It’s about 4:30 am and I’ve bearcrawling with a 30 pound ruck for two hours. My hands dig into the rough pavement and the only thought that crosses my mind is the sweet relief of smooth brick concrete that grace the knees of my team members ahead. An hour of lunges is next and the worst is 10 hours ahead of us.
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About a month back, I promoted the Cincinnati GoRuck Challenge to the athletes of CrossFit Hustle with absolutely no intent to participate. My athletes, however, had something different in mind. They agreed to participate if I joined in. I wasn’t going to let these people down. I was in.
We met at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse parking lot at 1 am, most of us with very little sleep. Our rucks packed with 20-30 pounds of bricks, we wore shorts and tees on our evening of suck. It wasn’t long before Jason showed up to lead the way.
The team started with a 2 column jog to Sawyer Point, the bottom of which was met with the Ohio River. Next up? Everybody gets wet. Everybody. Head to toe, ruck on your back.
After push-ups and flutterkicks in the river, Jason felt we needed to learn how to work as a team. As emphasized in the briefing, this is a team event. An individual cannot accomplish this task. His command: Bearcrawls up the stairs. This lasted for about 2 hours and was followed by lunges for another hour.
Our team consolidated to rehydrate, grab a snack and use the restroom while Jason gave us our next mission: Get to Mt. Adams. Since we were designated the leaders of our own group, we were able to choose how to get there. Being horribly optimistic, we chose stairs to move from the river to the mount. This, as it turns out, was a bad idea. But, hell, what was a good idea at this point?
To the stairs of Mt. Adams church we ran, still fresh in our skin and early in our guided tour. We reached the top expecting a new mission. Unfortunately, our next project was 50 laps of the stairs. “Do work.” was all I was thinking.
There’s something odd that goes through your mind. Be it a CrossFit workout, a loss of a loved one or running stairs at 5 in the morning, something keeps people going. For me, it was “Do work. Pain is temporary and it’s not like you’re going to quit. Just keep working.”
Up and down we went, until sunrise, as a group. Each molehill of accomplishment was seen as a mountain. With shouts of positive thoughts, we drudged on in hope for something better. Shit, it could be worse, we could doing bear crawls.
The team rallied at the top for a quick picture and a new mission: Eden Park. Jogging at this point was a luxury, no bear crawls, no communication, just easy, easy jogging. As slow as our weakest link.
Greeting the team at Eden park was Mirror Lake. The duck shit scum layering the bottom of the manmade lake graced our rucks as we dropped Navy-SEAL style into the water. Yes, the rucks and our clothes retained the water. But whatcha gonna do?
Weighted down with with an extra few pounds of water, we made our way to Jason’s next commanded mission: Move an 800 pound log. We didn’t know how far we were traveling, we just needed to move this beast as a team. So, onward we conquered every step.
What once was commonplace had become a luxury. Our ruck sack straps had once dug into our shoulders with uncomfortable pain. Now we yearned for them because Jason had ruled that “straps do not exist.” If we were under the wood, we could wear our packs. If resting, you’d carry your ruck on your shoulder, head or in your arms somehow. Whatever, ruck on.
About a half-a-mile, we carried our new wooden friend to the top of another hill overlooking the beautiful city of Cincinnati. Leaders were beginning to form. A few guys started stepping up to make decisions on behalf of the group. Luckily, my decision to toss the log down the hill was overridden by more fearful logic and we kept it in hand. Jason instructed us to pick it back up and told us he wanted to visit Bogart’s. Oh well, do work.
The group worked together to make a quick stop back at Mirror Lake to drop off the log and take another dip in the water (at the suggestion of one of our GoRuckers). Then it was onto Bogarts where we ran indian runs the entire way. Having an 800 pound log on your back makes a few miles of jogging with a ruck seem pretty nice.
