Scottiem
Lil-Rokslider
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2012
- Messages
- 113
Well I survived Goruck Heavy back on June 6th and thought it was time to post a review. For those unfamiliar, Goruck Heavy is a challenge that lasts 24 hours and covers a minimum of 35 miles. You have to carry a ruck with a minimum dry weight (weight without food/water) of 35lbs. Mine came to a total of 48lbs with food and water. We were also responsible for carrying a 50lb team weight throughout the whole event. Just like the Goruck Challenge (discussed on a previous thread), this is a team event that consists of a lot of rucking and a lot of physical training. This was my first Goruck event and everyone was asking why the hell I chose Heavy? Basically I wanted a challenge that I wasn't sure I could complete. I did two Tough Mudders last year to help prep me for elk season and not to knock them, but virtually anyone can complete one. They are a blast and I'm sure I will do more in the future, but this year I wanted to push myself physically and mentally harder than ever before. They advertise the Goruck Heavy as having a 50% wash out rate. This is why I chose heavy.
The event started at 6pm Friday June 6th and lasted till 6pm Saturday. 36 of us started and 35 finished. Apparently this is extremely rare. First thing our cadre introduced themselves. We ended up with three, two army SF and one Navy Seal. As many of you know June 6th was the 70th anniversary of D Day so we knew this would make the event special. There was no wasting time. Right after initial ruck inspection we were instructed to line up oldest to youngest without talking while bear crawling. Needless to say that was a total cluster. The cadre then went down the line checking our ages and every time we were out of order we would do bear crawls, crab walks, suicides, or just stand there and hold our rucks over our heads. Trust me, all these things are easy till you do it with a 48lb pack. It sucks! If you would have asked me right then if I thought I would last 24 hours I would have said no. We were only 20 mins in and I was already miserable. Once we got our crap together and lined up in the correct order it was time to start rucking. Anytime we rucked we were given a timeframe to make to the next point. If we were late...then extra PT. Along the way our cadre quizzed us on military history and if we couldn't come up with the correct answer as a team they would either create more PT or pick casualties. Casualties meant we had to carry team members along with their ruck until the cadre revived them.
We made it to our first stop around 9 or 10pm (we weren't allowed to wear watches). It was now time to complete the Goruck version of the army physical fitness test. We had to complete 55 push-ups, 65 sit-ups, and a 12 mile ruck. The push-ups and sit-ups were together as a team which made them harder. It's always easier to pump them out fast, but all 36 of us had to do them in unisen. Because we were late (thanks to extra PT) we had to complete the 12 mile ruck in 3 hours instead of 3.5. Again with no watch to keep track. This was a good chance to chit chat with team mates cause we literally were walking circles around a polo track. We were told to do 15 laps. We ended up finishing 14 laps at the 3 hour mark. Oops. They said we had 12 mins to complete the last lap or our whole team fails the test. We finished it in 9 mins. We where then given around 15 mins to fill water, eat, and take care of our feet.
Our next ruck destination was Ocean Beach. I'm not sure how long it took to get there but it was somewhere in the early morning hours. We then ran through some more PT on the beach. Bear crawls, crab walks, sprints and a bunch of other exercises. Then we were told to line up facing the ocean and march! This was the part we were all dreading. I can tell you first hand that while the Pacific Ocean is always cold, it's worse at 3am. Of course Cadre Geoff, our navy seal, took over this part. We spent the next 30 mins getting slapped around in the surf doing various exercises including burpees, flutter kicks, and forming a Congo line and swimming between your teammates legs. After a half hour we were back on the beach doing jumping jacks to warm up. Of course once we were warm....back in the ocean for another 30 mins! This sucked! After that they had us running circles on the beach to warm up and putting on any dry clothes we had (dry sacks were a bonus seeing we wore our rucks in the ocean). This is where we lost our one teammate. Hypothermia took its toll on him and he was out for medical.
