# GO RUCK!: Veteran owned/operated. Post your progress and AARs



## Loki (Dec 23, 2012)

Hello all, This link will take you to a group of guys that formed a very cool concept company. It's a physical challenge thing; "GO RUCK!" the name says it all. This is a veteran owned and operated business. Check them out and attend the challenge! I'm a fat old lazy butterball beach-ball with lips so I'm out, but it looks like a blast. Well if your into that... I may give a whirl once just to say I did and puke on myself. Looks like fun. *A portion of all profits go to the "Green Beret foundation".*


P.S. Merry Christmas Bros! I wish each and everyone of you and your families the best I hope you are all well and safe.  


http://www.gorucknews.com/military/the-goruck-challenge-explained/


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## Salt USMC (Dec 23, 2012)

I've got one of these coming up next week.  Hoooooooo boy


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## Loki (Dec 23, 2012)

Deathy,  just think and free of charge... Wow what a fucking deal!  All the pain and none of the pay.


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## Marine0311 (Dec 23, 2012)

Thank you for making this thread. Several members have done GORUCK Challenges with pictures and a AAR in another thread. The donations go to a good cause also.


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## Loki (Dec 23, 2012)

I didn't know it was duplicate thread, my apologize. Be safe. 

Respectfully


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## Marine0311 (Dec 23, 2012)

IMTT said:


> I didn't know it was duplicate thread, my apologize. Be safe.
> 
> Respectfully


 
Not needed. 

One thread is in the Special Operations Selection/Prep. Another here is good to go


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## Marine0311 (Dec 23, 2012)

Also check out what others have done here:

http://www.shadowspear.com/vb/forums/special-operations-selection-preparation.51/


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## Marine0311 (Dec 28, 2012)

If anyone does a GORUCK please do, if you feel comfortable, to post up pictures and an AAR


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## Loki (Dec 28, 2012)

I think I have to pull the trigger on this just for fun... I don't have a clue why but it brings back allot of good old memories of my abused late childhood (17 1/2 to 49).


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## Salt USMC (Dec 29, 2012)

Well I'm sitting here waiting to find the folks who organized our ruckoff meet, and of course they chose a super busy place at peak pub hours and no way to identify anyone here.  I may just go put on my cammies and get smashed by myself!

Edit:At home, I mean


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## Salt USMC (Dec 30, 2012)

Followup: 7 folks showed up, half of which were ladies!  Very surprising.  We had a good time and talked about life, crossfit, PT and San Diego.  Can't wait for Monday morning!


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## Marine0311 (Dec 30, 2012)

Deathy McDeath said:


> Followup: 7 folks showed up, half of which were ladies! Very surprising. We had a good time and talked about life, crossfit, PT and San Diego. Can't wait for Monday morning!


 
When the fuck is the suck-fest going down?

Pictures of said ladies?


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## Salt USMC (Dec 30, 2012)

December 31st at 0100


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## Salt USMC (Dec 30, 2012)

Bricks are ready to go!!


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## Salt USMC (Jan 1, 2013)

Happy New Year


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## Marine0311 (Jan 1, 2013)

I would like to read an AAR! How was it? Fun and suck at the same time?


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## Salt USMC (Jan 1, 2013)

I'll put up an AAR after I feel more coherant, but I'll say this: I spent 80% of the day wet and sandy.


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## 8654Maine (Jan 1, 2013)

Deathy, you rock.


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## Tropicana98 (Jan 1, 2013)

This is on my list of things to do, awesome job bro.


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## Marine0311 (Jan 1, 2013)

There is a new challenge it seems to be an "Intro" challenge called GoRuck Light.

https://www.goruckchallenge.com/Events/Light


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## Salt USMC (Jan 2, 2013)

Okay, here's the first part (I'm trying to be more like Mara)

Alright, I got to Balboa parkaround 0030 and saw only a few people standing around.  The mood was light and we introduced ourselves and talked about the upcoming challenge and such.  A small cluster of the guys had apparently just done one in Newport, RI about 3 weeks prior.  "Holy shit, these guys are nuts" is what I'm thinking.  There's one guy here with a cool beard, and I tell him he has a cool beard.  He laughs.  One guy there named Matt Francev has done this dumb stuff 8 times prior, including the very first slection class (You can read about it here http://www.gorucknews.com/selection...art-1-the-welcome-party-st-augustine-florida/).  Cadre shows up.  His name is Mike and people are talking to him like it aint no thing.  I thought this was kinda odd, but then again I assumed there was gonna be a whole lot of screaming and hollering once the cadre got there but that turned out to not be the case.  Mike didn't have to yell to get us to do stuff.

More people filter in as 0100 comes and goes.  We take roll.  About 5 people missing.  Jokes are made about having Hitler AIDS and TBS (terminal bitch syndrome) and we laugh.  Cadre Mike tells us, very politely, to grab our rucks and form two lines facing each other, then put our rucks on the ground and open them.  People have trouble forming two parralel lines and it makes me wince.  But we get our stuff covered and aligned and open up for inspection.  Interesting to see some of the stuff that people have packed.  I brought two extra pairs of socks, old issued Nomex gloves, hydration bladder and some granola bars.  People had all sorts of extra warming layers and snivel gear.  In hindsight, I should've gotten some kind of glove that wouldn't retain water, a bunch of salt tabs (I paid for this later) and maybe an extra t-shirt, but overall I think I packed really well.  Everyone's bricks checked out, fortunately.  We were given very specific instructions beforehand to make sure that our bricks were well-taped, and had our names and phone numbers on them.  Everyone followed this.  Mike began introducing himself: Former force reconnaissance, former combat controller, dive qualed, HALO qualed, he's done quite a bit of stuff.  He talks a little more, but then sees two folks with packs on walking over to the group.  "Rucks above your heads" he says.  The two stragglers hustle over to our roll call person and check in, which prompts Mike to let us lower our packs.  He talks a little bit more about combat and where he's been.  He mentions something like 2 trips to Iraq and 1 to southeast asia or something like that.  Two more folks round the corner and we put rucks over our head again.  They casually stroll towards us like its nothing. "HURRY THE FUCK UP!!" someone shouts.  Thats gets them moving.  They check in, packs go down.  We form up in columns of two and move out towards the main fountai, about 400m away.

The groans are audible as we approach the fountain, but we don't get to jump in quite yet.  Mike calls the team leader up and gives him our instructions: Split up along the brick pathways to the fountains, bear crawl through the little reflecting pools, up the stairs (which have water running down them) and keep going until you reach the end.  We do this.  Up at the top of the stairs we do a modified high crawl, still in water.  The stones hurt my knees.  We keep it together and make sure to wait for the folks in the back.  They are ever so slow.  I can tell my gloves are soaking up water like a sponge and so are my boots.  This will become a theme for the day.  We reach the end of the pools and form back up.  Mike sends us to the fountain and informs us that we are now going to commence with the welcoming party.  I'm not sure why, but I let out a tiny little "Rah" and someone behind me giggles.  We 360 around the fountain (which is turned off and would probably look gross if it wasn't 0100 and dark) and are told to watch for the pipes.  Gingerly we step in.  The water is a shock to the system.  The air temperature was probably about 45 that night, though the water was likely warmer than that.  Instantly people start shaking.  I feel fine, strangely enough.  Our first exercise is jumping jacks.  We manage to do this pretty well, though some folks suffer from Iraqi Army syndrome and cant seem to do jumping jacks correctly.  Whatever.  Next is cherry pickers.  They're easy and we breeze through them.  4-count pushups.  Fuck.  With packs on.  Double fuck.  They're actually easier than I thought since we're in deep enough water that we kinda float.  There was one guy who was about 6'3 with long, gangly arms that probably didn't enjoy this, but fuck him for being tall.  Packs on your front, flutter kicks.  Uh oh.  I sit down in the water with my head up.  My straps are too tight, the ruck in right on my neck.  Can't really breathe but I get through the flutter kicks.  8-count bodybuilders afterwards.  People need to be shown how to do this 3 times.  I call out "It's like a slow burpee.  Don't jump at the end".  Collective light bulbs go off.  We do 25 of them in the time it takes your grandparents to have sex.  I'm tired but feeling warm.  The chick two people down from me is breaking down and is very, very cold.  More jumping jacks.  Cherry pickers.  Motivated Marine Corps pushups.  One guy says "Hooah" and I laugh.  He's my battle buddy, a prior Army Engineer officer.  Pretty cool guy.  Pushups are done, and fountain fun is done.  We are soaking wet everywhere, but I'm glad I brought my jacket.  It would stay on me the entire time and keep me warm enough without overheating.  Also had zippered pockets so I could stow my gloves in them later on when I hated those stupid fucking things.

