Virginia Beach, Va. - NewsChannel 3 is excited to be a part of the Travis Manion Foundations' 9/11 Heroes Run to honor the fallen. The event takes place of the Virginia Beach SportsPlex this weekend.
Races are just one way the fallen are remembered. In the crossfit community, the greatest of heroes are honored with WODs or workouts of the day. One of those WODs is Manion. It is named for the Marine behind the Travis Manion Foundation.
"It is something that you start doing it and you think you are going to give up but when you are in the middle of it, you think that these guys gave everything they got so you are going to keep moving,” explains Jessica Fernandez. She and her husband own CrossFit Rife in Virginia Beach.
NewsChannel 3’s Bianca Martinez joined everyone at the Beach gym to take on the challenge. Jason Fernandez was one of Travis` classmates at the Naval Academy.
“He was a phenomenal athlete,” he says, “He was great wrestler, in great shape, just a fierce, fierce competitor.” However, Jason never thought ten years ago that he would be doing a memorial for one of his best friends.
This workout reflects Manion’s ultimate sacrifice. Jessica explains why it consists of seven rounds of 400 meter runs and twenty-nine squats, " The rep scheme symbolizes the day he was killed in Iraq: Four for April, seven rounds for the year and 29 for the date.”
Jason says Manion knew the dangers of deployment but was proud to serve. He shared his friend’s response when a family member asked him why he would go back to Iraq. Jason says, “His response on the spot was, ‘If not me than who?’"
Now the Travis Manion Foundation carries on that legacy.
If you would like to participate, click here to register.
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