GoRuck?
 

Any of you have any experience with this GoRuck outfit? Or is it GORUCK? Prolly doesn't matter.

What is their association with CrossFit? Is there one?

I read through their site and guess you have to sign up for and attend a class to get into a group, the class, then compete, or maybe just participate in the scheduled event when it happens in your city, with your group/class.

Looks fun. I could use some hoo-ah added to my workouts. But not certain of the whole pre-training and class part of it. There is only one gym which offers tailored GR workouts here in KC and it is clear on the other side of the city from me. Too far. Not doable.

So, any of youz done one of these?

I like what they wrote in their cadre bios. Definitely our kinda guys. Correction, they are our guys.

This is their URL:
http://goruckchallenge.com/

Looks good, none of them are in my area though. I went rucking for the first time yesterday and I'm in pain, did 7 miles total, 3.5 to the park in 55 minutes. Worked out at the park, same way back. It's a great exercise and I'll be doing it twice a week.

Great guys, big supporters of the Green Beret Foundation.

Not just supporters of the GBF, some of them are SF soldiers.

My SR Medic is involved with GORUCK out of Colorado. I encouraged him to get on this sight so hope to see him here soon.

Completed one a year ago. Had hope to do the GRC in Key West but the dates changed. Great bunch and it is a great way to meet people for races. Group events have an optional fundraiser for the GBF.

The GORUCK organization has several different events that they hold in major cities. Although most of the events are in the United States, they have started doing them in other European countries as well.

The founder, Jason McCarthy, along with many of the cadre, are former Green Berets. They are large supporters of the Green Beret Foundation and donate $10 of every entry fee for their various events. In addition to their donations to the Green Beret Foundation, their GORUCK Tough community of followers (all of whom have completed at least one GORUCK Challenge as a rite of passage) are continuously organizing philanthropic events to raise money for those in need.

The events themselves vary in nature. The GORUCK Challenge is their trademark event which is a team building exercise. It's described as 8-10 hours, 15-20 miles, under-promise and over-deliver. Participants are required to wear a rucksack filled with bricks and complete some considerable PT along with arduous tasks designed to mold you into a cohesive team while giving you a small taste of the Special Forces selection process.

There is so much more to the organization than I can appropriately sum up in a forum setting. One should visit www.GORUCK.com for more information.

I've personally done one of the GORUCK challenges and I'm currently signed up for two more. My experience was fantastic. Ours started at 9:00pm and ended at 10:00 am, we were doing PT in a nearby river, carrying logs for miles without rest, and experiencing what the cadre refer to as, "Good Livin." It was brutal and painful but after the smoke clears you walk away with a feeling of accomplishment, timeless lessons, and many new friendships. I haven't had the pleasure of partaking in any of their other events although they sound very challenging and rewarding. I'm trying to participate in as many of their challenges as I can before I ship to OSUT in November.

For what it's worth, Jason is also the Director of Marketing for the GBF, per http://greenberetfoundation.org/management.html

He seems to do a pretty good job. If you follow his online stuff, he touts the GBF very frequently. Heck knows he's done enough to separate more than a few dollars from me for the GBF.

I just completed my first GRC in Chicago. It was a fantastic and humbling experience. You do not need to do Crossfit to prepare, but obviously the more fit you are, the better off you will be. The only thing you have to do to attend the event is register and show up at the starting point, which is announced a few days before the event. As far as training, at some point you will be worked to exhaustion, so I don't think there is a bulletproof training regimen. I'd get some time in under your ruck with your bricks, get used to a slow jog (10-11 min miles) for 3-5 miles at a clip, do some pushups, lunges, and burpees with your weighted ruck on.

Our team was composed of lifters, distance runners, triathletes and crossfit people. Everyone had more trouble than someone else at some point in the night, but the team quickly gelled together to help everyone out when they needed it. I'm incredibly happy I signed up.

I signed up for the Jan 26 2013 at 0100 here in Flagstaff. Generally our coldest time of year with the most amount of snow too (oh and at 7000'). Should be fun. :) Goruck folks have answered quickly, professionaly and completely. I'll post an AAR, but I really just suspect selection events in the snow. (I know. Hard up if I'm paying for a selection event.)

