# GoRuck Challenge



## dknob (Nov 21, 2011)

I did this event Saturday in Tampa. 26 + miles, 45+ pound assault pack (not a ruck sack, so no frame for your precious backs), roughly 25-30 people per class conducting time based events while doing stuff in between such as Log PT, getting wet and sandy in the ocean/river/lake, urban land navigation, and expect to carry 50 pound objects for miles on in. For us it was 12 huge stones weighing between 50-70 pounds.

Hardest thing ive done since I left the Army. Led by former SF shooters. Our instructor Brian was former 10th Group and current 19th Group.

If you want to see if you can survive a SOF selection course. I highly recommend doing a GoRuck Challenge. If at anytime you feel that you can't do that day of events over and over again. Then you don't have what it takes.

www.goruckchallenge.com
Check to see when they roll by your town.

If you are looking to go into SOF and GoRuck rolls by and you decide not to do it; fuck you.

Take care.


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## x SF med (Nov 21, 2011)

Ruck you.   :-"

Sounds like a good event...  but you'd think the heavy object would be Casey Anthony on a stretcher...


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## LibraryLady (Nov 21, 2011)

x SF med said:


> Ruck you. :-"
> 
> Sounds like a good event... but you'd think the heavy object would be Casey Anthony on a stretcher...


 
Yo Troll.  Look on the website - next August it will be in your neighborhood.  

LL


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## TB1077 (Nov 21, 2011)

dknob said:


> I did this event Saturday in Tampa. 26 + miles, 45+ pound assault pack (not a ruck sack, so no frame for your precious backs), roughly 25-30 people per class conducting time based events while doing stuff in between such as Log PT, getting wet and sandy in the ocean/river/lake, urban land navigation, and expect to carry 50 pound objects for miles on in. For us it was 12 huge stones weighing between 50-70 pounds.


 
Did you purchase one of their rucks or just use one that they supplied for the day?  Also, did you wear boots or trail shoes?

Thanks for the referral!


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## lancero (Nov 21, 2011)

Looks like fun


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## Tropicana98 (Nov 21, 2011)

I checked the schedule...won't be in my neck of the woods till after I ship out


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## fox1371 (Nov 21, 2011)

They'll be in my area come December.  I'm just not sure if I'll be CONUS or not.  Looks like fun though.


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## dknob (Nov 21, 2011)

TB1077 said:


> Did you purchase one of their rucks or just use one that they supplied for the day? Also, did you wear boots or trail shoes?
> 
> Thanks for the referral!


no i just used the free one for the day. and i used running shoes


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## dknob (Nov 21, 2011)

I may have been the only one who had fun that day. but it was still a suck fest - I had to carry so much extra weight because of the weaklings. Everybody called me the MVP of the group. It felt good to know that I still got it.


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## Dillinger (Nov 22, 2011)

Is it wrong of me to think of this as an entertaining way to spend a bit of leave? I'm definitely going to sign up after I'm stateside. Maybe I can con some friends into signing up as well.

Does anyone have any experience with or an opinion of their GR1/GR2 packs? Durability, comfort, ect? (lookin' at you dknob) I'm inclined to believe they're honest about the quality of their product, but I'd still like to hear it from a third party with an unbiased perspective.

-----
Edit: Corrected the names of the packs.


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## dknob (Nov 22, 2011)

they are not comfortable at all, I got stuck with the Echo Pack.. which is incredibly tiny. Half the size of an assault pack with 6 bricks in it. Kind of unbearable to wear at 45+ pounds. When I got to the line to pick up my free pack to use for the day - the instructor looked at the Echo (I was the only one to get stuck with it) and said "wow you're fucked".

They are definitely rock solid and wont tear or rip (we put them through some serious abuse)... for 6 miles he didnt allow us to wear them on our shoulders. So we carried them anyway possible by like the handles or webbing, etc. And nothing ripped.

I would never buy one for the prices they charge.

I was talking to the instructor one on one for a little while at the end of it and he said GRC would be a "really bad day during SFAS".

Our challenge culminated at MacDill at the SOF Memorial. Very touching and I've never been there, saw many familiar names on the wall.

We had a lot of military guys - a few Marines, some former Active Duty guys from the Army and they were all sucking wind.


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## Dillinger (Nov 22, 2011)

That's unfortunate about the comfort though, you'd think for such a steep price they would've done something about that.  Although, six bricks digging into you might prevent anything from being enjoyable.  Were you able to wrap the bricks up in anything or were they just flopping around in the bag (provided they had room to flop at all)? Gotta love how the instructor was nice and blunt about it though.  Kudos to him for not sugar coating it.  I think I would've been legitimately pissed if he blew smoke up my ass about the situation before hand. 

