What’s the Sport of Rucking and Why is Beer > Bananas?

I’ve long been a fan and active participant in all that GORUCK has done to foster Rucking (moving with weight on your back in a rucksack AKA backpack) and share it with the world. However, I was intrigued when they recently started the discussion about it being a sport.

I hadn’t looked at it from that perspective, but they present some compelling information on why it’s just as much a sport as others. Through the acronym ART, (Active Resistance Training) they break it down to describe that Active is cardio; the less weight in your ruck, the more of a cardio workout it is.

Resistance is the strength training; the more weight in your ruck the more strength training you’ll get. Balancing the two gives you a cardio and strength training workout at the same time.

But a Sport?

GORUCK is widely known for their events, namely the GORUCK Challenge, where participants strap a weighted ruck on their back and cover 15-20 miles over 10-12 hours. The goal with the Challenge is to become a team and put that team before yourself. Overcoming adversity is a main take-home of the event and it’s certainly something I experienced a few years back during my first GORUCK Challenge with class 050.

With the introduction of GORUCK’s new Kill That 5K, they’re taking their proven method of bringing people together for a good time and creating a sport around it. Sure a 5K is nothing new, but I like their approach of adding Rucking to a traditional 5K as social fitness.

Rucking = Fitness = Training = Active

Rucking is an equalizer, meaning that I could have 40 lbs. in my ruck, my wife could have 15 lbs. and we could be getting two totally different workouts while walking together and talking. That’s not something you can do while jogging. It’s also for everyone, no matter age or ability. Accessibility is what GORUCK has created for Rucking.

There’s definitely a competitive element to the GORUCK 5K events, with specific patches being awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers. Everyone still earns a patch for finishing though. To help promote the social aspect of the event, there’s even free beer at the finish line; not bananas. GORUCK is promoting the fun atmosphere of a party at the finish line and using beer to replenish your carbs, not the traditional recovery foods.

The Kill That 5K series of events was created to specifically show the social fitness side of rucking, making it fun and accessible. The GORUCK Challenge certainly has some misery involved along the way, but with these 5Ks, it’s up to you how much weight you carry and how fast you go. There are weight standards however, for those that want to compete.

It’s been great to see how GORUCK has evolved and I really like the aspect of creating an event that’s for everyone to enjoy and ultimately progress towards a more active life. As I’ve been saying for years, everyone should be able to physically save themselves and staying healthy, fit and active are all key ingredients!

Find a Local Kill That 5K Event

The GORUCK racin’ series is just kicking off and events are being added across the country. Click here to check out more information on Kill That 5K and where they’re being held, but before you head over, our friends at GORUCK have given us a few discount codes to save you 20% off your registration!

Coupon codes for the next three events are below, so be sure to use them at sign up!

• San Francisco 4/25/15: ITSTACTICALSF
• Denver 5/9/15: ITSTACTICALDENVER
• Seattle 6/26/15: ITSTACTICALSEATTLE