We then proceeded to ruck to our next destination. I'm not sure where it was (I'm not from the Bay Area) but it was at a big fountain. We got there right at sunrise, and now wearing our dry clothes were just starting to warm up again. We were then told that we would complete 20 push-ups with our rucks on together as a team. If we did it right...we get a break. If not...we go swimming. Feet up on the fountain edge, arms in the fountain for the push-ups. Luckily we did them right, although every time you went down you soaked your whole chest. So much for dry clothes. After that we did arm circles to warm up and then took a break. At this time we had another teammate want to quit. We were told to decide as a team if we were gonna let them quit or keep them in the game. We told him we would carry his ruck so all he had to do was continue to the next stop and reconsider there. He reluctantly agreed and we hit the road.
Our next destination was the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Of course we were late due to having a injured team member, but we didn't care. At least we were still a team. So after a quick break we were punished with core PT. Flutter kicks, Russian twists, leg raises, and a bunch of other crap.
Afterwards we crossed under the highway and proceeded to hike a trail that led up a mountain...or hill...whatever they call it. I'm cutting this short, but we hiked up one side and down the other. On the way up we suffered many "casualties" requiring us to take turns carrying teammates (the cadre always picked the biggest dudes to be carried). Once at the bottom there was a pile of old railroad ties waiting for us. We then spent the next hour plus taking turns doing log PT. Shoulder to shoulder, sprints, log bench press, log sit-ups, etc. if you weren't on a log you were doing push-ups. At one point, half the team was doing push-ups while the other half was doing log bench press. We had a count discrepancy. Some said we had completed 78...the rest said 79. The cadre decided we would start at 50! We continued till 110 and cadre Geoff explained that's what he expects from us. 110% all the time!
Now we shouldered the logs and carried them all the way back up the mountain...and down to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. Keep in mind that we still had our 50lb team weight with us also. We took turns between the logs, team weight, casualties, and other teammates rucks. If sucked! Once at the base of the bridge we took a 20 min break.
We were now told to shoulder our rucks, pick up our logs, and get back to the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge in 55 mins. Our next destination was a beach over by presidio. We knew we wouldn't make it in time being that it was Saturday afternoon and the bridge was full of people sight seeing, but screw it. We didn't come here for easy!
Once we got to the beach we were yelled at for being late and they told us we were at the 22 hour mark. We now knew we only had to suffer 2 more hours! They gave us 5 mins to dig a whole in the sand, burry all 35 rucks, and make a tipi out of our railroad ties to mark the location. Needless to say we failed to do that in 5 mins. Punishment time. Line up and inch worm push-up into the ocean. We then did some burpees in the surf and lastly had us go under water and hold your breath for 6 seconds...easy enough right? Apparently not. The time started when the last head went under and stopped when the first head came up. I held mine for a 12 count and it still took about 10 tries for us to complete 6 seconds as a team. We then got back on the beach and sugar cookied ourselves (rolled in the soft sand till fully covered). Now we had 3 mins to finish burying our rucks and make the tipi. This time we got it done! We did a quick dunk in the ocean to wash off he sand, split into 2 teams and did a bear crawl relay race against each other. 50 yards out and back. My team won, which we expected to be a good thing....wrong. Losing team got to dig up the rucks while we went back in the ocean for more PT! After this we lined our logs up with some drift wood on the beach and lined up to ruck to the finish.
We were given 30 mins to make it back to where we started some 23.5 hours ago. On our way we were forced to hike with our rucks over our heads for awhile. Then we were told we couldn't use our shoulder straps. Then about a half mile from the finish, they picked off some casualties for us to carry to the finish. Once we got to the finish point....not done yet...they had us lie on our stomachs and form a big circle. Place you feet on the shoulders of the guy or gal behind you, and do push-ups. One guy was so exhausted, it took awhile for him to do one push-up so we could stop. We then lined up for our congratulations speech, received our Goruck Heavy patch, and finally relaxed and drank beer that some family members brought for us.