All in all, sounds like a good time though.  I'm definitely going to check this out when it comes to my area (VA/NC).  I'm anxious to see first hand how bad this is going to suck.  I'm sure if I tried explaining this to any other group of people, they'd sincerely believe me to be some sort of sadist.


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## dknob (Nov 22, 2011)

You have to wrap them in tape so the edges dont tear up the ruck.

Definitely wasn't easy. Hardest part was the fact that the weakest ones make it miserable for the rest of us. Since you have to start crossloading bricks and picking people up. And during the stone carries, you'd think that you can go back and forth with the 12 stones between the 26 people. But after the first mile or so, most people could not carry that and keep up the pace needed to make the time hack. I carried my jagged 70+ pound rock for that entire leg (4+  miles) and had nobody to hand it over to because people were just plain weak. I mean I honestly felt pretty good throughout the whole thing other then the short 5 minute breaks between missions only because we sit down and munch on whatever food we brought and I was like oooh nap time. This thing started at 1am early Saturday morning and I worked all day Friday and didn't get a chance to rest up before hand esp since Tampa is 1.5 hours away.

I did do it with friends though, 6 of us from my Crossfit gym.


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## Dillinger (Nov 22, 2011)

Tape or no, bricks aren't exactly spine-friendly.


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## TLDR20 (Nov 22, 2011)

Sounds like a day of team week.


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## DasBoot (Nov 22, 2011)

I wish I had known about this before it came here. I haven't rucked or anything but it would have been fun to see how I'd do


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## Invictus (Nov 22, 2011)

I'll have to check this out once I'm done with rehab; thanks for the information and heads up, dknob.


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## is friday (Nov 24, 2011)

Thanks for the info! They're coming to my location next Saturday. I am currently engaged in convincing a friend to partner up with me. How necessary is a full team, here?


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## dknob (Nov 30, 2011)

is friday said:


> Thanks for the info! They're coming to my location next Saturday. I am currently engaged in convincing a friend to partner up with me. How necessary is a full team, here?


not necessary at all


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## Seajack (Nov 30, 2011)

I'm gonna have to travel out of state to do it, one month too young for the Pittsburgh event


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## Isiah6:8 (Nov 30, 2011)

I will be doing the Chicago event in march.  Thanks for the share, looks fun.


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## dknob (Dec 1, 2011)

People in my class traveled as far as Alabama to come do it


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## dknob (Dec 6, 2011)

Some images from GRC.

First pic is of the first objective. The smiling shitbag in front of me picked up that rock for a photo op while some of us carried em for the entire first 5 mile leg. During GRC you wish you can get people thrown out, but you cant. Sad face.

Second pic is an interesting one - approx 2.5 hours before the end of GRC. We rucked a long ass way to this moving van to do another mission type thing to help some guy move his broken down truck. At the end of it, the cadre made us believe we were finished with the entire thing and were getting a ride back to Ballast Point Park where we started - evidence is in the "victory photo" in front of the truck. We did get a ride, just not back to the park. But to the beginning of a new objective to get to the SOF memorial at MacDill. Watching peoples faces at that exact moment was priceless - everybodys shoulders were on fire along with some serious chaffage, and everybody had already mentally shut down thinking it was over. I was hurting also but mentally I could keep going. A lot of people were ready to quit when they found out he tricked us. Im the one in the front row taking a knee behind the box.

Third pic is part of that last mission to get to MacDill and to the SOF memorial. Most of us were exhausted and for the last 300 meters we had to pick a buddy in the same weight range and carry them to the memorial. You can stop, but can only drop your buddy once in order for you to switch. I ended up carrying the guy the whole time because I could see he could barely walk as it is. Im on the left.

Once I get emailed some more ill send em out.


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## egm (Dec 7, 2011)

Thanks for posting this.  I registered for the Los Angeles event in January.


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## focused&determined34 (Dec 9, 2011)

I wonder if I can make the Boise event if I leave for boot camp in February..


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## lancero (Dec 9, 2011)

I am impressed.  That event looks pretty sick.


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## DAGGER (Dec 17, 2011)

Great thread, signed for the San Francisco challenge. Hopefully as much of an ass kicker as yours. Thanks for the post.


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## S0AP (Feb 24, 2012)

Hey guys, I went out and bought the GR1 bag from these guys.  It was a pretty penny at $295, but so far it is worth it.  It has the most spinal protection I have seen in an assault pack.  I am currently training with it now because I will be doing the Spartan Sprint with it on full of bricks.  I bought it because it blends in well, and the craftsmanship so far is highly superior to even that of tactical tailor so far......I will repost after the Sprint and let you know how it holds up.


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## ASUlaxman (Feb 24, 2012)

DAGGER said:


> Great thread, signed for the San Francisco challenge. Hopefully as much of an ass kicker as yours. Thanks for the post.