We move out of the fountain and form up again.  Marching south along some sidewalk we get to a ravine and Mike calls the team leader over.  We have a downed aircraft in our AO and for some unexplainable reason we have to carry it out instead of hitting it with JDAMs or whatever.  At the bottom of this ravine is an enormous dead tree just sitting there.  The ground on the sides of the ravine is nice and soft but I almost twist an ankle getting to the bottom.  That would've been fun explaining to my friends.  "Oh, the ankle?  I rolled it trying to get down a ravine to carry a half-ton log out of it with a bunch of strangers.  I also had a pack on.  Why?  BECAUSE I'M RETARDED".


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## Salt USMC (Jan 2, 2013)

The log is heavy.  Really fucking heavy.  We had probably 15-18 guys on it and it was a bitch and a half to move.  I saw pictures of other GRC's with like 6 guys on a nice straight log and I curse whatever gods put that fucking tree there.  Its also got some nice angles to it so we can't just assign short people to the front and tall people in the back.  This becomes problematic later on.  Getting the log out of the ravine proves tricky because the ground is like mush and that stupid fucking log weighs like 20 tons.  Have I mentioned how much I hate that log?  I really hate it.  While getting it up the hill, we had to bring it down to hip level and set it down a few times in order to rest up a little bit.  On the third time doing this, folks pretty much just dropped it and it fell on my arm.  Ouch.  They certainly got it off quickly enough.  The arm was okay, just a little bruising for my troubles.  Finally we got that heavy bitch out onto the sidewalk.  After slapping backs and shaking hands for a sec, Mike gave our team leader new instructions:  We had to move the downed aircraft to the USS Midway for extract.  FUCK.  Midway is literally 3 miles away through downtown San Diego!  I didn't know that at the time (Calculated it later using Google Earth), but I knew that the Midway was faaaaaar away.  Ugh.  So we picked up the log and off we went on our merry way.  The rules are: We will follow all traffic laws.  Which means we wait at stop lights, stay on the sidewalk at all times, and move for pedestrians.  When crossing crosswalks, the log goes overheadfuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.  That's all I could think.  Gonna be a long day, for sure.  Oh, and we have 1.5 hours to get there.  We move on with our log airplane at a fairly good pace.  People rotate out as needed.  Because the log is so oddly shaped, folks rotating into the wrong spot have to stoop down when moving or suffer a hugely disproportionate weight on them.  The groans and shrieks follow our log as we suffer through the night.  Shoulders burned.  Backs ached.  OH!  I forgot to mention one thing:  We had a mandatory team weight, and another thing we brought along called a "coupon".  Rules for the team weight are that it needs to be at least 25lbs and has to be carried the entire way.  It also can never touch the ground unless Mike says so.  We decided, in light of what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School, that we would each bring 26$ in quarters and fill a brick bag with it.  I don't know exactly how much it weighed but it didn't seem to be much.  Anyhow, the other part: The coupon.  The cadre supplied this one, which happened to be a Pelican case filled with ice and about 30 beers.  It probably weighed about 50lbs.  It also happened to be very awkward to carry by yourself, so at one point one of the guys doing the challenege became McGuyver and rigged up some straps with carabiners on the one handle to allow two people to carry it, which is officially a Good Idea(TM).  Unfortunately they spaced the straps a little too unevenly, so the case had a tendency to rotate and smash people's knees as they walked along.  It wasn't too bad but it was super annoying.  Somewhere after we hit downtown, both quads cramped up, hard.  Like, couldn't-flex-my-leg-at-all hard.  The pain was pretty bad and I had to get out from the log for a little bit.  Some nice guy gave me a few salt tabs and that helped.  I'm pretty sure it was Cool Beard Dude from before.  After about 5 minutes of hobbling my legs finally decided to work again.  We kept the log going down every street with passers-by gawking at our sorry group.  Being that it was still around 0200 there were not many people out on the street, although we did wake up a few homeless people (Sorry guys).  One guy even offered us some weed :).  We passed by a Lululemon store and all the Crossfit people made jokes.

Mike informs us that we are taking a detour.  We head up a few streets (making sure to painfully elevate our log as we cross each intersection) and stop at a mall parking garage.  WHEW!  Finally get time to take that load off.  We don't get to unceremoniously dump the log just yet, instead we get to kick-roll it over to the building wall.  Then we get a bathroom break.  We've already had a few cops and other security folks ask Mike what we were doing, so for us to pee, we had to go about 2 blocks away to find a nice covert location (Which turned out to be some bushes).  We finished up our business and headed back to the rest of the team, where we munched on some food and drank more water.  The chance to rest was nice but did not last very long.  We had a new mission: Establish a communications linkup with the extract platform on top of the mountain.  In this case, the mountain was the top of the parking garage, which was about 8 stories up (I think).  So in true mountain-climber fashion, we had to bear crawl up the stairs.  In the end it wasn't so bad, but my waterlogged gloves made a "squish squish squish" sound every time I put my hand down.  We form up again at the top of the parking garage and wait for instructions.  It is still dark out but downtown San Diego looks beautiful at night with no traffic.  The buildings look very sparkly from all the lights.  Anyway, we get formed up in a circle and do some squad pushups.  If you're not familiar, squad pushups require the person in front of you to put their feet on your shoulders while you do the same to the person behind you.  It makes the exercise stupid hard and is a stupid exercise for stupid people.  We still had our packs on (as we always did) so it was nearly impossible to get the 10 we were required to do to before moving on.  Im sure that Mike didn't approve of our form, but he let us go after enough attempts.  We had to peel out of there and down the stairs to make it back to our log.  My partner's legs and mine were pretty smoked by this point so going down stairs fast became quite a chore.  However, we managed to make it and keep up with the group.  Once we got back down off the garage, we were informed that a few of our team were wounded and had to be moved back down, so 4 brave guys got to run back up there and fireman carry the "wounded" team mates back down the stairs.  After that, all was well and we got our log back and moved on.  I was dreading moving again, as I was under the assumption that we were still a ways away from the USS Midway.

Turns out that we were only 3 blocks away!  As soon as we turned the corner we could all see the harbor, which raised our spirits tremendously.  We moved out at a faster pace to our rally point, where we were informed by Mike that we had made the time hack and were going to get a small reward.  We all cheered and became super excited!  And of course, the best part was unceremoniously dumping that fucking log into the ocean.  BYE BYE FUCKO!!  After that, Mike gave us a little pep speech and told us that we would be getting a 15 minute break to refill water, eat, or do whatever we needed to do.  That felt really, really good.  I took this opportunity to take off my waterlogged boots (I really should've worn running shoes, as these boots had water in them the entire time) and change my socks.  I also filled up my hydration bladder at the local fountain.  One girl had brought pizza slices in her pack, which was about as strange a thing as you could see at this time of night, and I'm very surprised her pizza didn't get squished into a mushy mess.  I didn't have any but apparently it was very enjoyable.  Some people are still shivering from the cold, but I feel pretty warm all over at this point, with the exception being my feet and hands.  The break was sorely needed by all of us, except for Matt Francev whom I mentioned earlier, who talked about the second challenge he was going to do that day.  Yes, Matt was going to do back-to-back challenges.  Fucker is nuts.  After a little more talking and resting, Mike gives us our next objective: Spanish Landing, about 4.5 miles away.  We put our rucks back and form up in columns of two, ready to move on to the next objective.