We ended up right at 24 hours and 35.15 miles. They said we carried the logs for over 10 miles. Again I chose this event cause I wanted to push myself physically and mentally like never before. It did that and then some! It's hard to train for something like this so I figured I'd do a lot of rucking. The longest hike I did at home in the CO mountains prior was 8 miles. If you would have asked me if I thought I could to 35 miles, sometimes carrying 100 lbs plus, I would have said probably not. But I did. When I crossed the finish I had my ruck, a teammates ruck, and was helping carry a casualty. You reach a point where you just do it. Who cares. Suffer later. It was an awesome experience and I know it will help when hunting. I now know that my body and mind are capable of way more than I thought. Goruck Heavy is definitely not for everyone, but there is always the Goruck Challenge (12 hours)! Either way it will push you beyond belief!
The event started at 6pm Friday June 6th and lasted till 6pm Saturday. 36 of us started and 35 finished. Apparently this is extremely rare. First thing our cadre introduced themselves. We ended up with three, two army SF and one Navy Seal. As many of you know June 6th was the 70th anniversary of D Day so we knew this would make the event special. There was no wasting time. Right after initial ruck inspection we were instructed to line up oldest to youngest without talking while bear crawling. Needless to say that was a total cluster. The cadre then went down the line checking our ages and every time we were out of order we would do bear crawls, crab walks, suicides, or just stand there and hold our rucks over our heads. Trust me, all these things are easy till you do it with a 48lb pack. It sucks! If you would have asked me right then if I thought I would last 24 hours I would have said no. We were only 20 mins in and I was already miserable. Once we got our crap together and lined up in the correct order it was time to start rucking. Anytime we rucked we were given a timeframe to make to the next point. If we were late...then extra PT. Along the way our cadre quizzed us on military history and if we couldn't come up with the correct answer as a team they would either create more PT or pick casualties. Casualties meant we had to carry team members along with their ruck until the cadre revived them.
We made it to our first stop around 9 or 10pm (we weren't allowed to wear watches). It was now time to complete the Goruck version of the army physical fitness test. We had to complete 55 push-ups, 65 sit-ups, and a 12 mile ruck. The push-ups and sit-ups were together as a team which made them harder. It's always easier to pump them out fast, but all 36 of us had to do them in unisen. Because we were late (thanks to extra PT) we had to complete the 12 mile ruck in 3 hours instead of 3.5. Again with no watch to keep track. This was a good chance to chit chat with team mates cause we literally were walking circles around a polo track. We were told to do 15 laps. We ended up finishing 14 laps at the 3 hour mark. Oops. They said we had 12 mins to complete the last lap or our whole team fails the test. We finished it in 9 mins. We where then given around 15 mins to fill water, eat, and take care of our feet.
Our next ruck destination was Ocean Beach. I'm not sure how long it took to get there but it was somewhere in the early morning hours. We then ran through some more PT on the beach. Bear crawls, crab walks, sprints and a bunch of other exercises. Then we were told to line up facing the ocean and march! This was the part we were all dreading. I can tell you first hand that while the Pacific Ocean is always cold, it's worse at 3am. Of course Cadre Geoff, our navy seal, took over this part. We spent the next 30 mins getting slapped around in the surf doing various exercises including burpees, flutter kicks, and forming a Congo line and swimming between your teammates legs. After a half hour we were back on the beach doing jumping jacks to warm up. Of course once we were warm....back in the ocean for another 30 mins! This sucked! After that they had us running circles on the beach to warm up and putting on any dry clothes we had (dry sacks were a bonus seeing we wore our rucks in the ocean). This is where we lost our one teammate. Hypothermia took its toll on him and he was out for medical.
We then proceeded to ruck to our next destination. I'm not sure where it was (I'm not from the Bay Area) but it was at a big fountain. We got there right at sunrise, and now wearing our dry clothes were just starting to warm up again. We were then told that we would complete 20 push-ups with our rucks on together as a team. If we did it right...we get a break. If not...we go swimming. Feet up on the fountain edge, arms in the fountain for the push-ups. Luckily we did them right, although every time you went down you soaked your whole chest. So much for dry clothes. After that we did arm circles to warm up and then took a break. At this time we had another teammate want to quit. We were told to decide as a team if we were gonna let them quit or keep them in the game. We told him we would carry his ruck so all he had to do was continue to the next stop and reconsider there. He reluctantly agreed and we hit the road.