Just signed up for the SF challenge, too. PM inbound.


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## wustehase (Feb 26, 2012)

I'm going to hit up the Colorado Springs event once I get home, this looks like a great way to use some leave and spend my birthday. On a related note, anyone have any personal experience with Mystery Ranch packs? My wife is doing a Bataan march in a month or so and she just picked up the Crew Cab. I was thinking of snagging one of my own for stuff like these GoRuck events; I've got my eye on their ALICE interpretation, the Mountain Ruck.

Anyone else planning on attending the CO events? It'd be great to get a group together, and a good way to learn from some who may have participated before.


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## dknob (Apr 4, 2012)

any of you pussies do it yet?


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## Brill (Apr 4, 2012)

dknob said:


> any of you pussies do it yet?


 
If it involves humping a dude's shoulder, I'm busy that that day (ref to the fireman's carry photo).


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## Grey (Apr 30, 2012)

An Army Recruiter whom I know went to the GoRuck in Des Moines the other day. Another guy who was in his class wrote this about his experience there. Very interesting insight.

http://carriea81.blogspot.com/2012/04/grc-class-155-des-moines-ia.html


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## dknob (May 1, 2012)

Nick said:


> An Army Recruiter whom I know went to the GoRuck in Des Moines the other day. Another guy who was in his class wrote this about his experience there. Very interesting insight.
> 
> http://carriea81.blogspot.com/2012/04/grc-class-155-des-moines-ia.html


 
Good for her on completing it. (Carrie Adams is a female btw, not a guy)

But just an FYI to the MALEs doing GoRuck.. you will NOT be rolling with a 24 pound pack. So don't get too excited at reading that.


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## Grey (May 1, 2012)

dknob said:


> Good for her on completing it. (Carrie Adams is a female btw, not a guy)


Woops that's what I meant, thanks for catching that lol.


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## Grey (May 3, 2012)

Video of Des Moines event.


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## dknob (May 3, 2012)

Nice video!

26+ miles/13 hours of this shit is definitely a kick in the cohones.


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## Unstoppable (May 3, 2012)

Going to sign up for the one in college station.


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## dknob (May 3, 2012)

man I can't wait to hear the first AAR!!!

I did this shit last year !!!


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## Salt USMC (May 4, 2012)

I plan on doing this when I get back from deployment


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## Red Ryder (May 4, 2012)

Heads up for anyone doing it soon. They no longer have rucks for you to use, you haft to bring your own.


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## Totentanz (May 4, 2012)

La Roux said:


> Heads up for anyone doing it soon. They no longer have rucks for you to use, you haft to bring your own.


 
Is that just to loan out or are they out of stock on their website?  I'm shooting for the July one in Buffalo myself


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## Red Ryder (May 4, 2012)

Totentanz said:


> Is that just to loan out or are they out of stock on their website? I'm shooting for the July one in Buffalo myself


 
Just the loan out. You can still buy one from the site I guess but who has that kind of money?


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## dknob (May 4, 2012)

oh nice. That's actually pretty good idea.


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## dknob (May 20, 2012)

So goruck this time around was incredibly easier. The value it had as a good indication of SOF selection has been significantly decreased.


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## Salt USMC (May 20, 2012)

Damn. How many times have you done it now?

EDIT: Oh shit, theres one in San Diego on Dec 31st! Just registered


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## Red Ryder (May 21, 2012)

dknob said:


> So goruck this time around was incredibly easier. The value it had as a good indication of SOF selection has been significantly decreased.


Was it the same cadre?
I'm still pondering rather to do the one coming to Cincinnati in July.


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## dknob (May 21, 2012)

Regardless you should do it. It's still tough. Just not what it is


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## SkrewzLoose (May 21, 2012)

dknob said:


> Regardless you should do it. It's still tough. Just not what it is


Was your smiling shit bag buddy from last year there again?


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## 18C4V (May 21, 2012)

ha ha...I wonder how many calls for service will come out in San Francisco? Maybe I'll drive my and squak my air horn and yell out "SS" over the PA


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## dknob (May 21, 2012)

SkrewzLoose said:


> Was your smiling shit bag buddy from last year there again?


 no lol


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## dknob (May 22, 2012)

I'm actually quite embarassed because I talked this thing up to some peers at the gym as a pretty good gut check. So when it turned out to be not so tough this time, the people I got to sign up think they are hot shit now lol.


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## Salt USMC (May 29, 2012)

"Man, this is bullshit!  Some Ranger asshole online told me I could ace SFAS and BUD/S if I finished a GoRuck challenge, so why am I VW'ing?  Screw that guy, man.  Im gonna "Hate" all his posts when I get back!"