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## Salt USMC (Jan 3, 2013)

The first thing I see as we move out is the skyline to the east. Skyscrapers obscure most of it but you can just make out some faint blue peeking out. I think, “Damn, how long have we been at this?”, and just around the moment I see a clock mounted on one of the piers to my left: 6:15. Turns out that we've been at this for about 5 hours now. It certainly felt like less, but time flies, I guess. We continue to move out and the mood is light. We pass the Star of India. We pass the airport. We do incline pushups on a low wall. “Find a pole” is Mike's way of telling us to elevate our feet and knock out pushups. I guess our pace was a little too leisurely so we ended up hearing this quite a bit on our push to the next objective. Oops, somebody left a glove behind. Mike informs us that this is not acceptable, so we lunge for 100m. I just happen to be carrying the coupon at the time so I am stuck lunging with close to 90lbs of extra gear. Ouch. Lunges are finished. We are informed that further movement under ruck is going to be done as an indian run. Double ouch. Folks in the back take off and move to the front, taking the heavy coupon and slightly-less-heavy coin bag from the people they just replaced. We keep moving. And moving. And moving. We move past the coast guard station. It feels nice just to sprint across intersections rather than having to hoist up that log. We keep moving. Spanish Landing comes into view. Just a little beach in the distance. Our columns of two need to make way on the narrow sidewalk for pedestrians and cyclicsts, both of whom seem out in force today.


Okay this is getting too long to write. Here's some high points:
-Made it to spanish landing. Got wet and sandy. Did got dragged across the beach.
-Went from there to Ocean Beach, 4.5 miles away. Made it under 1.5 hours.
-Got went and sandy there. Ocean waves nearly pulled a few of us out as we did flutter kicks
-Rucked a little way to a ball park. Cracked open the coupon and drank beers. Felt great! Plus we got to wash off (mostly) and change socks. Got a sweet 15 minute break
-Next objective was something like 7 miles away, back at Balboa park. One of the people following us accidentally hit a biker with her elbows, so we made jokes about lethal elbows for the duration of the ruck. Mike tells us to flare our elbows as we indian run, so we do
-Trek under a bridge and find a homeless camp
-Create a field-expedient litter and carry every member of the team. I think we covered a little over a mile in litter carriage
-Break crawl up a church's field
-Finish back at Balboa park
Total: 21 miles, 14.5 hours


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## reed11b (Jan 3, 2013)

Deathy McDeath, Thank you for this great AAR. Now I really want to do this, and they do have them in Seattle.
Reed


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## Salt USMC (Jan 6, 2013)

I'd also like to take this opportunity to plug my absolute FAVORITE boots ever: Original SWAT Classic boots
This is the second long-distance challenge that these puts have carried me through and I've yet to get a single blister wearing them.  Last year I did the inaugural Survival Trial in the mountain of New Mexico.  24 hours, 22 miles of STEEP terrain under pack and rifle.  I received these boots from our sponsor only 4 days prior to the event and had no chance to break them in besides a leisurely walk through Las Vegas.  They were light and fit extremely well, and throughout the challenge I felt like I was walking on clouds.  Despite all that, no blisters and not even a hotspot. 

Then, I took these bad boys and used them in the GRC.  14 hours and 21 miles of rucking and running.  While completely soaked through.  As you saw above, we got wet and sandy in 3 different locations throughout the day.  My feet were waterlogged the entire time, and despite that these boots kept my pruned-feet from blistering even a little bit.  Even a gratuitous amount of sand entering the boot after we got into the ocean wasn't enough to bust these up!  They are excellent, excellent boots and quite affordable too.  You cant beat the 75$ price tag. 

Literally the only thing I would change on them is having a model with drain holes.  Beyond that, they are perfect.


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## Marine0311 (Jan 6, 2013)

I may do the GORUCK Light to start. I haven't rucked since I got out. But my ego will make me do all the events. Plus the beer at the end with fellow warriors

@Deathy how was the suck factor?


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## Jay (Jan 6, 2013)

Marine0311 said:


> I may do the GORUCK Light to start. I haven't rucked since I got out. But my ego will make me do all the events. Plus the beer at the end with fellow warriors
> 
> @Deathy how was the suck factor?


 
I know this was directed at Deathy, but we never got wet in ours and as a civilian, the suck factor was high, I can only imagine that it was higher during his. I signed up and rucked once 6 weeks prior for all of 5 miles. You can do the challenge just gut through it, you got this. As far as the GoRuck Light, I think I'm going to introduce some friends and my girlfriend to GoRuck that way. 4 to 6 hours with less weight will be a nice transition and still a gut check I'm sure. If you go to one in the south east, post up I may do the challenge again prior to the capstone events.


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## Marine0311 (Jan 6, 2013)

Jay said:


> I know this was directed at Deathy, but we never got wet in ours and as a civilian, the suck factor was high, I can only imagine that it was higher during his. I signed up and rucked once 6 weeks prior for all of 5 miles. You can do the challenge just gut through it, you got this. As far as the GoRuck Light, I think I'm going to introduce some friends and my girlfriend to GoRuck that way. 4 to 6 hours with less weight will be a nice transition and still a gut check I'm sure. If you go to one in the south east, post up I may do the challenge again prior to the capstone events.


 
Good to know. As far as rucking I was Marine Infantry however it's been years since I actually put on a pack and rucked. Overall I'm in good shape so I'll just have to put on a pack and start to ruck on a regular basis. With a pack/ruck (I really want to get the GR2), the weight of the bricks and whatever you back it sounds close to the weight I used to ruck in my former infantry unit. I have no doubt I can suck it up and gut through the challenges


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## Jay (Jan 6, 2013)

Marine0311 said:


> Good to know. As far as rucking I was Marine Infantry however it's been years since I actually put on a pack and rucked. Overall I'm in good shape so I'll just have to put on a pack and start to ruck on a regular basis. With a pack/ruck (I really want to get the GR2), the weight of the bricks and whatever you back it sounds close to the weight I used to ruck in my former infantry unit.


 
One thing I noticed is not everyone's ruck weight was equal(even though it's supposed to be). I had a basic molle pack that I used and it seemed FAR heavier than the 4 firefighter guys rucks and other civi's. And the reason I know that is bc at some point you will be wearing more than one ruck. At one point I was wearing two rucks and buddy carrying a 215lb guy. That was towards the end and it didn't help that when Cadre Chris asked what my contract was for the Army I told him 68W, he singled me out on buddy carries for a "real world gut check". My name was not James, it was "Hey 68 Whiskey"..or "weirdo". He seemed to think all medics are weird for whatever reason. Anyway's, definitely get a GoRuck, I'll be purchasing the GR1 this week(I think we get some sort of percentage off once you sign up and even more when you are awarding your patch). It would have definitely helped, my shoulders and lower back are raw from my molle pack. All I had were 6 wrapped bricks, 1 2.6L bladder, some kill cliff and a few cliff bars. That's it. Running full speed(just shy of a sprint) with that thing blew ass, but only bc I hate running in general. I think with your experience you'd do well regardless.


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## Salt USMC (Jan 6, 2013)

Marine0311 said:


> @Deathy how was the suck factor?


