Courage and ultra-endurance sport

In this paper the author explores to what extent the virtue of courage plays an important and perhaps decisive role in the achievements of ultra-endurance athletes. It is often opined that courage is the definitive personal quality that allows these athletes to conquer their fears in the face of risk and danger and carries them to success. The virtue of courage is more than resilience or mental toughness. Courage involves praiseworthy action in the pursuit of worthwhile ends. It involves striking a mean between cowardice and recklessness and acting in a way that promotes general human flourishing. Jones argues that ultra-endurance athletes can be courageous, but courage dissolves if success in the race trumps all other important goals and considerations. Sometimes quitting a race is the courageous thing to do.