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## dknob (May 29, 2012)

ROFL~!!!


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## SkrewzLoose (May 29, 2012)

HAHA, you got a hate out of that!


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## ASUlaxman (Jun 3, 2012)

We started the challenge yesterday around 21:30 and I got back to my truck ar0und 9:15. I don't have anything to compare it to but all I can say is I got my moneys worth and got exactly what I wanted out of it. The cadre for my team were Beaux and Rudy Reyes. I was standing in the formation waiting for shit to go down and I see this dude that looks exactly like Rudy Reyes from Generation Kill, and sure enough, it was. We started off with the team building exercises and smoke sessions, did a whole bunch of pushups and flutter kicks 'till failure and got fucked with quite a bit until we started moving as a team. We rucked up and down the coast of San Francisco carrying our rucks and a fire hose as our team weight. We rucked all over the streets of the city, on the beach, on the hill of the coast and everywhere in between. We ended up finding some 5 gallon buckets that we were allowed to fill with gravel and carry as well as some sand bags for our shoulders (we were lucky enough to keep those for a solid 6 hours or so). We also found some downed celebrities, one giant c-shaped log and 2 smaller 3 foot logs, that we carried with us for 2 hours or so. The hardest thing about all of the extra stuff we had to carry was not the weight, but rather the awkwardness of carrying it. Eventually we made it to a pond at daybreak and took a little dip in it before we had to take our logs to the next objective. Luckily on the way to the objective there was a staircase that we had to negotiate down with the big old log, and we did it in the required time and got to bid farewell to the logs. At the end of the challenge we headed out to baker beach for some flutter kicks in the ocean and after our low crawl up the beach and some more team drills, it was over.

The hardest part for me was not the physical aspect. I'm guessing it was around 03:00 where we rucked up to a point on the coast and had to wait in a line while looking at a wall for what seemed like ever to go talk to a person and decide whether or not they were who they said they were based off of information provided much earlier in the challenge. Moving and carrying things wasn't easy, but waiting there freezing our asses off halfway through the night wasn't a good time lol.


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## is friday (Jun 3, 2012)

No pics with good ol' Rudy?


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## dknob (Jun 4, 2012)

FRUITY RUDY!

hats off to you for being the first to do this since I posted about it.


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## is friday (Jun 4, 2012)

They're in San Diego for our anniversary (Dec 31st.) I'm trying to talk my wife into doing this with me.... She just did the Camp Pendleton Mud Run so she's in stellar shape for a woman--but obviously, this intimidates her. I think I can win her over and convince her this would be the most awesome anniversary date we've ever had.


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## Salt USMC (Jun 5, 2012)

is friday said:


> They're in San Diego for our anniversary (Dec 31st.) I'm trying to talk my wife into doing this with me.... She just did the Camp Pendleton Mud Run so she's in stellar shape for a woman--but obviously, this intimidates her. I think I can win her over and convince her this would be the most awesome anniversary date we've ever had.


 
Do it man, Im gonna be there!  Make sure to sign up for the 1am class ;)


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## Sendero (Jun 7, 2012)

This might interest some Central Texas guys, looking to do something in the vein of GoRuck.  Atomic Athlete (MA affiliate) in Austin also helped train up for the GoRuck in Austin, and now they're doing a "Night Ops" challenge themselves, for $50 per person.  I'm pretty sure one of the coaches was SOF.  Anyways, It looked interesting and I thought it was worth a share.

http://www.atomicathleteaustin.com/page.php?page_ID=74


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## ASUlaxman (Jun 14, 2012)

is friday said:


> No pics with good ol' Rudy?


 
This on on the walk back after everything, had to rep the ASU gear!



dknob said:


> FRUITY RUDY!
> 
> hats off to you for being the first to do this since I posted about it.


 
Thanks man, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.


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## Jay (Jun 14, 2012)

Signing up for the October 13th GRC in Atlanta! I'm hoping to get some guys from Crossfit to go. I just saw the "Go Ruck Selection". 48+hrs of awesomeness. There is on in D.C. during December, and one in FL during January. Definitely gotta do this!


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## dknob (Jun 15, 2012)

Nice ASU!

And Jay - I saw Selection as well, looks great. They also have Go Ruck Trek which is like a type of tradecraft challenge where you do missions and have to evade the cadre. It's longer and more $$


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## Jay (Jun 15, 2012)

dknob said:


> Nice ASU!
> 
> And Jay - I saw Selection as well, looks great. They also have Go Ruck Trek which is like a type of tradecraft challenge where you do missions and have to evade the cadre. It's longer and more $$


 
I'm actually preparing for RASP now and hoping to get on to be a medic, so I'm working on the 8 week selection prep from military athlete specific ruck-based selection. So I'm hoping to kick some ass on the Go Ruck in October and go to the Selection in Fl. next January. I probably won't leave until Feb. or March, so plenty of time to get these in. I haven't looked into the Trek one yet, I'll check it out! Very excited about all of this.