Philly March 23
 

Anyone here doing either the philly challenge (3/23/13), or the Trek in may?

stand-up guys
 

I am posting this email I received two days ago to illustrate how GORUCK dealt with a problem:

"Hi everyone -

[Redacted] here. As we say here at the Teamhouse, bad news doesn't get better with time, so I'll cut to the chase: we are canceling GORUCK Trek events going forward from this October 1st.

We really appreciate your vote of confidence in us by signing up, and your support of GORUCK as we grow and develop new events. I'll be straight with you - we simply don't have the resources to make the event what it should be. Feedback from the GORUCK Tough community throughout the development of Trek has been invaluable, and after this trial period we've come to the decision that keeping the event quality consistent for all Trek participants would require significantly more Cadre and support than we currently have available.

We realize you've spent money on this, and we'd like to offer you three options:

1) Direct transfer to Trek: Boston - September 28, 2012 (the Trek grand finale - gotta go out with a bang)
2) Transfer of registration credit to any other GORUCK event or combination of events
3) A full refund

Regardless of which option you choose, we'd also like to offer a free Challenge for you, or for that friend who's always wanted to sign up but never has. There's no rush to decide what you'd like to do. Please email [redacted] with any questions.

[Redacted]
Lead Cadre, GORUCK Events"

Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) this gives me great confidence in GORUCK's integrity and I look forward to participating in many of its events.


Hammock

Did the GRC KC
 

OK, I started this thread. I did the Kansas City GoRuck Challenge back in early August. It was a ball buster and kicked my ass. But it was awesome in the way that only having your balls busted can be awesome. I had McCall flashbacks all night long, over the 17 miles and 12.5 hours that was our GRC.

Allot of SF buddies have marveled at this and asked why the hell I would want to do something like this.....AGAIN?! Hard to answer that. Partly, I wanted to know if I still could. I did it. Ironically, physical fitness was not the problem. The prob was that I approached the GRC like I was still 30 years old. The worst result of that was I mismanaged my hydration and got way dehydrated. Dumbass. Know better. Water alone will not work, not over 12 hours of constant PT, and especially not if you are over 40, and esp. if you are 50, which I am. Everyone else had tabs and cubes and gels that were packed with electrolytes and various other goodies. Be advised. We started Friday night, finished Sat morn at 0930 and I did not piss until Sunday. I also did not prep well, in terms of hydrating the day of the GRC. I was busy and let that slip. Dumbass. Knew better.

BUT, I will say that all us old soldiers have some advantages, like shoulders and backs for which the ruck is no stranger, and familiarity with how to ruck march, in terms of rhythm, swinging the hips, etc. Some of the kids in my class struggled with just marching en route. Especially the women, of which made up about a 1/5 of the class.

Our class cadre made me Mr. Popular for about 5 minutes at one point during the night. We came to a bridge. The rules for bridges was that we had to pay a price, some sort of sadistic exercise, in order to cross, like a buddy carry. It was into the night and we all were whipped. We had just done some running and everyone was gasping and panting and the cadre said that for this bridge we're gonna have a trivia quiz and if anyone can answer it we'll just cross. Then he asked "Who was the founder of Special Forces?" Everyone freaked. I laughed and grabbed a breath and then barked out "Col. Aaron Banks!" He said, "That is correct. Cross the bridge." No one else of course had a clue of the answer and people were slapping me and thanking me. One girl kept saying "Thank you for knowing that. Thank you. Thank you."

I cramped up real bad in the last mile. Was basically OK until then. But my calves would not allow me to run that last mile. March/walk, yes. But no more running. We marched it on in. When I finally did piss it was so dark gold that I considered bottling it and taking it to a jewelry store or pawn shop to see if I could get a good price for it.

Are they only canceling the events in your area or all over the country? I ask because there is a GORUCK Challenge in Maine on October 20th which is a few days before I ship, and I was going to sign up. The events are still listed on their website, and the option to sign up for an event is still available. There are no messages on their website stating that all events are cancelled which is why I am looking for some clarification.

Thanks

No go at this station.

Maybe when you are sleep deprived your attention to detail will improve.:D


Good luck

LHC

I see what I missed. The GORUCK Trek is different than the GORUCK Challenge.

Thank you for pointing that out to me and answering my question at the same time.

CrossFitNH