The Great Con
Four years ago some dear friends conned me into signing up for a GoRuck Tough (GRT) Challenge. I can’t begin to explain it and do it justice. Each challenge is a loose re-enactment of a special forces operation, but it is so much more.
Now each of my friends and I have our own version of what we believe to be the accurate series of events. We were celebrating my birthday in late November. That is when I first heard of a GoRuck Tough. Con #1 :“You just walk around with a backpack on” they said. Con #2 “You won’t even notice the ruck with the 30 pound weight after a few minutes” they said. Con #3 ”It will be fun” they said. They showed me this online video of a couple with a little kid casually strolling down a path, smiling, wearing rucks. I thought, ok, I can handle that. I was reluctant, but I agreed. We signed up for an event taking place the following March. Being a civilian, I had no idea what I was signing up for.
It’s important to note that at this time in my life I was clocking in at about 245 pounds. I didn’t exercise at all, and I ate nothing but high fat, high sugar garbage. I didn’t train for the GRT -at all. The challenge started on a Friday Night. 48 hours prior, I tried on my Ruck with the weight for the very first time. After only a few seconds, I exclaimed “This is heavy!” as I quickly removed the ruck. My friends just laughed. When I inquired as to why, the response was “You’ll see”, followed by more laughter.
Items we pack in our rucks included our brick weight, a 3 gallon CamelBak full of water, and a $20 bill in a waterproof plastic bag. The $20 bill was for the taxi ride back to your vehicle if you chose to quit mid challenge. We were not allowed to carry any technology, not even a watch. Part of the challenge, is working through the night and not knowing what time it is, or how long you have been at it. We only knew that the ruck started at 9pm and ended at 9am. Sunrise was our only indication of being anywhere even remotely close to finished. We also carried a team weight that was passed around through out the challenge, amongst other things.
We get to the event and meet our Cadre (leader) for the night. He was an active duty special forces service member on weekend leave. Dread and fear immediately filled my body from head to toe as our Cadre described what was in store for us. We started with Calisthenics - while wearing our rucks - Con #1. My friends were partially correct regarding Con #2. After a few minutes, I didn’t really feel the weight in the ruck because my arms and legs were basically numb.
I would say, beyond a doubt, I was the weakest link. Just before sunrise, I was ready to quit. The conversation with my friends took place and I was just about to open my ruck to get the $20 bill bag. The entire class rallied behind me.
We were a cohesive team working to complete our challenge. Ultimately, we were successful. We would travel 17.5 miles in 12 hours, over different terrains, carrying various amounts of weight in addition to our ruck throughout. During the challenge, I was so focused on myself and in my head, that it wasn’t fun - Con #3 - self-con. In hindsight, I can definitely see the fun in it.
In 12 hours, I learned more about myself, and about life in general than in any other 12 hour experience that comes to mind. Greater respect for our Armed Forces, mind over matter, and teamwork to name a few. In future posts, I will be sharing more on some of the specific lessons I learned throughout this experience. I use these lessons everyday as a producer and filmmaker.
In the end, I owe so much to my friends for “The Great Con”. We took the road less traveled and that has made all the difference.
#grt #goruck #gorucktough #lifelessons #roadlesstraveled #thegreatcon #magnitudeofgratitude #storytelling
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