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## CDG (Jun 15, 2012)

Jay said:


> I'm actually preparing for RASP now and hoping to get on to be a medic, so I'm working on the 8 week selection prep from military athlete specific ruck-based selection. So I'm hoping to kick some ass on the Go Ruck in October and go to the Selection in Fl. next January. I probably won't leave until Feb. or March, so plenty of time to get these in. I haven't looked into the Trek one yet, I'll check it out! Very excited about all of this.


 
MA also has a Ranger School prep program that you may be interested in.  I know RS and RASP are different, but the goals of the program may fit better for RASP than the program designed for an SF Selection.


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## Jay (Jun 16, 2012)

CDG said:


> MA also has a Ranger School prep program that you may be interested in. I know RS and RASP are different, but the goals of the program may fit better for RASP than the program designed for an SF Selection.


 
Thanks! I saw it as well, I've got a while so I'm doing different programs in cycles while supplementing with Crossfit and runs/swims/pt. I plan to do the RS prep before leaving for OSUT. I definitely appreciate the advice though


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## Koa (Jul 13, 2012)

Anyone doing the 7DEC12 GRC in Honolulu?


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## Totentanz (Jul 14, 2012)

Buffalo challenge complete... FML but well worth the money.  Need beer, need sleep AAR to follow.


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## Totentanz (Jul 16, 2012)

Good Livin’…

The Good:  Our team managed to come together quickly.  The first hour or so sucked – which is unavoidable… the duration may change, but the suck will be the suck… But communication and teamwork were established pretty quickly, which helped significantly throughout the night; a lot of the self inflicted pain that could have been didn’t materialize. 
We didn’t really have anyone dragging the team down on much of anything – obviously there was some variation, and at times, a few folks needed a boost in one area or another, but there wasn’t a huge disparity. 
Weather also held out – it was about 70 deg and cloudy but clear with good illum – I was glad to have the headlamp, but only really used it for about 5 minutes.  Really could not have asked for better weather for this.

The Bad:  One water crossing.  The crossing was planned… the fact that it was filled with some kind of godawful sludge was not.  I seriously wonder if I have now swam in human waste…  I threw out the clothes I was wearing, and am still trying to get the smell out of the shoes, insoles, and ruck.

Comments on the GR1:  Definitely solidly built, and carried the load well.  I packed mine three-across, two high, and that worked pretty well for the weight distribution.  The only thing that I would change is adding a waist belt – by about 1/3 to ½ way through, my traps had completely handed the job of supporting my shoulders off to my back, and both were killing me.  It wasn’t a show-stopper, but the ability to transfer some of the weight directly to the waist would definitely have helped.
The pack also worked well for organization – the ability to open flat made everything accessible, and even though part of the concept was minimalist pocket design, there was enough there to pack in rapidly accessible items.

Recommendations:
-          Bring a good set of gloves.  My palms were torn the fuck open through a decent set of mechanics gloves.
-          Waterproof the shit out of everything.  I saw water on the Buffalo event page, and bagged anything other than bricks that went into my pack.  I was very glad I decided to do so.  If it’s electronic, double bag.  I don’t know if there’s 100% chance of water at all events… we got wet several times.
-          If your schedule allows, go on a Friday – I’m very glad I had both weekend days to recover.
-


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## Reborn (Aug 22, 2012)

Thanks for all the tips.  I will use all that I can for  the November 10th one here at Fort Bragg.  I am very excited to get out there and see what it is all about.  Is anyone else planning on doing this event?


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## EricwH (Aug 27, 2012)

Just completed my first GRC in Pittsburgh (led by Cadre Dan). Many thanks to dknob for starting this thread, which ultimately convinced me to sign up.

Won't go into the details of the challenge since that's part of the fun, but here's what worked for me:
1). started strength training in early Feb 2012, beginning with Wendler 5/3/1, and moving onto Etype's Westside style training
2). followed dknob's lunges workout
3). sprayed my feet with anti-perspirant spray just prior to the event. I also brought socks treated with foot powder, that I could change out during the breaks. Not sure if this would work for everyone, but I completed the challenge with zero blisters.

Additionally, get use to rucking with weight, and work on grip strength. Wear compression shorts as chafing can happen, and if it does, the suck factor will increase exponentially.

Also, Totentaz had some really good recommendations regarding gloves and waterproofing. I went on Saturday and my body's still recovering.


