On June 1, six #HIM from Carpex toed the line at 9pm, ready to see what the next 10 to 12 hours of GORUCK-provided Good Livin’ would bring. I remember my first event and the attendant anxiety about what would lie ahead. One thing that keeps me coming back is that, like an F3 workout or a Phish show, you never know exactly what you’re going to get. That was to be the case on this night as well.
As a group, we had prepared, we had trained, we had rucked a bunch of miles and lifted a bunch of heavy things. Still, I found myself wishing I’d done more to help equip the first-timers. Would a 5-6 hour event sim have helped? Did we ruck enough? We barely touched a log, will that be a rude awakening?
We stood in two ranks, and Cadre Jake introduced himself and took roll. There were a lot of names missing, and one of our teammates insisted that three of them “should be here any time.” Well, they rolled in, and suddenly I didn’t feel so bad about our level of preparation. To say they were ill-equipped is an understatement. One of them was unsure of how much weight he’d brought, and Jake graciously supplied him a 30# ruck plate to carry just to be sure. Talk about rude awakening. Our guys were good to go!
Thang
The mission itself played out over the next 10.5 hours and somewhere between 17 and 22 miles (depending who you ask):
- Start point was near Western Wake Fire, across the road from Whiplash.
- The welcome party lasted about 45 minutes. We got to plank on our knuckles. Motivation to learn fast!
- 26 total PAX (F3 and non) were divided into three teams: Gold, Utah, Omaha - representing beaches invaded on D-Day.
- We did a long loop through Umstead, from WWFD to Reedy Creek road and trail, to the Lapihio turn-off, around Sycamore trail and parking, and saving Turkey Creek for when we were good and tired.
- We had a few hundred pounds of coupons, and supplies for making field-expedient stretchers.. which we eventually used to make.. field expedient stretchers.. upon which the coupons (and later PAX) were placed.
High Points
Banjo: Having Biner, Bush [F3 ENC], and Olé [F3 Raleigh] on the Gold team.
Olé: Definitely all of the history lessons of the D-Day invasion! Really made this even more of an experience than just a brutal workout!
Repeato: Completing the challenge in good standing …. actually standing.
Bartman: Rucking down Reedy Creek road early in the event. Beautiful night, lightning in the distance to the left, wild stallions running in the paddock to the right, and the entire group clicking fairly well and getting to know one another.
Hearing the inspirational Eisenhower and Churchill quotes prepared by the PAX throughout the night.
Low Points
Banjo: After swapping stretchers at the midpoint break for the 100# and basically having 4 PAX in the rotation to carry it through the inclines on Turkey Creek. My F3 brothers were awesome. It was disheartening having an equal number of sad clowns that would not participate in carrying the team weight at all, let alone through this more strenuous difficult terrain.
Ole: carrying the “stretcher” loaded down with a casualty for the last half mile, and seeing him smiling and laughing while we were getting smoked carrying him!
Repeato: Finishing with the [wonky] black stretcher. My team was out in front on that last downhill. I seriously was at my limit, or my perceived limit. I was verbal in my displeasure with this 2x4 grinding into my now non-existent shoulders and traps. Two of my teammates were amazing in verbal support to push me up and down and eventually to the bottom of that hill. Also, no cold beer at ENDEX.
Bartman: My first stint as team lead during the welcome party, just 15 minutes into the event. I did not fully understand the assignment, did not think to ask to clarify, and earned us some overhead rucks for lack of attention to detail. Leading the team into unnecessary discomfort was not a good way to start.
Next Time
Ole and Bartman: Square away your gear. Check and double check. “It worked 2 weeks ago” is not adequate preparation, and rest stops during the event fly by without much time to interrogate equipment malfunctions. Both of us had headlamp issues; luckily, we were prohibited from using them much.
Bartman: We had two drops during the welcome party. I wish I’d taken the 2 minutes to “pick up the six” and encourage them to come with when they were sitting on the sideline. They couldn’t have done worse than some of the team we did have.
Repeato: Longer training rucks carrying heavier weight. Figure out specific shoulder and trap exercises to be able to deal with the added and often uneven weight. Better foot preparation and footwear. [“Ruck more” is seldom bad advice - Bartman]
Banjo: Reinforce my food baggy to avoid it becoming water logged with lake water.
NMS / Parting Thoughts (from the PAX)
Life is difficult, often we experience the false finish, when we are close to our destination, and we are presented with unexpected challenges. We must press on to and through the finish.
An event like this truly exposes people’s true personalities. Team Gold received several boisterous people that “talked the talk” but were not able to literally carry their own weight. In contrast, we also had several quiet unassuming group members that let their actions speak for themselves!
You can always do more than you think you can with less than you think you need.
“It is not enough to do our best. Sometimes, we must do what is required.” - Winston Churchill