That’s what GoRuck is all about. Yes, it’s a smoke-session, but the real lesson is in the relative nature of suffering. “Everybody has something,” Jason reminded us, “Whether it’s bear crawls, lunging or carrying a log, there’s always an end. Pain is temporary.” Apply that to life and your current trails: your wife left you, your workout sucks, a bone is broken. These are all horrible, but you can rest assured that pain is temporary and the struggle is part of healing. Everyone must pass through it to conquer.
Arriving at Bogarts, the team was given an interesting mission: The bags must stay in the same order, but our indian runs must continue on the call of Jason’s “Go!” Our first attempt was unsuccessful and reinforced with elevated push-ups. However, the second attempt was more successful, but twice as painful. Onto the Cincinnati Zoo we ran.
Once there, Jason got nostalgic and talked about how he always loved the zoo as a kid but really wanted to go to Fountain Square. Up the hills, down the hills, onward we moved, two bags per hand. Indian runs all the way.
The square was filled with Zoomba dancers and spectators enjoying the July 4th holiday. We took a quick bathroom break and our leader told us he really wanted to go to Hooter’s, across the river in Newort. This trip, of course, had a twist. 6 of our our team had to be carried. After some squabbling about how to get it done, the mission was finally accomplished nearly an (assumed) two hours later. (Remember, we still couldn’t use our straps).
Crossing the river via the Brent Sprence was never in our thoughts. This was the Cincinnati GoRuck Challenge. Nobody said anything about Kentucky! Screw it, let’s get this done.
Down in Newport, we carried each other through a biker’s convention along the river with some live music, a morale booster for the few of us suffering from some sleep-deprivation. Next was the Purple People Bridge, a sign of the end. It was almost over.
No, it wasn’t.
Our team convened just feet from where we had done bear crawls more than 8 hours earlier. It seemed like forever.
We had assumed that this was the end. No more pain. No more blisters. No more carrying. It was over.
Jason’s an interesting guy. He’s caring, that’s for sure. Half-way through the challenge, he checked on my knee to make sure I was physically alright. You could see him take people aside to encourage, mentor and ensure their safety. But, he’s a little crazy. There’s something odd about a man who loves to watch others suffer while carrying his own 30 pound ruck. You can tell he cares, though. He knows it’s for the best of his challengers.
With the assumption that our work was complete, we looked to our leader for a direction back to our air conditioned cars and cushy life. Nope. This is GoRuck, not Warrior Dash. We were ordered to get from Sawyer Point to the Great American Ballpark — teammates on our backs. On we go.
We made a quick stop at the fountain for a cool-down and morale-boost. Here I stood under the water, completely refreshing, telling myself, “Bro, you’ve still got work to do.” Back to my ruck and back in line. On we went.
The final stretch was amazing — smelling like sewer, feeling worse than we looked and anticipating the end. It was a mix of emotions. In front of the Reds’ stadium, in front of hundreds of people, we gathered as a team for one last photo. Nothing was more important than this moment. We had completed this together, once strangers, now a team. We had all considered quitting, but somehow, with the help of our new friends, we conquered something one man could never do. This is GoRuck and we were now part of their family.
—
Walking back that mile from Great American Ballpark to our cars, I chatted with teammates who cried during bear crawls, loathed those damn stairs and had a friend who quit. Whatever went on up there in each of our brains is ugly. The internal dialogue between quitter and achiever is never-ending and personal to each of us. Somehow, through whatever means, we all managed convince ourselves that the pain is temporary, our mind is in control and our body is capable of so much more.
I don’t have any plans of doing GoRuck again (though, I always say that every time about “Fight Gone Bad!”), but I recommend it for anyone. This is an opportunity to learn more about yourself and come out the other end a changed person.
“Fran” really doesn’t seem so bad right now.
Interested in joining us for GoRuck 2012?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
GoRuck! GoTeam! Great write-up.
I am seriously impressed, Rich! Seeing you on Monday morning, I would have never guessed you had been through such an ordeal just 2 days prior! GREAT JOB!!!
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