GORUCK Events

Let’s take a look at GORUCK Events.

What are GORUCK events? GORUCK events give you an opportunity to challenge yourself, physically and mentally. There’s events that provide advanced training too.

GORUCK is more than making the best and the toughest rucking gear. They are also into empowering real-world communities in service to something greater than themselves through grueling training, GORUCK Clubs, and tough physical challenges.

GORUCK offers many different event types. Here’s some of the events we are going to look at:

Let’s look at each event type in detail.

GORUCK Events – Overview

First, some terminology.

Ruck is short for rucksack, which is military slang for a backpack.

Why such an endless focus on the rucksack and rucking?

Rucking is the foundation of Special Forces physical training, and it requires going the distance and carrying your gear with you. That’s the number one way to move troops in the military.

It’s a great workout too. It’s a low-impact activity that can be done by a broad range of trainees – and it’s super practical too.

GORUCK is into promoting this activity for everyone (civilian or military). It is simple and carries many health benefits. Rucking makes your everyday movement count more while strengthening your foundation without the pounding on your body or joints like high-impact running.

These events are led by an ex-Special Forces cadre. In the military, the cadre are responsible for training the rest of their military unit. Think of them as being part drill-instructor, part-teacher.

Now let’s talk about the GORUCK Events.

GORUCK Events are all about developing teams and empowering individuals from all walks of life to lead productive and engaged lives.

Since 2010, these events have been taking place in different places worldwide. There are two main kinds of GORUCK events – the Rucking Events and the Tactical Events.,/p>

The rucking events are endurance training events led by current and former Special Forces combat veterans that include weight on your back and miles under your feet.

In contrast, Tactical Events include Firearms and Urban Survival events that intend to brace you for anything and hone the best tool you have: your mind. The GORUCK cadre will extend their knowledge to you, giving you unmatched training from their real-world experience.

GORUCK Challenge (Basic/Tough/Heavy)

The GORUCK Challenge is GORUCK’s original challenge. From beginning to end, the class is based on Special Forces training by a Special Forces Cadre. He will test you and push you beyond your boundaries, and create your class into a team. This event combines rucking teamwork challenges and Special Forces training. This challenge is not a race and not meant to be done alone. It is a group of people who come together and learn to function as a team.

If you are someone who wants to test your strength, see what you are made of, and want to face hardship and difficulties head-on, GORUCK Challenge is for you.

This is the best event to get started as well – especially the Basic (which is the shortest, and least intense).

If you have decided to take the GORUCK Challenge, there are some preparations that you need to do and this preparation should already be like the “challenge”. Train as if you are already in the event – push yourself, carry heavy and bizarre stuff around, test your food and fuel, exercise your mental persistence, lock in your gear choices, and work on your overall strength and stamina. Practicing your gear and using them while you train can make a big impact on the Challenge.

Now that you are ready, let’s review the different levels of the Challenge.

GORUCK Challenge Basic

The Basic GORUCK Challenge used to be called the GORUCK Light, but GORUCK changed it to Basic last year. It is like the starting point to GORUCK for people who want to take the challenge but want to take it slow while not missing out on the Challenge’s fun. But that doesn’t mean you can take this challenge lightly. The Challenge consists of more than five hours of seven to ten miles rucking while carrying a rucksack with 20 or 30 lbs plates. It has a completion rate of 100%.

To give you an idea of the gear you’ll need – here’s the current equipment list:

• A rucksack aka backpack (Rucker recommended)
• Ruck Plate = to your weight requirement (If you are over 150 lbs, a 30 lb Ruck Plate, otherwise a 20 lb Ruck Plate.
• Hydration Bladder: Source 3L recommended
• Nalgene bottle (1L) or equivalent (electrolytes recommended)
• Oral Rehydration Salts (or comparable)
• Headlamp with extra batteries
• Reflective Ruck Bands (or equivalent) on your ruck
• First Aid Kit (small)
• Face Mask (something that will not repeatedly fall off, scarves not recommended)
• Gloves (1 pair) Not medical gloves, working gloves
• Hand Sanitizer/Wipes – 1 bottle Purell, 1 package of baby wipes (or equivalent)
• Windbreaker (only if the temperature is expected below 60 ℉)
• Photo ID and $20 cash just in case
• As a class, you need one 25 lb. class weight and one American Flag. Use your event’s Facebook page to meet your class, organize training, and coordinate team weight details.
• Flip-flops (not required) – but it would be a great feeling to take your shoes and socks off and put flip-flops on after the challenge. A fresh shirt or jacket can make a lot of difference, too.

