many of us have dreams that go un-pursued?

He dreamed big, made it, and is giving back.

Four years ago when I decided to dream big and run a marathon with no previous running experience, I bought Eric Harr's The Portable Personal Trainer. It's a small pocket sized book with health and fitness tips. Now that I'm training for another marathon and raising money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, I pulled out the book and flipped through it.

The first tip is to not only dream big, dream huge! "It's time to demand more from your body," says Harr on page 11.

Done!

(I think that means that I should go for a run today...)