 
It sucked.  I wasn't infantry or anything but I consider myself pretty fit.  Like most courses/challenges, the phsyical aspect wasn't difficult: We never did more than 25 of each exercise (Though they were 4-count, and with a pack on) and you went as slow as the slowest person, but the constant shoulder  and back pain combined with the sand and salt water all over you made it really poopy.  Unlike Jay, nobody in our group got singled out for anything.  I think it was probably because about half of our crew had done a GRC prior to this.  The weight of the pack was more of an annoyance than any significant load.  Like, bear crawls and pushups are pretty easy.  Bear crawls and pushups with a pack suck.  Squad pushups with a pack really suck.  

I think that if your joints can take a day of abuse, you'll be fine doing a full GRC.


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## Jay (Jan 6, 2013)

Deathy McDeath said:


> It sucked. I wasn't infantry or anything but I consider myself pretty fit. Like most courses/challenges, the phsyical aspect wasn't difficult: We never did more than 25 of each exercise (Though they were 4-count, and with a pack on) and you went as slow as the slowest person, but the constant shoulder and back pain combined with the sand and salt water all over you made it really poopy. Unlike Jay, nobody in our group got singled out for anything. I think it was probably because about half of our crew had done a GRC prior to this. The weight of the pack was more of an annoyance than any significant load. Like, bear crawls and pushups are pretty easy. Bear crawls and pushups with a pack suck. Squad pushups with a pack really suck.
> 
> I think that if your joints can take a day of abuse, you'll be fine doing a full GRC.


 
I wasn't so much singled out, everyone had a difficult challenge all at the same time for "punishment" and that was right at the tail end. Mine just so happened to be extra ruck plus my buddy was shot by a "sniper". But you are absolutely spot on though, regular pt is whatever, pt with weight sucked. Everyone on our team was new to the GRC which apparently is rare? What I thought was funny was when we finally got to drop the telephone polls aka coupons and I was thankful to just be carrying the team weight(40lb sandbag) and my ruck vs the beginning when I thought it was hell having to carry team weight. Shoulders are wrecked by the way.

For anyone that plans on doing this, take an ice bath directly after then Epsom salt bath later in the evening if possible. You'll still be sore the next day(which is today for me) but not nearly as bad. I did both and I will probably go hiking tomorrow in the blue ridge with the girlfriend bc over all I feel pretty solid. Last night, it hurt to move in any way what so ever but today I went for a light jog and feel fine. Soreness is definitely there but I supposed that's just goes to show I need to get stronger so it may not apply to everyone.


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## Marine0311 (Jan 6, 2013)

Deathy McDeath said:


> It sucked. I wasn't infantry or anything but I consider myself pretty fit. Like most courses/challenges, the phsyical aspect wasn't difficult: We never did more than 25 of each exercise (Though they were 4-count, and with a pack on) and you went as slow as the slowest person, but the constant shoulder and back pain combined with the sand and salt water all over you made it really poopy. Unlike Jay, nobody in our group got singled out for anything. I think it was probably because about half of our crew had done a GRC prior to this. The weight of the pack was more of an annoyance than any significant load. Like, bear crawls and pushups are pretty easy. Bear crawls and pushups with a pack suck. Squad pushups with a pack really suck.
> 
> I think that if your joints can take a day of abuse, you'll be fine doing a full GRC.


 
I figured as much. While watching the moto video on the front page the memories of Infantry school and ruck marches in the Fleet came back *tears.....of joy streaming down my face*. I really want the GR2 for my height. I'm also going to ruck more around my area (city streets with hills with long roads, a beach nearby). I'll def "train up" for it. Plus I want the beer and stories at the end. The money does go to a good cause. Yeah doing pushups and all with weight on your back sucks balls!.

Congrats for doing it!


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## Marine0311 (Jan 9, 2013)

Jay said:


> I know this was directed at Deathy, but we never got wet in ours and as a civilian, the suck factor was high, I can only imagine that it was higher during his. I signed up and rucked once 6 weeks prior for all of 5 miles. You can do the challenge just gut through it, you got this. As far as the GoRuck Light, I think I'm going to introduce some friends and my girlfriend to GoRuck that way. 4 to 6 hours with less weight will be a nice transition and still a gut check I'm sure. If you go to one in the south east, post up I may do the challenge again prior to the capstone events.


 
The GoRuck Light would be a good way to get myself back into it. I may do them in a more orderly way as they are laid out on the "Events" page. War Stories and Beer is a must as well as Range Day.

I do wonder about those who have done multiple GoRuck Challenges or Selections! That shit is crazy. The again so is humping a pack with bricks through the sand and mud.


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## Salt USMC (Jan 9, 2013)

Just do a regular GRC.  If your mind is still strong, your body will follow along.  Besides, the regular GRC patch looks way cooler than the 'Light' patch


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## Marine0311 (Jan 29, 2013)

There is the new list of GoRuck events on the website. I am going to check them out.

Anyone else signed up for any events?


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## Salt USMC (Jan 29, 2013)

Ascent looks cool as hell, but I don't have the time or the scratch to head up to Colorado for a week in August.


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## 8654Maine (Jan 29, 2013)

M0311, where are you?
It goes against my grain to pay for these events, but I'd do it for the camaraderie, the finish, and booze.
The badge means squat.
I'm in Maine, so I'd be willing to travel a little bit.  SS team?


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## Jay (Jan 29, 2013)

8654Maine said:


> M0311, where are you?
> It goes against my grain to pay for these events, but I'd do it for the camaraderie, the finish, and booze.
> The badge means squat.
> I'm in Maine, so I'd be willing to travel a little bit.  SS team?



I'm all about team SS! Lmk!


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## Marine0311 (Jan 29, 2013)

8654Maine said:


> M0311, where are you?
> It goes against my grain to pay for these events, but I'd do it for the camaraderie, the finish, and booze.
> The badge means squat.
> I'm in Maine, so I'd be willing to travel a little bit. SS team?





Jay said:


> I'm all about team SS! Lmk!


 
I am here!. I on at odd hours. PM me if you need me

I would be interested in a team. Check out dates and let's find a date and place that works for everyone.


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## 8654Maine (Jan 29, 2013)

Ok, Marine0311 and Jay, and anyone else who's interested, here's what I'm throwing out.

Pick a date where it's warm...cause cold and wet sucks hairy donkey balls.

Pick a place near one of us to use as base.  This way, we save on money and lodging.  I live in Maine.  There's a Portland, ME event in May and a Boston, MA event in June.  Y'all can come up to my place and hang before and after and we can have a shoot afterwards (y'all can prebuy ammo and bring it or send it...I won't touch it).  NO MOLESTING MY CHICKENS!!

Or we can pick a neutral or central place and share lodging to save money.  

Jay and 0311, pm me your contact or just add to this thread.  I work weird hours so don't even bother calling me cause I won't answer.  I'll pm you my email address.


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## Marine0311 (Jan 29, 2013)

8654Maine said:


> Ok, Marine0311 and Jay, and anyone else who's interested, here's what I'm throwing out.
> 
> Pick a date where it's warm...cause cold and wet sucks hairy donkey balls.
> 
> ...


 
Would you create a PM with the 3 of us on this please?

Thanks.


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## 8654Maine (Jan 29, 2013)

Done.


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## Silence Dogood (Jan 29, 2013)

8654Maine said:


> Ok, Marine0311 and Jay, and anyone else who's interested, here's what I'm throwing out.
> 
> Pick a date where it's warm...cause cold and wet sucks hairy donkey balls.
> 
> ...


 
If you guys don't mind having a SS newbie around then I'd be interested in doing this as well. I've never been to Boston, and a GRC sounds like a great way to explore a new city.


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## 8654Maine (Jan 30, 2013)

Pm sent.


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## Salt USMC (Jan 30, 2013)

Silence Dogood said:


> I've never been to Boston, and a GRC sounds like a great way to explore a new city.