GORUCK Challenge Tough

The next step up in distance (and therefore intensity) is the Tough.

The GORUCK Tough Challenge is a middle-range challenge that will test your endurance. It is a 15 to 20-mile team challenge rucking for ten to twelve hours. It has an average completion rate of 94%. Relying on the team is the secret to this challenge. You will experience different scenarios like getting wet, getting dirty, or muddy, and doing plenty of push-ups, sit-ups, and different other exercises.

With the Tough, you’ll need a little bit more gear than the Basic:

• A rucksack aka backpack (Rucker recommended)
• Ruck Plate = to your weight requirement (20 lbs or 30 lbs)
• Hydration Bladder: Source 3L recommended
• Nalgene bottle (1L) or equivalent (electrolytes recommended)
• Oral Rehydration Salts (or comparable)
• Headlamp with extra batteries
• Reflective Ruck Bands (or equivalent) on your ruck
• First Aid Kit (small)
• Face Mask (something that will not repeatedly fall off, scarves not recommended)
• Gloves (1 pair) Not medical gloves, working gloves
• Hand Sanitizer/Wipes – 1 bottle Purell, 1 package of baby wipes (or equivalent)
• Windbreaker (only if the temperature is expected below 60 ℉)
• Photo ID and $20 cash just in case
• As a class, you need one 25 lb. class weight and one American Flag. Use your event’s Facebook page to meet your class, organize training, and coordinate team weight details.
• Flip-flops (not required) – This will make for an even better post-event experience.

GORUCK Challenge Heavy

Conquered the Tough? Your next step is the Heavy. But this is a BIG step up.

The GORUCK Heavy is the longest and the hardest single-team event. The event lasts longer than 24 hours and is more than 40 miles long with a 50% completion rate. If you will take this challenge, extreme preparation is required, and training starved would be of help, so you don’t have to rely on food for your mental strength.

With GORUCK Heavy, you will need more gear (more hydration, etc.) and stuff to bring:

• A rucksack aka backpack (Rucker recommended)
• Ruck Plate = to your weight requirement (20 lbs/30 lbs)
• Hydration Bladder: Source 3L (bringing 1 is mandatory, 2 is recommended)
• Nalgene bottle (1L) or equivalent (electrolytes recommended)
• Participants must also bring Oral Rehydration Salts (or comparable) in case water resupply is harder
• Reflective Ruck Bands (or equivalent) on your ruck
• Headlamp with extra batteries
• First Aid Kit
• Face Mask (something that will not repeatedly fall off, scarves not recommended)
• Gloves (1 pair) Not medical gloves, working gloves
• Hand Sanitizer/Wipes – 1 bottle Purell, 1 package of baby wipes (or equivalent)
• One (1) Climbing Carabiner
• Windbreaker
• Dry Bag (or equivalent, such as a contractor bag) with a change of clothes. If you’re really cold, you’ll be really glad you have this. Be sure to bring one (1) pair of extra socks. You’ll carry this Dry Bag in your ruck.
• Boots (MACV-1 Boots) are recommended over sneakers, based on the support you need over all the miles and all the weight. Under no circumstances should you wear Gore-Tex or other “waterproof” boots or socks.
• Food aka lickies and chewies. Just don’t bring the whole Thanksgiving feast, it’s only 24+ hours.
• Photo ID and $20 cash just in case
• As a class, you need one 50 lb. class weight and one American Flag. No wheels will be attached to the team weight and it must be in compliance with Special Forces Rule #1: Always Look Cool. Use your event’s Facebook page to meet your class, organize training, and coordinate team weight details.
• Flip-flops (not required) – but it would be a great feeling to take your shoes and socks off and put flip-flops on after the challenge. A fresh shirt or jacket can make a lot of difference, too.