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## DirtySailor (Oct 10, 2012)

I am doing this challenge in Clarksville, TN on Oct. 27. GR packs are fucking expensive so I just went to the local US Cav store and bought a pack there for 90 bucks. Stoked, but nervous at the same time. I recently injured my arm, so I am hoping I am all healed up in time for the challenge.


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## Totentanz (Oct 10, 2012)

Eric, glad it helped.


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## DirtySailor (Oct 29, 2012)

Earned my GRT patch! Can't wait to do it again in 2013! Also look forward to Scavenger in Nashville later in '13 as well! Pics to come.


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## Th3 Maelstr0m (Oct 30, 2012)

DirtySailor said:


> Earned my GRT patch! Can't wait to do it again in 2013! Also look forward to Scavenger in Nashville later in '13 as well! Pics to come.


Congrats! I'm looking to do the GRC in Tel Aviv this April if my scholarship will give me permission to travel outside Jordan. How did your pack hold up? Looking forward to the pics!


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## DirtySailor (Oct 30, 2012)

The pack was okay, but I think I will go for smaller next time, because I really didn't need half the shit I brought and it was too top heavy when we did bear crawls. Really, I was just jealous of the guys with the goruck packs. Those things look so... ergonomic.


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## Totentanz (Oct 30, 2012)

DirtySailor said:


> The pack was okay, but I think I will go for smaller next time, because I really didn't need half the shit I brought and it was too top heavy when we did bear crawls. Really, I was just jealous of the guys with the goruck packs. Those things look so... ergonomic.


 
What did you take with you?  And you're right - you really don't need much more than what's on the list.


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## DirtySailor (Oct 30, 2012)

well not much, but extra changes of clothes that ended up getting soaked when the cadre put us in the river up to our necks, despite the plastic bags. We never had enough time to even change anyway even if they were dry. Also, I will bring beer beforehand next time, because I ended up buy a couple of 12 packs of beer that I don't really care for. At least beforehand I would get the option to choose the good stuff ;)


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## Totentanz (Oct 31, 2012)

LOL, that's why the warning was up there - waterproof your shit.

FWIW to our brothers in Philly, GoRuck is planning a challenge every month for 2013 (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...set=a.368010120406.191316.277817375406&type=1)


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## DirtySailor (Nov 6, 2012)

GORUCK Challenge Class 292






This is me at the end.





Freezing fucking cold















This guy I am carrying has done 4 of these challenges before and right now is going on his sixth. Guy's a beast.





We had to switch off wearing these stupid fucking cones.





I like the Iwo Jima like quality of this picture. At least that is how it felt at the time.





This was our Cadre, a Special Forces soldier named Chris. Will destroy your lady's pussy and drink all your beers.





Doing log presses after carrying that fucking log for miles. Don't let the beer fall off.





The guy who is waving and has a cold one in his hand is by this point very fucking wasted. Also is a soldier in the 160th and aside from me, the only other .mil guy in the class.





We are "assaulting" a "machine gun nest". Also that stupid fucking cone is my "helmet" so I don't get my head blown off.





Nature's M-4's in our hands.





In our packs, we have to carry wrapped bricks. The only girl in the class was constantly cheating. Sometimes she succeeded. But most of the time, like here, she failed. Caught trying to dump bricks. So we had to find a new log and finish the challenge. Later we had to carry two logs because she tried to cheat again...immediately after the Cadre decided to let us get rid of the second log.





Said chick.





Near the end. I had a fucked up ankle, but no way in hell was I going to quit.





Getting my patch.





Class 292. Good mother fuckin' livin'!


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## walra107 (Nov 7, 2012)

Bad Ass...Looks like a hell of a time.


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## Lefty375 (Nov 7, 2012)

Awesome pics bro. Looks like one heck of a time!


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## Jay (Nov 20, 2012)

Signed up for 5JAN13 at 0100 in Atlanta. Got a couple of buddies doing it with me. Doing crossfit twice a day plus running/swimming for preparation. There's a Selection GoRuck not too long after that, we all may be signing up for that as well. I'm freakin pumped!


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## Silence Dogood (Dec 23, 2012)

I just signed up for the February 2nd GRC in Houston with a friend of mine. I'm looking forward to getting a dose of "Good Living". Also, it is worth mentioning that they have a sweet deal going on right now called the Buddy Pass. Two for the price of one!