 
Oh you'll be "exploring" all right


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## 8654Maine (Jan 30, 2013)

Committed:  Marine0311, Jay, and I in GRC, Portland, ME on May 4.

Interested:  SilenceDogood (pm sent, not replied)

Any other 'tards?


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## CharlieMetro (Feb 4, 2013)

I'm signed up for the Boston one in March. Should be a good time. It's been a while since I rucked, so I've been using the MARSOC Final Prep plan. I'm on week five and having nothing but good things to say about this plan. The only thing I've changed is subbing stamina/work capacity on the swim days.


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## 8654Maine (May 5, 2013)

I'll update here instead of the other GoRuck thread.

*Sidebar*:
Before I go further, I'll say that I almost didn't make this one. I forgot to put in time off (subliminal?). I had to ask for a switch. Y'all know what it's like to have someone work your Saturday?
'Twas not easy. Folks wanted to know why. I told 'em.

"Are you crazy" and "why" was a recurring question. Even my wife asked it: "Why are your doing this?"

I thought about this. I could go on about physical fitness, mental toughness, exercise, productive day, camaraderie, working out, celebrating my 49th, celebrating my 28th anniversary of boot camp, blah blah...

In a nugget: _* ego*_. I wanted to see if I still got it. With folks half my age. Pure, unadulterated ego. There.

*Event*:
GRC Class 541. 51 lbs ruck (had extra shit that was not needed).


_Cadre_: Chris. Recon Marine. Quiet. Professional.
Team: 21 signees. One no show (female). 20 males start. Most were civilians. More than half were GoRuck veterans. Few were doing back to back GRC's!
Time (start): 0100 hr, May 4th at Portland Obervatory, ME.
Weather: 43 deg F start. 39 low. 55 high. Clear, min winds, 8 mph peak. Water temp 46 deg.
Terrain: mostly flat, waterfront, peak elev 19 meters.
*Mission*: Do whatever the cadre say via a team leader, as a team, in a timely fashion. Fail a time hack, pay a penalty. Always carry a flag (American and GoRuck). Never let them, your team weight, or your rucks touch the ground. Penalty otherwise.

*Results*:

18+ miles, 11hr and 10 minutes.
19/21 finished
some injuries, mostly strains, cramps, muscle pulls.
Good time by all (at the end).
*Observation*:

Joining Facebook was recommended. Apparently, one can see your fellow team members and work out together and discuss strategy. Folks seemed to gel well from the Facebook crowd. I didn't join Facebook.
I hate sand PT.
One person quit the first hour. We did beach PT for the first few missions. It was a smoker. His reason was that he was sick recently and now strained something. Can't say if he was smart or not, though. Stunned in silence were we.
Like hurling in a enclosed space, once one starts, domino effect. After the first DOR, a second guy also w/in minutes asked to be dropped. His reason was that he couldn't go on. We all vocalized that he could and should suck it up. Convinced him. Of course, now someone else had to carry his ruck. Guess who did? Not me.
Well, the jokes on me. We were on that beach for awhile. Partner event. Dont' know what it's called but one person bear crawls. Other person is under him being half carried and half dragged. Picture a sadistic cowgirl position. Well guess who dragged that person with the extra ruck...yours truly.
Waterproof everything
Don't bring something you don't wish to lose. Lost my headlight being dragged in the sand.
Don't wear a watch.
Wear one of those skin tight shirts and shorts, i.e. UnderArmor or similar. I used to think those were kind of gay or metro, but it really kept most of the sand out. Sucks wearing a ruck w/ sand scraping one's back.
Powder or put something in friction places. I wore lycra shorts underneath. Kept most of the sand out. But I still got friction rubs. Man, crotch-burn sucks.
Give your key, wallet, or valuables to Shadow company (folks who photographed and walked with us the entire way). One team member lost his keys in the sand. He was a NG guy from CT. Gave him a ride to the Toyota dealer to get a key.
Fireman's carry includes the ruck. I saw pics of other GRC w/ the person being carried was ruckless. That was verboten w/ us. My neck and back muscles are still sore from keeping my neck extended. If you don't cinch the ruck on your back and keep your neck extended (meaning lifted back), the ruck will ride on your neck and if you get in the wrong position, your throat will be pinched. I'd rather have screaming thighs and back rather than being suffocated.
Don't carry extra shit. I had foot powder and other useless shit I thought I needed. I wore so many layers cause it stated out cold. Well, you will get warm very shortly. That extra layer will soak up the water and you'll be carrying that stuff. Use the packing list.
I brought extra water besides a 3 liter camel back. Don't. One leeway that the cadre had was to make water stops. Those extra water bottles added weight.
Cramping and aches will happen. Having electrolytes helped. Had gatorade in the camel back. Other folks had electrolyte tabs and chewables. It worked. Only a few folks had severe cramping.
Being in shape is key. I prepped by a combo of running (long distance w/ wind sprints). Free weights and swimming. I also did 9 mile rucks about every 2-3 wks for about 3-4 months. I should have done more burpees and lunges. My thighs really payed for it. I was worried about blisters since my feet are really wimpy. Merino socks and running shoes did the trick.
You can do this if you aren't in shape. You will rely on the grace of others. But that's a penalty of another kind. I couldn't do it.
Camaraderie is great. When folks volunteered to take that near-quitters ruck, it felt really great. That's good when everyone is still pumped, it's the first hour, and everyone has gusto. That shit changes pretty quick when everyone is tired and smoked. Resentment reared it's head in about 4-5 hrs. It really sucked to see "that guy" carrying the flag w/o a ruck, while everyone is doing fireman's carry. It really kicked in during log PT. "That dude" got his ruck back and joined the log brigade. Those who've done a real selection or screening know what I'm talking about.
If you are a team leader, then LEAD. Assign folks. Know names. Always supervise. Don't give into whining (people bitch all the time). Don't wast time planning. Don't be someone's friend. Make a timely decision. Implement a plan. Improvise when you need to. Once the cadre found out what I did, he really didn't pick me to be team leader. I really wanted to do it. Not because I can do a DI voice or motivate folks or complete a mission. Nope. I didn't want to carry chit.
That little voice was in my head a couple of times. Whispering encouragements: go home...enjoy the good life...you really don't need to do this...it's nothing but a patch...doesn't mean anything...you're too old...you've done this shit for real...let it go...you'll still be the same guy...no one needs to know...
I LOVE saying FUCK YOU to that voice.
I read that this course shouldn't be used a realistic guide to whichever military selection one desires. True. Because you'll be doing this and more, daily. This is a good intro. If you can complete this, without letting others carry you (figuratively) and you can carry others (figuratively and literally) and, at completion, you can do another the next day (or go drinking), you should do fine.
I HATE sand PT
*Conclusion:*


It sucked.
It is do-able.
Could have been worse. Cadre really could have smoked us more.
There is nothing better than accomplishing a goal. No one carried my ruck. I helped carry others.
Ego in check. Reality has set in, though. I'm not as bad/tough as I once was or thought. I could have done more: carried someone more, carried the log more. But, I was never "that guy".
After all that, I really felt bad (physically) but really good (emotionally, mentally). A good trade off for a weekend.
I still got it...I think.
*Recommendation:*


Go do it. Don't think about it. Just sign up. Commit. Simple.
If you don't, doesn't mean a thing. But you should, esp if you're on this site.
Talk is cheap.
If one is contemplating enlisting and joining those at the "tip", this would be a great barometer.
I'm not doing this ever again.
But ask me in a few months.
I never joined Facebook.
Have epsom salt for ready.


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## Silence Dogood (May 5, 2013)

Welcome to the GRT club! 



> 8654Maine said:
> 
> 
> > 5.  I'm not doing this ever again.
> > 6. But ask me in a few months.


 
Haha! This!


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## Salt USMC (May 5, 2013)

8654Maine said:


> I'll update here instead of the other GoRuck thread.
> 
> Good time by all (at the end).
> 
> ...