GORUCK Star Course Event

The Star Course is a bit different. It’s got a navigation element to it.

Unlike the GORUCK Challenges, Star Course doesn’t have PT, push-ups, or smoke sessions.

All you will ever need is your rucksack, the miles, and your team, but it shouldn’t be taken lightly. The level of difficulty of Star Course is in the middle of GORUCK Basic and Tough, and the weight that you will carry is ten lbs lighter than in GORUCK Challenge. The course will be at least 12 miles and a minimum of five hours.

This is a good opportunity to get to know your four other teammates while you carry a 20 lb Ruck Plate on your back (depending on your body weight).

You and your team of 2-5 (including you) will show up at the Start Point. A GORUCK Cadre will assign you a list of waypoints. The route you and your team will be your own choice, so choose wisely. Before the course begins, a remote support team will ensure that you make a successful comms check via text message.

At each waypoint, you’ll be responsible for sending a picture of your team, which will serve as verification of your mileage. This will also give you a chance to have a set of photos with your team. If the rest of your team withdraws or drops from continuing the course, you can continue solo. If you hit all the points in the time allotted, you’ll earn the patch. Buying food along your route at any time is allowed, but no other means of transportation is allowed except rucking.

GORUCK Cloverleaf Event

If you really dig the PT (Physical Training) aspects of rucking, the Cloverleaf event may be for you.

Cloverleaf is a new event setup that lets you determine the numbers of challenges you want to take on. This event is three hours long (maximum) and includes three workouts (capped at 30 minutes) and three ruck marches (1-1.5 miles each in between each workout). This course is somewhat similar to a GORUCK Star Course where the cadre organizes the event but is not really involved in beating you down.

The Cadre’s role is to organize the community and give you the workouts and movements once you show up. Expect the Cadre to do all or most of the workouts with you. You choose the weight in your rucksack and your sandbag but if you want to challenge yourself more, y=feel free to add more weight. It doesn’t matter how heavy your ruck or your sandbag is. What matters is you challenge yourself and the community to be accountable to each other.

Want some examples?

Here are three typical workouts (Your event’s workouts may vary):

WOD #1 – “DT” USAF CCT

5 rounds

– 12 Deadlifts

– 9 Hang Cleans

– 6 Press

WOD #2 – “Speedy Espericueta” Police

18-minute AMRAP

– 13 Ruck High Pulls

– 44 Sit-Ups

– 13 Ruck Push-Ups

– 44 Flutter Kicks

WOD #3 – Mystery WOD

Cadre’s choice of WOD – Who doesn’t love a surprise?

What sort of gear will you need? The equipment list is shorter for this event.

• A rucksack aka backpack (Rucker recommended)
• Ruck Plate = You pick the weight
• Sandbag (20-80lbs)-You are allowed to bring more than one weight. Some exercises go better with more or less weight. The choice will be yours.
• Hydration Bladder: Source 3L recommended
• Nalgene bottle (1L) or equivalent (electrolytes recommended)
• Face Mask (Something that will not repeatedly fall off, scarves not recommended)
• Gloves (1 pair) Not medical gloves, working gloves
• Hand Sanitizer/Wipes – 1 bottle Purell, 1 package of baby wipes (or equivalent)
• Photo ID and $20 cash just in case

