earlier this summer in excessive heat. Going up a hill at 25 miles, he got off his bike and dove into the bushes. After resting there, he got back on and made up his mind he would finish. "The last 20 miles, I told myself, 'I will finish this even if they have to scrape me off the pavement."' Espinoza said. "When I made it, I almost cried from the pain and the joy. "Almost as painful is Espinoza's jujutsu class. He said he has suffered broken ribs and a broken rotator cuff. Two weeks ago, he broke his nose. "An Iranian wrestled me down and walked on my face," he said. That seems to be the only way to get Espinoza down. He recently completed his paramedic training and also works at Cook Children's Hospital. He said he gets four or five hours of sleep per night. But that's plenty enough rest to push him through his 'round-the-clock lifestyle. Expect him soon to be driving past your street in an ambulance, flying over it in a Care-flight helicopter and running through it in a marathon. "It's extreme sport, but I've always wanted to run one," Espinoza said. "People say, 'No way. You're crazy'. But I am going to do it."
Greg Lautenslager is a Dallas-based free-lance writer.
He trained to march with troops in battle and take care of those who have been wounded. One of his first tests of will came during survival training near Bridgeport, Calif. There, Espinoza ate a gourmet of worms, crickets and ants. "They're good," he said. "They taste like corn nuts." Espinoza spent much time on ships. He served as a medic and traveled the oceans, taking care of sick soldiers who often were transported off the ship on a helicopter. Espinoza was placed with a Marine Corps unit during the Iraqi War. His term there was exhausting – but nowhere near as excruciating as the Bridgeport Bull Ride 62-miler he entered