Agreed on all counts.  Seems like you guys got a lot of a distance in fairly quickly, how was the pace?  I'm also relieved to hear that I wasn't the only one hearing the little voice.  A job well done!


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## 8654Maine (May 5, 2013)

Deathy, we could have covered a lot more distance.  Spending time on the beach doing inchworm pushups and burpees and then crab-walking and bear crawling up the only hill really cut our distance down.

It really helped that we did Indian runs w/ shuffle alsternating with fast walk to meet the time hacks.

Everyone hears that voice.  The winners don't let it win.


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## dknob (May 7, 2013)

I did GRC in the first year they stood it up, it wasn't as much missions, goals, events then it was just smokings, log PT, and taking care of the weakest links.

I'm doing GoRuck Ascent this summer, a four day thing in the Rocky Mountains


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## Salt USMC (May 7, 2013)

dknob said:


> I did GRC in the first year they stood it up, it wasn't as much missions, goals, events then it was just smokings, log PT, and taking care of the weakest links.


 
I remember you posting about that a while back.  Re-reading it after I had done one, I came to realize just how much harder yours was!  Hat's off to you!


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## 8654Maine (May 7, 2013)

dknob, your thread was what motivated me to do the GRC.  Yeah, the current ones have paled, but it's a good start.

Good luck on the Ascent.  I assume you've acclimated to the elevation.

The "Selection"  seems to be where it's at.  0% pass rate last class.

Hmmmmm.


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## Marine0311 (May 7, 2013)

Thread title changed to : GO RUCK!: Veteran owned/operated. Post your progress and AARs

Ladies and Gents I am sure everyone would like to see your comments if you are going to do this and your AAR.


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## dknob (May 7, 2013)

Deathy McDeath said:


> I remember you posting about that a while back. Re-reading it after I had done one, I came to realize just how much harder yours was! Hat's off to you!


Well It's a business first! They want people of all types of go and try it. Our Tampa class was 50% assigned to MacDill/CENTCOM - so huge veteran percentage.


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## dknob (May 7, 2013)

8654Maine said:


> dknob, your thread was what motivated me to do the GRC. Yeah, the current ones have paled, but it's a good start.
> 
> Good luck on the Ascent. I assume you've acclimated to the elevation.
> 
> ...


Yeah - only took four damn months!!


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## Marine0311 (May 9, 2013)

http://www.itstactical.com/fitcom/f...dventure-that-will-introduce-you-to-yourself/

GORUCK AAR from someone who did it in 2011


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## Marine0311 (May 9, 2013)

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2012/12/07/outfitted-equipped-goruck-challenge/

Suggestioned gear


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## Marine0311 (May 14, 2013)

This event called "Nasty" seems to be like a Tough Mudder styled event. 

https://www.goruck.com/nasty/about


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## Silence Dogood (May 15, 2013)

The Nasty looks like a ton of fun!  Anyone here planning on doing it?


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## Marine0311 (May 15, 2013)

Silence Dogood said:


> The Nasty looks like a ton of fun! Anyone here planning on doing it?


 
I may depending on the timing of life.


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## Marine0311 (May 16, 2013)

For those who did this what type of pack did you use?


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## 8654Maine (May 16, 2013)

I got the GR1.  However, there was an assortment of packs.  Even an old medium Alice.


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## Silence Dogood (May 16, 2013)

I bought a GR2 for everyday use and also used it during my GR Challenge in Houston. The pack is solid, but too big for during the challenge. Crab walks, bear crawls, and when being carried during buddy carries the pack tends to choke me out, and is just generally awkward. If I was to pick a GoRuck pack for a Challenge I would go with the GR1 or a Radio Ruck.


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## RackMaster (May 16, 2013)

Marine0311 said:


> This event called "Nasty" seems to be like a Tough Mudder styled event.
> 
> https://www.goruck.com/nasty/about


 
10 years ago, I'd do that as long as I get to stock up a ruck full of those $1 beers for the road. :-"


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## Silence Dogood (May 16, 2013)

RackMaster said:


> 10 years ago, I'd do that as long as I get to stock up a ruck full of those $1 beers for the road. :-"


Someone asked about that on the FB page and the reply from Jason (the founder) was something along the lines of : lawyers are ruining the world... Wink wink... Nudge nudge. I'm sure there will be plenty of ACRT consumed on the course!


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## lefty2 (Jun 20, 2013)

I completed my first GRC about 9 months ago.  I used the GR2 also.   I believe it went 16 hrs and 24-26 miles.  What a kick in the butt.  I am hoping to do Selection in Spetember in  Iowa.   

I agree with Silence Dogood above about the GR1 being better for a challenge.  

The GR2 is strong as an ox.   We used it to carry the pelican box/boulder combo while carrying it by the shoulder straps.  Never even creaked.


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## Loki (Jul 5, 2013)

When I was a grunt I hated road marches. Funny, now I'm willing to pay for it out of pocket. Crazy fun!


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## SpongeBob*24 (Jul 5, 2013)

Rucking + beer = EPIC!


Its' simple math really.......


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## Jay (Aug 19, 2013)

CLASS #724 AAR

Completed another challenge this last Friday/Saturday. Had a couple of buddies from my old crossfit gym sign up two months ago and I helped them train some and on Thursday I got to drinking and up and decided to sign up. I found out that the cadre (18B) lost his best friends in Kabul on July 28th, SSGT New. He was an 18Delta who rendered aid to two soliders who were shot and while helping them he took a hit to the side. Everyone wore white t-shirts with his name and rank, place and date he passed. No one in the group was current or prior service and it was cool to see everyone come together and honor the SSGT, and it clearly meant a lot to the cadre. Throughout the challenge the cadre would talk about SSGT New and give us a glimpse on the kind of man and life he lived. Even with rucks on and 50lb sandbags on your back and walking through Atlanta at 4am everyone started getting teary-eyed hearing how great and kind and strong of a man he was. I'm not sure how many we started with but we lost 4 in the beginning at the welcome party due to lack of preparation and frankly not knowing what they had gotten themselves into. There were 3 girls, one of which has done a challenge before and the other two were crossfitters, they completed it. I'd say the three of them were far tougher than the majority of guys during this thing. We started at the coca-cola factory, went through mid town, over to I-20 and back down past turner field and back up. Roughly 22 miles. Spent a lot of time in the water and sand. I'll try to post pictures when I can.

Something I took away from this one. Just because you're arguably the strongest person doesn't mean you're the toughest. And just because you're the toughest doesn't make you a leader. I was humbled this challenge in that the smallest, and probably weakest person in the group lead like a champ and didn't complain at any point. There were 3 GRT's(people who have completed a challenge before) and while a lot of times they're made team leaders in the beginning we were all told to basically just kick ass and do work, let the leaders rise on their own, and they did. 

Side note, leaving for basic training on 23 September. BCT and AIT at Ft. Sill. I am VERY eager to start this new chapter in my life! 

-J


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## Jay (Aug 19, 2013)




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## Jay (Aug 19, 2013)

low crawls until our arms bled.  
teaching buddy carries.


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## Jay (Aug 19, 2013)

Piedmont park "lake" aka sewage water more low crawls in sand. awesome.


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## Jay (Aug 19, 2013)

climbing up slides as a team in the park. I was apparently the only one enjoying myself at the time.   Class #724 Complete. 9pm-7am exactly. Congrats team!


