Ruck w/ boots division: 40 lb minimum.
Went to bed before 8pm, since I was supposed to get up at 3:45 to do the ½ marathon. The plan was to meet at 4:15 in the lobby to get to the start of the race by 4:30. I heard my alarm, but I figured I’d sleep in for another 5 minutes. I got out of bed at 4:13. Good thing I went to bed dressed or that would have been awkward to have all those people wait for me.
Matt, Aaron and I rucked it.
The race was poorly organized. They said that they would start the walkers 15 minutes after the runners, but they just had us line up behind the runners and start at the same time without making it clear. They also started pulling the directional signs before all the walkers made it by so they missed a turn or two.
As we were rucking we would ask the people at the aid stations if there were any other ruckers in front of us. We got varying responses. From 2-3 guys to about 8.
We were getting worried because we couldn’t see anybody with a ruck in front of us. And here you can see a couple miles in front of you, because it’s so flat. We really wanted to place. Luckily we weren’t competing against each other, since we are all in different age groups.
We started passing runners around the 3 mile mark. They weren’t really running though. Aaron and I left Matt at around 6-7 miles. I told Aaron to leave me at around 11 miles.
I ran into another rucker carrying his unit's flag at 12 miles. I couldn’t see him earlier because we had gotten back to the living areas and there were buildings and walls and turns. I was able to pass him. At that point I was groaning. Loudly.
Aaron was 2nd overall and 1st in his age group. Matt came in 2nd in his age group. He also had ten pounds extra (they weighed us with and without our packs at the end) and loaded his pack wrong. His weight wasn’t evenly distributed and he didn’t do anything to cushion the plates in his backpack.
I wonder if all the military guys felt bad that a pair of civilians (Aaron and me) took 2nd and 3rd. I know the guy in fourth place did. He was telling the people at the check-in that no one passed him. This was after Aaron had told them he passed a guy with a flag. Then they called me over and flag guy said, “Oh yeah, he passed me too.” I would have been surprised if he didn’t remember me since we had a discussion as I was passing him one mile earlier.
Then he started complaining that we had an advantage because we ran with backpacks and he had to run with a ruck. Doesn’t he realize that rucks are designed to distribute weight evenly? He also had a frame which kept the plates from rubbing on his back. Some people.
Feeling good. Took 800 mg of Motrin just now so I should be feeling even better soon.
Got a half moon Colonel's coin from a Lieutenant.
Garmin didn't aquire satellites for a little while, but I still think the course was short. It's okay though, because I really wanted to stop.
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