GORUCK LIGHT CLASS 312
Taken from www.goruck.com
go ruck [verb go + verb ruck] noun ruck is short for rucksack (aka backpack), it's also a verb: to ruck is to move with a rucksack, and implies action, energy, and purpose. They pride themselves in "building better Americans." How do they do this? By building a bridge between the civilian and military worlds, one Cadre led event at a time. GORUCK's Cadre are all decorated combat veterans of Special Operations. They teach what they know and in that process, Cadre and participant alike come out changed for the better.
Ok, so that's the fancy wording from the website. Plainly, a bunch of people from all walks of life get together for a GORUCK event. They all have various rucks with different weights in them, either bricks or sand bags (determined by your own body weight) that will be carried on your back throughout the event. Depending on which one you choose to do, there are different requirements and the events are varying lengths and difficulty. What can you be expected to do? Well, not to sound cliché, but expect the unexpected. Expect to be challenged, to push yourself physically, to feel miserable at times, but you will still smile--ALOT. GORUCK is abut working together as a team, as a family--your Cadre will show you what you are capable of when you work as a team or when facing your own limitations.
I've known about GORUCK for a while. Last year, a large chunk of people from our gym participated in one and our trainer is an avid GORUCK junkie. I decided to join in on the GORUCK Light at the last minute. A couple of friends from my gym were already signed up and after a little bit of coercing, I was like, why not? 8 days before the event, I registered. Of course, I had to talk someone else into suffering with me, so I convinced my husband to join a few days later so we could suffer together! haha! That's LOVE! We borrowed a couple rucks from our gym and had a few days to try to get used to having it on our backs. At this point, we were beyond any training, it was just time to get the mind right--to tell myself that I'm gonna do this and finish.
Sunday came very quickly. My husband and I arrived close to the start point and met up with our friends. Jodi asked me "Are you excited?" Honestly, I didn't have an answer to that. I wasn't excited, I wasn't really anxious. Mentally, I was trying to just stay level about the whole thing. Temps were pushing into the 90s that afternoon and I was thankful it was starting to get overcast. Rucks on our backs, we start a slow march towards our start point. There were already so many people there. Many of them had already participated in other GORUCK events on Friday (GORUCK HEAVY) & Saturday (GORUCK CHALENGE) and were going to join in on the Light. Completion of all 3 in one weekend is quite the accomplishment and many of these people were only operating on a couple hours of sleep for the past 48 hours. At this point, I had butterflies. The nerves had finally it and I could feel my breakfast churning around.
Our 5 Cadre arrive and they proceed to check us off their roster and check our rucks for the appropriate weights. We get a short introduction speech and really were thrown into the fray immediately. We had two team leaders, whom had to carry these huge weighted balls and one had to wear a weighed vest along with their ruck. Our "mission" at the moment was to move this huge wooden beam that was maybe 10 feet long. Along with this beam, we had various "team weights", water jugs and literally had water buckets to carry. I think it took about 8-9 people to carry the beam and when someone got fatigued, they alerted a team leader who then called for a sub and someone else from the line would step up and take the spot. Team weights were passed back and forth throughout the line when people got tired.
Basically, we were 42 strangers. Some knew each other from the other events, or came with a few friends like we did--but essentially most of us didn't know each other. We were quickly thrown into a situation where we had to depend on one another and help each other out, and we figured it out so quickly. We eventually had to put the beam down and continued on our journey. Along the way, the Cadre would have us "work" and "play" and if we didn't do something satisfactory, we were punished. The importance of teamwork was expressed constantly by our Cadre and the links between what they were trying to teach us with what we were doing made so much sense.
We spent time in the Trinity River (nasty!!! ), walked countless miles weaving our way through downtown Fort Worth, and bodies were wearing down--especially those that had been up now for like 3 days straight. But, yet they could still find a reason to smile. GORUCK events give civilians a taste of what it is like in Special Ops. No matter how bad it got, it could always get worse. After about 4 hours in, it starts to rain on us. At first, it's just a refreshing sprinkle but it quickly progressed into an all out downpour. It beat us down. We were smoked. Our team leaders were making bad decisions and we were all just quietly just marching along, kind of not caring. That led to us getting yelled at and a change of team leaders. It was my turn. EEEEEEK!!! With a great navigator, we get back on the right track and are headed back to our start point. I still made my fair share of mistakes as TL and got the team punished, but nothing was held against anyone and we all still managed to smile.
The more we traveled, the more time passed--the closer we were to finish. But in comparison, there are soldiers out there that would be out on missions for days that wouldn't see "finish" or home for months. The ruck literally becomes a heavier weight on your shoulders and back, your feet are tired and we were soaking wet. Many at this point have blisters and spots are rubbed raw. There are people really hurting. Something shifts in your brain & suddenly, you understand. You embrace it. You embrace the suck. I cannot think of a better way to honor fallen soldiers, veterans and active personnel on Memorial Day weekend than to trudge around in the rain with this amazing group of people. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Finally, we arrive back at our start point. The rain let up on us finally. We were finished. Over about 6 hours, 8-9 miles traveled ...we were done. Now, usually when I finish a race, I am elated. I am overjoyed. But the feeling here is different. I. AM. DIFFERENT. Changed. As I listen to each Cadre speak to us, about what we did, what we accomplished and to hear thanks coming from them--I am humbled. I am beyond humbled and honored to have gone on this journey. I am thankful to have met all the amazing people that I did and to have experienced that together. As we were getting the only actual tangible item we would get from this event, the GORUCK Light patch--the sun was setting and out came two beautiful rainbows that were followed by numerous groups of birds in arrowhead formation. It was almost surreal and a fitting conclusion to each individual persons journey on this particular weekend.
The patch is an awesome keepsake for this event, but the intangible things that I received are worth so much more. The memories I made, the people that I met, what I learned about myself are invaluable and I will never forget it. That's what we in the GORUCK family call, good livin'.
Just a few snapshots for ya'll from our GORUCK Light. I tried to put into words best I could about this whole experience, but honestly, it really was hard for me (someone who loves to write) to explain. It really is something that you have to experience for yourself. GORUCK proudly supports the Green Berets. For more information about GORUCK, it's events and products, visit www.goruck.com