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## Tatersaladftw (Sep 20, 2013)

Class 628 AAR - GoRuck Challenege
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Cadre: Jason - Served in the 75th
Class size beginning: 21
Class size end:10
Miles: 25ish
Pack:GoRuck Radio ruck

*LONG AAR. I remember this clear as day and I want anyone who is looking at doing it to have a real,in-depth description. I wil TLDR at the end. I am the individual in the michigan hat and hunting camo under armor.*

        What an awesome experience. We gathered around the clock tower on north campus about a half an hour before the actual start of the event. Spirits were high until inspection when someone made the mistake, unknowingly, of saying "Yes sir" to our cadre. Our cadre happened to be an NCO and  claimed he "worked for a living", so we paid for that with a good 5 minute front leaning rest inspection.  Then it was off to the welcome party. Push ups, overhead holds of the ruck, man makers, bear crawls, more push ups, more front leaning rest. Not 15 minutes in we lost our first two people. Apprently they have completed a challenge in the past ( unverfied statement, no clue if they did), but didnt prepare for this one. Unfortunately, they didnt bring their packs with them and we ended up slugging those arounds for 15 hours. After the two drops it was into the fountain.









      The fountain was not too bad, but we were in it for a good hour. I lost my headlamp there as it seemingly exploded having been submerged and beat up on for a goodwhile. We really struggled with the overhead clap cadence ( I will post pictures of this) and got punished for that pretty good. After a decent amount of man-makers it was off to our first timed movement of the evening. The team lead and myself were in charge of the compass and making sure we made the time hack and then it was into the woods.






   The northern side of Ann Arbor is incrediably thick with woods. We didnt end up making the movement and I will take blame for a dumb mistake on that. In the middle of the woods there was a fence we had to scale and upon scaling I had the compass, which was Cadre Jason's personal compass in my pocket and my shorts ripped and I, temporarily, lost his compass. I pretty much pissed myself as I thought my life was about to end if I didnt find his compass. I reluctantly told him and got everyone punished until I found his compass. I did; by sheer stupid luck I found that damn thing. From there we did some hellacious buddy carries up a steep and sandy hill with all sorts of things to do on the descent. We lost another 3-4 here.

   The 12 mile march. It is not the distance that was the problem , but the one rule we had to obey and that was NO TALKING. Just you and your thoughts shuffling along in the dark. Lost a few here.




*The good stuff:* After the march we got to finally eat after Cadre Jason showed us how to set up a patrol base. From here the next few hours were all objective based movements and quite fun. CASEVAC movements, assaulting objectives. Fun stuff and good livin', as they say.





*The Not good stuff:* Well, all fun things had to end and unfortunately ours ended with the log of hell. Long movements with this beast followed by some log PT.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




*The End*: Absolutely awesome. Very happy to be a part of a great team and to get to know Cadre Jason. I would do another in a heart beat with this group and actually have a back-to-back Challenge into a light planned for April 2014.




*TLDR: Decent class that got dwindled down. Overcame extra weight, low morale from high attrition, and ourselves to make it to the end.*


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## JKumz (Sep 22, 2013)

^Did last weeks Heavy in Chicago with Cadre Jason, he was a pretty cool dude.  Sets realistic yet challenging time hacks.  We were right on Lake Michigan and unfortunately he is aware of how demoralizing the cold water and sand can be...  I'll be sure to post pictures later once the photographer that shadowed us posts them.


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## JKumz (Oct 1, 2013)

Go Ruck Heavy 014, a good time (not really) with some good people.


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## Marine0311 (Oct 1, 2013)

JKumz said:


> ^Did last weeks Heavy in Chicago with Cadre Jason, he was a pretty cool dude.  Sets realistic yet challenging time hacks.  We were right on Lake Michigan and unfortunately he is aware of how demoralizing the cold water and sand can be...  I'll be sure to post pictures later once the photographer that shadowed us posts them.



How did you train up for this?


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## JKumz (Oct 1, 2013)

I didn't. Completely underestimated GoRuck, I was on leave and had just learned about goruck at the time and thought "hmm, this looks like fun"  registered last minute and there I was.  No particular way to train for these in my opinion, I mean don't skip leg day, and be comfortable with a pack, but other than that it becomes an endurance challenge to see who is willing to push themselves way out of their comfort zone.  In the end we had 2 people with fractured feet and an assortment of other injuries.  The people that do these things are crazy, almost everyone there already knew each other from previous challenges they did together and they do these things all the time and even travel around the country to do different ones.  The men and woman I attended with showed more heart then some people I've served with.  I'm down with the Goruck community.


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## Tatersaladftw (Oct 3, 2013)

I see Anthoney made that one as well. He is the one in the awesome RWB shorts in our pictures. He does a challenge about every other weekend. Great guy. 
As far as training:
Get under a pack every other day if you can. What a buddy and I did to prepare for being miserable was grab our packs overload them with more stuff than we thought we would bring and haul around a giant wooden fence post for a few miles. It still wont compare to being under telephone poles, or anything like that, but just being as uncomfortable as possible.

 Seeing as there are no heavies realtively close/or soon I am going to do a  Challenge immediately followed by a light for what I deem the "GORUCK Medium" in April. Should be a good time.


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## Marine0311 (May 11, 2014)

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


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## Tatersaladftw (May 11, 2014)

My first challenge I did I used the GORUCK radio ruck. It's on the smaller side of rucks and doesn't have a frame sheet. It fit my 6 bricks and water fine, but got a little rough on the shoulders after 14 hours. 

My second challenge is just completed on the 25th of this past April I used the GORUCK gr1 and that is probably the perfect pack for the challenge. It's large, has a frame sheet, and is big enough to carry anything extra you need. 


The rationale behind using these packs over others is two fold:
- when I first started I didn't know any better for gear, so I got what was recommended 
- lifetime warranty on their gear and I know it's been tested in over 1000 challenges and they're good to go.

I recommend their whole line. I'll have an AAR on the GORUCK heavy(24hrs) this fall.


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## Salt USMC (May 11, 2014)

I used the GR1 and it worked fine.  The only thing I would change is adding a chest strap.


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## Marine0311 (May 12, 2014)

Deathy McDeath said:


> I used the GR1 and it worked fine.  The only thing I would change is adding a chest strap.



The GR0 has chest straps. I'd like waist straps also.


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## Totentanz (May 12, 2014)

Marine0311 said:


> The GR0 has chest straps. I'd like waist straps also.


 
Agreed on the waist straps.  Having that thing (GR1 in my case) supported almost exclusively by my back and shoulders sucked.


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## Marine0311 (May 13, 2014)

Totentanz said:


> Agreed on the waist straps.  Having that thing (GR1 in my case) supported almost exclusively by my back and shoulders sucked.



Agree. Why a chest strap but not a waist one?


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## mm23 (Jun 4, 2014)

GoRuck Light Class 306 NYC 5/23/2014
A lot of fun and it was very interesting from the start. I actually got lost on my way in but I got there and paid for my sins. Joe (our cadre) was great but I have to say the worst part of it was carrying my ruck as a "weapon". I experienced bicep cramps and that freaking hurts more than breaking your wrist. Overall the camaraderie was fantastic and since it was memorial day, we had to present a meaningful story either about a servicemember, first responder, or person who was affected by the 9/11/01 attacks. It got emotional and some of the stories hit me pretty hard but we came out a team in the end. I was soaking wet the whole time but it could've been worse. Joe brought us down to the Army Special Forces memorial and gave his presentation on why SF is so badass and how he turned all 38 of us into a militia. Joe is a prior-enlisted SF major and he is the man. In the end, All 38 of us graduated and I found a mentor in the SOF community and I would recommend this event to anyone who is interested in this type of training.


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## mm23 (Jun 4, 2014)

Here are some pictures from the event. In case you're wondering I'm the doofus with the neon yellow shirt!


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## Marine0311 (Jun 4, 2014)

Good Livin Brother!.


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## mm23 (Jun 4, 2014)

Anybody doing the September 26 Challenge at West Point?


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## mm23 (Jun 4, 2014)

Marine0311 said:


> Good Livin Brother!.