GORUCK Firearms Training

Firearm Training has world-class shooters and teachers as Cadre, having sharpened their skills by firing millions of rounds and teaching hundreds of thousands of students in training and war. This training is divided into different levels from 1 to 8. Level 1 There is no minimum skill set requirements for Level 1. The courses are open to all levels to introduce safe and proficient training for beginners or a fundamentals refresher for those with previous experience. Close Quarters Pistol and Rifle are the most popular courses for Level 1. In this course, the Cadre will start by reinforcing the elementary of safely operating a semi-automatic pistol – stance, grip, sight picture, sight alignment, and trigger squeeze – and physically show each course of fire before each drill. All of the firing drills are based on real-world scenarios and intended to fire at different distances, different positions, and single-shot or rapid-fire engagement. You will learn basic counter-terror strategies that will better equip you to react to active shooter situations. Level 2 Participants of Level 2 are required to be highly confident in their pistol and/or rifle handling skills and have a firm knowledge of firearms safety. This is an intermediate training, and there are events such as Counter Active Shooter (Pistol-Day), Counter Active Shooter (Rifle-Day), Tactical Shotgun Operator, and Precision Rifle. Tactical Shotgun Operator is the ultimate opportunity to understand your shotgun and test its boundaries. This event starts with safety procedures, weapon familiarization, and dry fire. Participants will learn how to attack human-sized targets at a distance using slugs, then immediately trading ammo on the move for 00 bucks at close range. Firing from cover, ammo swapping, weapon transitions, and movement will be extensively covered while building operator confidence for the final qualification shoot. Level 3 This is advanced training, and you must be comfortable and skilled to move and shoot by day and perform weapons transitions. You will be expected to use cover and interact with your team while handling your pistol and/or rifle with a light in the darkness. Advanced Pistol will instruct you on being as efficient and certain in shooting at night as in daylight. The Cadre will teach you the tactics and methods of night shooting. You will learn low-light/no-light strategies that will better equip you to respond to an overt act of violence, along with basic movement and search techniques at night.

Level 4 These courses require Critical incident decision-making under stress. You must be confident in your previous training to fully take advantage of the tactical scenarios. Team Tactics is an in-depth, scenario-based course commonly reserved for special operation units and law enforcement tactical teams. This course will begin with necessary drills to familiarize participants with firing from cover, movement, and communication. By the end of the course, shooters will be going in small squads, negotiating team-fighting maneuvers carefully and confidently, and laying down practical fire on target. Level 5 To get to Level 5, you must be comfortable and skilled in moving, shooting, and performing weapons transitions. You will be expected to use cover and interact with your team while handling your firearm in and around vehicles and/or in close vicinity to others. Level 5 includes Personal Security Detail, a unique training course that discusses some of the most typical matters connected with using your personal defensive weapon around innocents. The Cadre will use dry and live-fire drills so the participants can adapt to stressful environments. This course develops confidence and problem-solving skills in the most common threat scenarios involving a firearm and dignitary protection.

Level 6 Level 6 requires you to be fully comfortable and competent in moving, shooting and performing weapons transitions. This course entails moving and shooting, use of cover, team communication under fire, and movement in and around vehicles in the dark. All situations turn around shooting from inside, outside, or around vehicles. Driver/passenger reaction drills, fighting from inside/outside the vehicle, and countering street-side threats (carjacking) are some of the scenario-based drills you will do during this course. You will join in various threats and manage your weapon while effectively getting shots on target. Level 7 (Alpha Shooter) Competitive Firearms Series Alpha Shooter is a test of genuine courage and skill that will pair the GORUCK Tough rucking strength and endurance with firearms marksmanship and tactical acuity. You will be put against your peers from the GRT community, firearms community, and professionals alike in a test of both physical and mental strength. Anybody can be quick and accurate with sufficient time spent on the flat range. Most can put in the time and obtain the endurance required to ruck long and fast, but only a few can merge the two under pressure. Level 8 (Apex Shooter) By Invitation Only This is the climax of the firearms competition, where in 48 hours, there will be multiple evolutions, two different weapon systems, all while living out of your rucksack. This is the ultimate test of execution under pressure blending physical fitness, combat skills, and mental acuity. Each participant will be forced to their physical and mental boundaries. This event will demand endurance, courage, and commitment. Participants are expected to stay on-site and need to bring sufficient gear and rations for the event’s duration.