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## Jay (Jan 6, 2013)

Just completed the Challenge in Atlanta. 1am till 1:45 pm. I'm not in the military so I don't have a whole lot to compare to it other than I've done a few of the warrior dashes and tough mudder runs etc. Nothing compared to this. This was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, and now I want more. We also had Cadre Chris, he was absolutely hilarious and very insightful. We started at the Coca-Cola factory in Atlanta and the cops were none to pleased we were trespassing so he had to make a new plan on the fly. So we left, and started a full blown 3 mile run to a random area in the shittiest part of Atlanta. Luckily we had a former Recon Marine with us and kinda snapped everybody together really freakin quickly. We became a team FAST. Between elephant walks, inch worm push ups, bear crawl baseball, buddy carries, litter carries, beer, more buddy carries, two logs for 3 miles, and then oh wait...more buddy carries. I'd say the first 30 min I was thinking "what the hell have I gotten myself into"...but honestly there was nothing that could have made me or my buddies quit. I plan to do the new event called GoRuck Heavy which is 24+hours in April here in Atlanta. They have a lot of new events and lower prices, Navigation(according to Cadre Chris you'll go in knowing nothing and come out a land nav stud), I also plan to do Selection, Beached and Ascent. Pictures to follow once they are posted.

Also, my body is wrecked today. I have never been this sore in my life. Needless to say crossfit and the occasional hike isn't enough prep if you want to excel. Anyone can pass this challenge...just don't quit. period. Cadre Chris highly advised MilitaryAthlete for preparation and to follow his selection prep's if going to selection. So, heeding his advice, I start Tuesday.

One last thing. I have always respected our military for as long as I can remember, and even more so of the special operations forces. After asking Cadre Chris and the Recon Marine how this compares to selection..I have a whole new level of respect. We went for 12 hours and that was it. Not 16 hours , 18 hours, 24 or 48 hours or 5 days or 21 days or 12 weeks or how ever long these selections can last. This was half a day...and now I get to sit on my ass, drink beer and watch football instead of doing this all over again for a longer period of time with harder events/challenges and running on far less less sleep, etc. I'm enlisting this year, my confidence is higher bc of everything that happened yesterday but as I lay in bed and write this I've never been so humbled. If you are a SOF hopeful, this Challenge should be a damn requirement...do this before you go. You'll realize your body is going to go a hell of a lot further than your mind. Pain starts right from the beginning, just accept it and get past it. It's so easy to talk, but until you go through something like this which I can only imagine as minuscule compared to a real selection, it's incredibly humbling and it makes you feel safer that there are harder men than I that are protecting my freedoms that I think most Americans take for granted everyday. Thank you to all that serve and all that have served.


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## Sendero (Jan 6, 2013)

Solid write up, thanks for sharing.


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## Jay (Jan 11, 2013)

1am, lined up at the Coca-Cola Factory. Little did we know what was ahead! 



yay telephone poles! We carried this thing 4.6 miles. Awesome.


Then Cadre Chris found another "coupon" aka a rail road tie. On with the suckfest!


Guy carrying Old Glory was a Recon Marine. This guy snapped us together as a team freakin fast. Awesome guy! A true example of a Quiet Professional! Apparently our GRC was his interview to work as a Cadre, we didn't find that out until afterwards. 


Everyone about to take off on what ended up being our final mission we had to take a "nuke" into Atlanta as fast as possible. Hot girls are "threats" and we had to hit the ground while Cadre Chris talked to her. Within 2 minutes of the run a girl goes running by...no one says anything as it is the Flag carriers job to call it. The Recon Marine was doing so and Cadre Chris yelled out "Good call Marine!!!" we all died laughing which made it quite difficult to "haul ass" another couple of miles.. Oh and The "team leader" had his "helmet" on and was ready to go just before... Weirdo. 


Snipers were shooting our guys so we had to continue on carrying each other. 



The guy on my shoulders is about 225lbs and was screaming about his nuts hurting, I frankly didn't care, ha. His face is priceless. 


More buddy carries! 
Cadre Chris telling us to stop because suck.



Congrats, we're officially "GoRuck Tough"


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## Jay (Jan 11, 2013)

Class 370 ATLANTA Group Shot

TIME TO DRINK!


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## Silence Dogood (Feb 3, 2013)

GoRuck Challenge Class 399 secured just before 1000 this morning with 31 out the original 34. I'm proud to count myself among them. I'll post up an AAR once I can descramble my brain, and get a hold of the pics from the photographer.


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## Jay (Feb 3, 2013)

Silence Dogood said:


> GoRuck Challenge Class 399 secured just before 1000 this morning with 31 out the original 34. I'm proud to count myself among them. I'll post up an AAR once I can descramble my brain, and get a hold of the pics from the photographer.
> View attachment 7791




It'll take a few days, give them time. Request access to the GRT FB group and you'll see the pics a lot faster. Welcome to re family, brother!!


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## 8654Maine (Feb 3, 2013)

Nice job, SD and Jay!


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## dknob (May 7, 2013)

Some fuck stick broke into my car some months back and jacked my Glock mags and even my GoRuck Tough patch!
How do I get a replacement?


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## Jay (May 8, 2013)

dknob said:


> Some fuck stick broke into my car some months back and jacked my Glock mags and even my GoRuck Tough patch!
> How do I get a replacement?