Our next destination was the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Of course we were late due to having a injured team member, but we didn't care. At least we were still a team. So after a quick break we were punished with core PT. Flutter kicks, Russian twists, leg raises, and a bunch of other crap.
Afterwards we crossed under the highway and proceeded to hike a trail that led up a mountain...or hill...whatever they call it. I'm cutting this short, but we hiked up one side and down the other. On the way up we suffered many "casualties" requiring us to take turns carrying teammates (the cadre always picked the biggest dudes to be carried). Once at the bottom there was a pile of old railroad ties waiting for us. We then spent the next hour plus taking turns doing log PT. Shoulder to shoulder, sprints, log bench press, log sit-ups, etc. if you weren't on a log you were doing push-ups. At one point, half the team was doing push-ups while the other half was doing log bench press. We had a count discrepancy. Some said we had completed 78...the rest said 79. The cadre decided we would start at 50! We continued till 110 and cadre Geoff explained that's what he expects from us. 110% all the time!
Now we shouldered the logs and carried them all the way back up the mountain...and down to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. Keep in mind that we still had our 50lb team weight with us also. We took turns between the logs, team weight, casualties, and other teammates rucks. If sucked! Once at the base of the bridge we took a 20 min break.
We were now told to shoulder our rucks, pick up our logs, and get back to the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge in 55 mins. Our next destination was a beach over by presidio. We knew we wouldn't make it in time being that it was Saturday afternoon and the bridge was full of people sight seeing, but screw it. We didn't come here for easy!
Once we got to the beach we were yelled at for being late and they told us we were at the 22 hour mark. We now knew we only had to suffer 2 more hours! They gave us 5 mins to dig a whole in the sand, burry all 35 rucks, and make a tipi out of our railroad ties to mark the location. Needless to say we failed to do that in 5 mins. Punishment time. Line up and inch worm push-up into the ocean. We then did some burpees in the surf and lastly had us go under water and hold your breath for 6 seconds...easy enough right? Apparently not. The time started when the last head went under and stopped when the first head came up. I held mine for a 12 count and it still took about 10 tries for us to complete 6 seconds as a team. We then got back on the beach and sugar cookied ourselves (rolled in the soft sand till fully covered). Now we had 3 mins to finish burying our rucks and make the tipi. This time we got it done! We did a quick dunk in the ocean to wash off he sand, split into 2 teams and did a bear crawl relay race against each other. 50 yards out and back. My team won, which we expected to be a good thing....wrong. Losing team got to dig up the rucks while we went back in the ocean for more PT! After this we lined our logs up with some drift wood on the beach and lined up to ruck to the finish.
We were given 30 mins to make it back to where we started some 23.5 hours ago. On our way we were forced to hike with our rucks over our heads for awhile. Then we were told we couldn't use our shoulder straps. Then about a half mile from the finish, they picked off some casualties for us to carry to the finish. Once we got to the finish point....not done yet...they had us lie on our stomachs and form a big circle. Place you feet on the shoulders of the guy or gal behind you, and do push-ups. One guy was so exhausted, it took awhile for him to do one push-up so we could stop. We then lined up for our congratulations speech, received our Goruck Heavy patch, and finally relaxed and drank beer that some family members brought for us.
We ended up right at 24 hours and 35.15 miles. They said we carried the logs for over 10 miles. Again I chose this event cause I wanted to push myself physically and mentally like never before. It did that and then some! It's hard to train for something like this so I figured I'd do a lot of rucking. The longest hike I did at home in the CO mountains prior was 8 miles. If you would have asked me if I thought I could to 35 miles, sometimes carrying 100 lbs plus, I would have said probably not. But I did. When I crossed the finish I had my ruck, a teammates ruck, and was helping carry a casualty. You reach a point where you just do it. Who cares. Suffer later. It was an awesome experience and I know it will help when hunting. I now know that my body and mind are capable of way more than I thought. Goruck Heavy is definitely not for everyone, but there is always the Goruck Challenge (12 hours)! Either way it will push you beyond belief!