Constellation Events

GORUCK provides events to create a community that challenges itself and a community that serves others. This event is led by GORUCK’s Special Forces Cadre experts in urban survival, providing a scenario-driven event. The participants will be equipped with basic skills they will need to respond to their community’s demanding needs in the aftermath of a disaster. GORUCK Constellation is a scenario-driven event managed by GORUCK’s Special Forces Cadre, all experts in urban survival. You and your small cell will go through an array of tasks and checkpoints – the stars that form the urban terrain’s constellations. You’ll learn how to prepare and plan for disorder and how to link the dots of your city on the move. The goal is to sharpen your mind into the greatest weapon you have. Those who finished this event can help save lives and preserve property using the techniques in this course. The duration of this course runs more than 12 hours. Course Highlights:

Becoming a Hard Target, Preparation, Disaster FAQs, Evac and Mindset

Structure Climbing/Rappelling/Knots/Pulleys/Fence Defeat

Clandestine Urban Movement, Map Reading and Vehicle Acquisition

Lock Bypass, Defeat and Destructive/Non destructive Bypass

Hazardous Breathing Environments Preparation

Restraint Defeat and Escape

Final Team Culmination Exercise Performed Under Stress

Items to Bring:

Masks (2 minimum) Something that will not repeatedly fall off (scarves not recommended, N95’s not required — save them for healthcare workers)

Hand Sanitizer/Wipes – 1 bottle Purell, 1 package of baby wipes (or equivalent)

A rucksack aka backpack (GR1 or Rucker recommended)

Smartphone and Portable Charger

Sharpie/Pen/Pencil

Notepad

Flashlight or Headlamp

Gloves

Load Bearing Carabiner

Riggers Belt

12 feet of Tubular 1’’ Nylon Webbing

Two 2L Empty Bottles

2-4 Large Zip Ties

Duct Tape

Paracord (25 feet)

Sheers

2 Bobby Pins

Filter (at a minimum of MERV 13 and MPR 2000+)

Long Pants

Closed-toed shoes (MACV-1 Boots recommended)

Download WhatsApp on your smartphone (or a Programmable Radio)

Optional Items IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit)

1 x Ace Bandage

1 x Tourniquet (any type)

1 x Gauze Bandage Roll

Contractor Bag

Lock Pick Set

Self Responder Events

This event will allow you to learn trauma-centric first aid skills needed to save your life and the lives of others after a fatal incident. This course will educate you on treating the most frequent injuries experienced by an active shooter incident and other acts of violence. Besides showing it to you, you will also perform the latest Tactical Combat Casualty Care techniques for self and buddy-aid. All the participants who have successfully finished the Self Responder course are qualified to receive an ASHI Advanced Bleeding Control Certification. The duration of this course is two hours. What you will learn in the training:

Take up a tactical position in order to protect yourself and others in a war zone

Perform a hasty triage and control a frantic crowd

Use an individual first aid kit and identify any nearby tools to assist you in bleeding control

Learn to use direct pressure, dressings, and tourniquets to stop bleeding

Pack a deep wound with cloth or gauze to control bleeding

Items to Bring:

IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit) or at a minimum:

Disposable Gloves

Masks (2 minimum) Something that will not repeatedly fall off (scarves not recommended, N95’s not required — save them for healthcare workers)

Hand Sanitizer/Wipes – 1 bottle Purell, 1 package of baby wipes (or equivalent)

1 pressure dressing (Israeli bandage or similar)

1 roll of ACE type bandage

1 Tourniquet (CAT/SOFT/SAMS or similar)

1 Chest seal (Halo or similar)

1 pack of gauze

1 hemostatic agent (Hemcon/Quickclot/Celox)

Ruck (or equivalent) to carry it all in

Photo ID

GORUCK Events Review – In Summary

That’s our review of GORUCK Events.

Being in a team is so much better than doing things alone. It’s in relating with other people and communicating with them that you can get to know more about yourself, your potential, limitations, and what you are made of. GORUCK Events is all about building like-minded communities that desire to improve themselves and help others in the best way they can. Find a GORUCK Event now and meet awesome people who can walk with you to better yourself so you can also help others better themselves for the benefit of the whole community.

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