GORUCK: Join the Special Forces for a Day

GORUCK
GORUCK instills American pride in all events and challenges.

GORUCK: Join the Special Forces for a Day
Events and Challenges for Veterans and Civilians Across the U.S.

By Erica Garnett

Ever wonder what it is like to be in the special forces? GORUCK is a company that allows civilians to experience the real deal. The company hosts challenges held across the United States, including major cities with a large concentration along the Northeast coast. They include light, tough and heavy challenges, events and expeditions, firearms training and the ever popular Kill That 5k.

Let’s Get Rucking – Action

Kill That 5k event is a unique GORUCK experience because it is not seen as a race so much as a time for people to encourage one another and ruck together. Each runner rucks while they run with their desired weight limit. After the race, there is a celebration GORUCK style with the muscle rebuilding, refreshing after workout beverage choice of beer.

The challenges at GORUCK are organized into three categories based on overall exertion and time included. There are light, tough and heavy. Participants of the light challenge ruck for four to five hours, over the course of seven to 10 miles. There is a 15 pound team weight that must finish with the team. In addition to necessary packing material, there is also a weight required in each person’s rucksack in proportion to their weight. It doesn’t exceed 20 pounds.

The rough level is the original challenge that GORUCK started off with, covering 10 to 12 miles in 15 to 20 hours with a 25 pound team weight and individual rucking weight up to 40 pounds. The heavy challenge lasts all day! It covers over 40 miles, with a 50 pound team weight and individual rucking weight up to 35 pounds.

There are 90 Cadre on the GORUCK team who are all decorated combat veterans of special forces operations. Every challenge group has one Cadre who remains with the group for the entire duration of the event. Founder of GORUCK and former Green Beret himself, Jason McCarthy says of the Cadre, “They believe in the event and its authenticity.”

Although challenges are organized in some level of standardization, it is within the jurisdiction of the Cadre to set the tone of the group. McCarthy says, “The same event can be a completely different experience depending on who the Cadre is.” McCarthy himself has lead over 90 events as a Cadre.

Other challenges include custom challenges where GORUCK comes to you as well as special challenges for national and international holidays. Major American holidays and days of importance include but are not limited to Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Halloween and 9/11.

There are even St. Patrick’s Day and Normandy challenges that take place in Dublin and France respectfully. All other challenges remain domestically hosted in the United States. There have been approximately 1300 to date and counting.

Rucking With Purpose

GORUCK
A heavy challenge group is led by their Cadre.

All challenges include per workout plans to train and packing lists. Among all of the necessary items, GORUCK stresses the importance of each individual bringing determination, pride for their country and a willingness for teamwork.

Every challenge is designed to push all 30 participants past their perceived mental, physical and psychological breaking points. This serves as an opportunity for individuals to apply their skills within a team environment and overcome adversity from a united standpoint.

These challenges are in no way a competition and in fact discourage that idea all together. McCarthy comments, “We never tell people what they cant do. We show them what they can do together as a team.” There is a deemphasis on each individual in order to encourage good ole’ fashioned group effort that has been overshadowed to the emerging me/I culture perpetuated in society. Jason speaks to this saying, “People may want to look out for each other but we get distracted by Facebook.”

GORUCK
Women account for almost half of all challenge participants.

Logistically speaking, GORUCK is a very accessible place to all individuals. Approximately 70 percent of participants in events and challenges do not have any military background. A little more than half are men and the main age group is around 24 to 39 years old.

Jason comments that GORUCK gladly works with anyone who adheres to the main goals of the organization and is ready to work. He says, “If you come here and want to be here, we welcome that.”A Safe Place for Vets

In addition to being a space for participants of challenges, GORUCK serves as a safe place for veterans. It aims to build a bridge between civilians and the military by breaking down barriers of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Sometimes civilians don’t make a large enough effort to understand veterans and what they are going through.

Conversely, veterans lack venues in which to share their experiences and be heard by the community. Jason says the efforts at GORUCK are focused on finding commonalities rather than differences between veterans and civilians by “chipping away at these structural problems one event at a time.”A starting point of commonality shared amongst civilians and veterans in GORUCK alike is American pride. A main goal of the organization is the importance of giving back to the homeland and building better Americans. GORUCK aims to reinforce American pride and because of that requires an American flag to be carried by each team in their challenge.

The Energy Behind it All

Java and the GR1. GORUCK
Java and the GR1

GORUCK, now months short of its seventh year of operation, started out with just a rucksack, a dog and a Green Beret. Founder Jason McCarthy finished his service in the special forces in 2008, having served for two years.

He started the organization in the same year because he was interested in the idea and needed a hobby. “You need to find something that means something to you,” McCarthy states.

He was experiencing, as most all military veterans do, difficulty adjusting back to prior life. This results in identity crisis and loss in one’s personal life. “I did what I knew” McCarthy attributes to starting GORUCK, based off what he learned during his time in the military. This job was a satisfying way to give back while easing his transition back to civilian life.For the first two years, the organization was struggling to stay afloat. McCarthy though, was not in this initial misfortune alone. He was accompanied by his chocolate lab, Java. In this relationship he found an undiscovered canine model and a new approach for GORUCK. He began to take pictures of Java alongside the gear.

Java’s role was tantamount to the development of GORUCK. McCarthy reflects on the companionship as, “An extreme bond both ways.” Although Java passed away in 2013 his legacy lives on with Monster, an equally photogenic chocolate lab.“People can relate to a dog not a bag” McCarthy explains in his elaborative and honest journey of building GORUCK to where it is now.

The first retail item and most popular item to this day, is still the GR1 rucksack. This was the first piece of gear that Java was shot with. McCarthy explains that “If that thing wasn’t what it is, we wouldn’t be in business.”

WHO GORUCK is Rucking With, Besides You!

GORUCK
Jason and Java

McCarthy uses his GR1 every day, says it works great for an overnight trip and is the best backpack he ever had. He explains the mentality behind the rucksack as “Being comfortable in Bagdad and New York City.”His favorite though, is the descendant, GR2 rucksack. He views this as closer to travel gear and even equipped to quantify as luggage, remaining the second most popular selling to its predecessor.

Other gear sold includes apparel for women and men, fire arms gear, gym bags, rucking kits specific for the GR1 and GR2 and more. Everything sold by GORUCK is made by GORUCK in America with a lifetime guarantee. All gear strives for easy organization, quality and comfort.

The high prices are acknowledged by McCarthy but help sustain GORUCK’s missions as well as the other associations it is involved with and supports. Those include the Green Beret Foundation, Pets for Patriots and Team Red, White and Blue.

“The noun ‘ruck’ is short for a rucksack. ‘Rucking’ is the act of moving around with a weighted rucksack on your back. However, at GORUCK, rucking transcends far beyond its physical purpose to imply action, energy and purpose. At GORUCK each individual learns through their unique experience what rucking means to them and what it means to ruck with others. McCarthy says, “It is unknown until you’re there, like all the best things in life.”

Visit GORUCK’s website to find a challenge nearest you!

Erica GarnettErica Garnett is an intern at GoNOMAD Travel. She is a student at the University of Massachusetts, pursuing a double major in Journalism and Anthropology.

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