 
Do another Challenge :)


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## 8654Maine (May 8, 2013)

Hahaha!
Dknob, it had to be some wanna be. Who the fuck takes a patch? I didn't hear of it until this site.

Jay, good luck on your next challenges and enlisting.

You said you signed up for the Navigation in Aug.  Also think about local orienteering clubs and outings.  Dead reckoning, pace count (with ruck), terrain association & orienteering are critical.  Practice, practice.


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## Ranger Psych (May 8, 2013)

You can get a spare patch off the site from what I saw, they check your name across the stuff. Think "Tab Check" at RTB style.


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## dknob (May 8, 2013)

8654Maine said:


> Hahaha!
> Dknob, it had to be some wanna be. Who the fuck takes a patch? I didn't hear of it until this site.
> 
> Jay, good luck on your next challenges and enlisting.
> ...


If you are talking to me - I signed up for the Ascent. I would like to do Navigation, I miss land nav and was awesome at orienteering.


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## 8654Maine (May 8, 2013)

Sorry, meant for Jay. 
Good luck on the Ascent.  Sounds cool.


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## Marine0311 (May 11, 2014)

What packs did you use (all) use for GORUCK and why?


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## Silence Dogood (May 19, 2014)

I used my GR2 for the Challenge because it is the only decent pack I own. I went with the GR2 because I needed it to hold my 17" laptop. A GR1 (or maybe smaller) pack would have probably been more manageable during buddy carries, and bear crawls. The upside is that the GR2 made a nice big shelf to balance a large chunk of cement on during the last leg.


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## Kemba415 (May 21, 2014)

Signed up for the GRC Heavy in San Francisco June 6th. Anyone else doing this?


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## Kemba415 (Jun 11, 2014)

Finished the GoRuck Heavy this past weekend. 24+ hours 35+ miles with around 40lbs. Absolutely brutal. Nothing I have ever done has come anywhere close to how hard it was. 
If any of you are familiar with San Francisco area, we started in presidio, made our way over to ocean beach for a nice dip in the warm Pacific, came back through the city over the GG bridge and proceeded to hike around the headlands for many hours carrying logs and doing other fun things. Ended on Crissy Beach with another dip and 2 hours of smoking. 6pm - 6pm. 
Our main cadre was a former SEAL, who was an absolute animal who completely destroyed us. All the cadre were awesome and super professional. Would definitely recommend to anyone, no matter the background doing it at least once in their life.


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## Ape_Hot (Jun 11, 2014)

What kind of endurance background do you have? Did you prepare for this at all? I'm doing the San Diego Go Ruck Challenge on June 20. I don't think it will be nearly as hard as the Heavy, but there's not one in my area before I leave for A&S.


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## Kemba415 (Jun 11, 2014)

Ape_Hot said:


> What kind of endurance background do you have? Did you prepare for this at all? I'm doing the San Diego Go Ruck Challenge on June 20. I don't think it will be nearly as hard as the Heavy, but there's not one in my area before I leave for A&S.



I didn't specifically prepare for it, as I didn't l know I would be doing until about 2 weeks before. In my opinion, the best way to prepare would just to be rucking a lot and getting your legs and feet used to having all that weight on for long periods of time. If your challenge is anything like ours, no matter how you prepare your going to be smoked into the ground, no matter how strong you are. For me, the only problems with my body i had were my legs and feet were really not prepared for the abuse they took which is why I would suggest lots of rucking and leg bodyweight exercises.


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## Ape_Hot (Jun 12, 2014)

That's what I'm looking for. Some gooooood livin'! I want to be 5 BPMs shy of a heart attack.


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## devilbones (Jun 20, 2014)

I signed up for ABSOC in VA Beach on the 18th of July.  I started another thread in the fitness section.


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## Jay (Jun 21, 2014)

Signed up for Boulder/Denver HCL in August. Should be a shit show. Depending on how I feel I may get after "selection" in October.

I've been training at crossfit driven strong in Colorado Springs. They're a military athlete affiliate. I've seen serious strength and work capacity gains in the 6 weeks I've been here. I've got about 6 more weeks until HCL, I'll be ready.


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## Dienekes (Aug 5, 2014)

Signed up for a challenge in Shreveport, and really looking forward to it


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## SexyBeast (Aug 5, 2014)

jroberts1187 said:


> Signed up for a challenge in Shreveport, and really looking forward to it



Thanks for sharing


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## Dienekes (Aug 5, 2014)

Forgot to say that its in October. If anyone is going let me know and we can train together


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## Jbird8198 (Aug 7, 2014)

Signed up for the challenge in Chicago on October 10th. May also do the heavy in Chi-town on November 14th.


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