Hey it was awesome, I'll do it again as soon as my next paycheck comes through


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## Tatersaladftw (Jun 23, 2014)

Anyone signed up for the 4th in Detroit? Will be my third challenge and they are doing special patches for it..... if you pass ;)


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## Marine0311 (Aug 17, 2014)

mm23 said:


> Anybody doing the September 26 Challenge at West Point?



Send me a PM I may be able to come up and shadow.


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## Marine0311 (Aug 31, 2014)

I need a pack with waist and chest straps.


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## mm23 (Sep 23, 2014)

Had to postpone my GoRuck Challenge to October 31st in NYC...hopefully I won't end up in the doctor's office until then!!


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## Salt USMC (Sep 23, 2014)

mm23 said:


> Had to postpone my GoRuck Challenge to October 31st in NYC...hopefully I won't end up in the doctor's office until then!!


There are NYC GoRucks?  Hmm....I may have to go back on my "NEVER AGAIN" pledge.


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## Marine0311 (Sep 23, 2014)

Deathy McDeath said:


> There are NYC GoRucks?  Hmm....I may have to go back on my "NEVER AGAIN" pledge.



There are MANY NYC gorucks lol.


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## TB1077 (Sep 25, 2014)

First GRC this Friday with my wife and friends from crossfit.  Looking forward to it.


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## TB1077 (Sep 29, 2014)

Turned out to be a lot of fun.  We had a large group so we ended up with two cadre (both Team SGTs- one 20th Group and one 7th Group).  We went a little over 12 hours and covered around 19.5 miles.  Between both groups, we only had one person quit (they were from the other group, so I'm not sure why).  We did have some folks that were not prepared and paid the price.  They were hurting most of the time and ended up having others carrying their rucks for them.  I thought it was a great way to teach civilians a little bit about the military.  There were lots of little education rest stops along the way when we were able to learn a little bit about life on an ODA, some of his combat experiences, some basic military education, etc.  I would highly recommend to military and civilians alike.

Also, as a warning, GoRuck seems to have a bit of a "groupie" following.  There are some obnoxious folks that are regular customers that can wear on your nerves.  We had a small group that found it their responsibility to get on everyone's nerves (know it all, looked down on you if had not done an event before, etc.).  These people really can take away from the experience if you don't get them in check immediately.


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## devilbones (Oct 3, 2014)

I havent trained and I am going on the Mogadishu Mile tonight in DC.  Dont have good shoes, havent packed, I worked 15 hours yesterday and I have been up since 0500.  Looks like its going to rain too.  It should be a good time.


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## Grunt (Oct 3, 2014)

devilbones said:


> I havent trained and I am going on the Mogadishu Mile tonight in DC.  Dont have good shoes, havent packed, I worked 15 hours yesterday and I have been up since 0500.  Looks like its going to rain too.  It should be a good time.


 
Sounds like perfect conditions for victory....


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## 8654Maine (Oct 3, 2014)

Agoge said:


> Sounds like perfect conditions for victory....



No shit that is good training.

Try working overnight and doing a marathon or climbing Mt. Washington.  Just gotta love the cramps.

Have fun, devilbones.


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## Marine0311 (Oct 3, 2014)

devilbones said:


> I havent trained and I am going on the Mogadishu Mile tonight in DC.  Dont have good shoes, havent packed, I worked 15 hours yesterday and I have been up since 0500.  Looks like its going to rain too.  It should be a good time.



Kick ass and lead from the front!


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## devilbones (Oct 5, 2014)

I finished.  It was about 14 hours and 20+ miles.  It took us 4 hours to get from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capital Building.  There may be a picture of me on the FB event page.  I was a team leader and the class leader for one event.  I dont think I will ever do that again.


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## Grunt (Oct 5, 2014)

Congratulations on the finish brother!

That's what it's all about.....


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## Salt USMC (Oct 5, 2014)

Congratulations!  DC would be an awesome place to do a GRC.  So much history.


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## devilbones (Oct 6, 2014)

Deathy McDeath said:


> Congratulations!  DC would be an awesome place to do a GRC.  So much history.


Because it was the Mogadishu Mile we went over some knowledge about Operation Gothic Serpent and talked about the Rangers and Delta members that were lost.  Probably wont do it again but it was nice to complete.


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## Marine0311 (Jan 1, 2015)

devilbones said:


> Because it was the Mogadishu Mile we went over some knowledge about Operation Gothic Serpent and talked about the Rangers and Delta members that were lost.  Probably wont do it again but it was nice to complete.


 
Why wouldn't you do it again?


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## devilbones (Jan 6, 2015)

Marine0311 said:


> Why wouldn't you do it again?


I wouldnt do it again because its just a bunch of whiney bitches looking for a patch.  I ended up having to carry a bunch of packs towards the end and none of them were anything close to the required weight.  I could barely carry mine on my back with the 6 bricks and I had two others in my arms no prob.  Maybe Im just being old and grumpy.


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## Totentanz (Jan 6, 2015)

devilbones said:


> I wouldnt do it again because its just a bunch of whiney bitches looking for a patch.  I ended up having to carry a bunch of packs towards the end and none of them were anything close to the required weight.  I could barely carry mine on my back with the 6 bricks and I had two others in my arms no prob.  Maybe Im just being old and grumpy.



They didn't inspect prior to movement?


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## devilbones (Jan 6, 2015)

Totentanz said:


> They didn't inspect prior to movement?


The only thing they did was take out all of the food.


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## Totentanz (Jan 6, 2015)

devilbones said:


> The only thing they did was take out all of the food.



That's different.  When I did it a few years back, we were allowed to take as much food/hydration/pogey bait shit as we wanted... sometimes to the detriment of the participant (there were some folks who had packed out far more food than they consumed).

There was, however, as simply (yet thorough) initial inspection of the packs for a few simple things:
a) Do you have six bricks?
b) Are all electronics turned off and put away? (e.g., watches and cell phones could be packed away, but not used during the event.  No GPS units at all)
c) No other prohibited items (I don't recall the list, but it was pretty self-explanatory).


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## devilbones (Jan 6, 2015)

Totentanz said:


> That's different.  When I did it a few years back, we were allowed to take as much food/hydration/pogey bait shit as we wanted... sometimes to the detriment of the participant (there were some folks who had packed out far more food than they consumed).
> 
> There was, however, as simply (yet thorough) initial inspection of the packs for a few simple things:
> a) Do you have six bricks?
> ...


Some people had some metal plates, some had sandbags some had dirty clothes.  Maybe they dumped them along the way but we put all of the pogey bait into a kit bag and split it up along the way.  The cadre ended up with a PB&J as well as some other home made stuff.


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## Marine0311 (Jan 6, 2015)

devilbones said:


> Some people had some metal plates, some had sandbags some had dirty clothes.  Maybe they dumped them along the way but we put all of the pogey bait into a kit bag and split it up along the way.  The cadre ended up with a PB&J as well as some other home made stuff.



What pack did you use?


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## devilbones (Jan 7, 2015)

Marine0311 said:


> What pack did you use?


I just used the patrol pack with a hydration bladder.


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## Marine0311 (Jan 9, 2015)

devilbones said:


> I just used the patrol pack with a hydration bladder.



The GR0?


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## devilbones (Jan 12, 2015)

Marine0311 said:


> The GR0?


The USMC assault pack.  I  wrote patrol pack, but its the smaller part of the ILBE.


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## Marine0311 (Jan 12, 2015)

devilbones said:


> The USMC assault pack.  I  wrote patrol pack, but its the smaller part of the ILBE.



Ah ok.

Did you train up for this?


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## devilbones (Jan 14, 2015)

Marine0311 said:


> Ah ok.
> 
> Did you train up for this?


No.  But I am training now.  I found a couple of outdoor clubs around that do some cool stuff like land nav and will participate in some of those events when it gets warmer.


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