The Challenge is to Ruck the 210-mile trail that encompasses Maricopa County over the course of 1 year! For full Challenge details go here or check out the Maricopa Ruck Challenge facebook page. There are at least 2 events per month over the course of the year
Completing the Challenge will earn you bragging rights and a patch.
- Ruck Challenge
- Sunday, 10 FEB 2019
- 0800 - 1150
- 8.9 Miles Point A to Point B
- ~ 30 LB Ruck + 3L Water
- SP - Estrella Mountain Competitive Track: Tolleson, AZ 85353
- LOA - Nature Center: 14805 W Vineyard Ave, Goodyear, AZ 85338
- 2 People in Group
- GORUCK Rucker (FITREP) – This is my standard pack for rucking, whether for events or training.
- 3L Camelbak hydration bladder – This was my first ruck with this exact model. Check out my FITREP.
- 20lb Ruck Plate – Fits well in the Rucker. I dropped weight on this one due to a stress fracture in my R foot.
- Tactical Gloves – It was cold (36) when we started the ruck, so they were nice to have!
- Reflective Bands – day or night visibility is a good thing. These never leave my pack.
- Petzl Headlamp – Yes it was daylight, but better safe than sorry!
- Anker PowerCore Lite 10000mAh – you don’t want your phone dying on you while trying to track your ruck!
- Waterproof phone case w/ $20 cash
- Notebook and pen
- Cottenelle Flushable Wet Wipes – You never know when one might come in handy.
- Nature Valley Oats & Dark Chocolate Protein Granola.
- Custom First Aid kit – My good friend Tim Johnson at PDS Systems put this together for me.
Clothing ~
- Hat – Under Armor
- Sun Glasses – Oakley Custom
- Shirt – Champion
- Shorts – Wrangler Utility
- Socks – Darn Tough Wool socks
- Shoes – Salomon XA PRO 3D trail shoes
- Sunday, 06 JAN 2019
- 0800 - 1200
- Arrive at the designated LOA 30 minutes early to arrange transportation to the S.P.
- Arrive at the designated SP prior to 0800
- Start the ruck by 0800
- Reach LOA by 1200
- Transportation back to SP
- Sunday, 10 FEB 2019
- 0820 - 1200
- Arrived at LOA 15 Minutes early
- Arrived at designated SP 10 minutes late
- SP @0820 - 2 of us stepped off
- LOA @1150 (3h 28m)
- Took Charles to his ride at Dunkin' Donuts (and to get some blueberry munchkins and an iced blueberry mocha).
- This section of trail is a lot of fun. You are out in the desert with beautiful scenery and is well traveled.
- It is from point A to point B, so transportation must be considered.
- The Estrella Mountain park is frequently visited and we came across a number of hikers and even photographers.
- When rucking with a stress fracture in your foot be grateful you don’t have a lot of feeling, or wish you didn’t!
- I dropped down to a 20lb ruck plate to reduce damage to my foot. I should have stuck with 30 lbs.
- There are some portions of the trail that are pretty rocky and caused of to slow down. Though I am not a very fast anyway, be sure to wear appropriate footwear for the terrain.
Sustain
- Complete the Rucks
- Positive Attitude
- Work as a Team
Improve
- Larger group than 2
- Arrive earlier to SP
- Still slower than a 20 minute mile
