Huggies & I have both participated in multiple Monthly Ruck Events (which have all been awesome for the record) but for this one, we wanted to do something no one else had done. Several months ago we began talking about ideas when came up with the idea of canoeing down Floyd’s Fork while stopping throughout to do various PT style exercises using the canoes. As we started looking into this idea we realized it wasn’t feasible because
- the water level in August was likely going to be too low to canoe
- if we were going to rent 10+ canoes for the participating PAX the latest they could be dropped off at the park was 2:00 PM
Coming to this realization sucked, but we still really liked the idea of Rucking through the Fork so we came up with the idea of using something to stimulate the length/weight of a canoe & we’d just have to carry it. The solution: 10’ 4x4s & I will admit after buying 13 of these things they may all be the same length, but they are not all the same in weight. The entire premise here was also driven by NAVY Seals Hell Week in which the NAVY Seal candidates are placed into groups & essentially carry/use a boat continuously throughout the week. Enough of the touchy-feely bullshit lets get into what we did.
We kicked the Ruck off by having each PAX pull a number (0 – 12) out of a baggie to determine teams for the event. A total of 27 PAX transformed into 13 teams & lined up in order to do a roll call & give the disclaimer. I explained to the PAX they would be with their partner for the duration of the event & would be known as a “Boat Crew”. Here’s how the pairings shook out:
Boat Crews
#0
- Flounder
- Latex
#2
- Fanny Pack
- Husky
#3
- Tony Malito
- Jolly Rancher
#4
- Diablo
- Tool Time
#5
- Wabbit
- Rosie
#6
- Sump Pump
- G-String
#7
- Kilo
- PK
#8
- Skid
- Catfish
#9
- Jay (FNG)
- Huggies
- Nino
#10
- Meter Maid
- Duckling
#11
- Federal
- Short Hose
#12
- Woooo
- My Boy Blue
#13
- Nice & Slow
- Scuba Steve
With everyone accounted for & paired up we started off Rucking down the back hill towards the Gazebo & over to The Pitt were the “boat” for each Boat Crew along with what their crew name was awaited in the field. Each boat had its name on it & was numbered so that each Boat Crew could find the one that correlated with their number…determining our Boat Crews names:
Qdre Crew
- Flounder
- Latex
Poop Crew
- Fanny Pack
- Husky
Smurf Crew
- Tony Malito
- Jolly Rancher
Glitter Crew
- Diablo
- Tool Time
Hybrid Crew
- Wabbit
- Rosier
Fairy Crew
- Sump Pump
- G-String
Grunt Crew
- Kilo
- PK
Princess Crew
- Skid
- Catfish
Sunshine Crew
- Duff-Ski
- Huggies
- Nino
Chode Crew
- Meter Maid
- Duckling
White Claw Crew
- Federal
- Short Hose
Truffle Butter Crew
- Woooo
- My Boy Blue
Moly
- Nice & Slow
- Scuba Steve
Each Boat Crew was now named & equipped with their boat so it was time to get to work. We had the first six Boat Crews line up at a baseline for Wave 1 & the other seven Boat Crews line up behind them for Wave 2. I explained what they were to do. Once Wave 1 got done with the Midfield portion Wave 2 began the exercise.
Kick-off PT:
Baseline: (15) Groikens on the boat (Merkin followed by a Groiner = 1)
- Run 50 yards to Midfield carrying boat overhead
Midfield: (15) Squat Thrusts with boat
- Run 50 yards to End-line carrying boat overhead
End-line: (15) Man Makers with boat
- Run 100 yards back to Baseline carrying boat overhead
After all the Boat Crews were done the boats were picked up & we headed over to the North Beckley Creek Paddling Access where we entered into the water for some more PT.
PT SITE 1
Nino
- (20) submerged Merkins IC
Huggies
- (20) Ruck Swings IC
This was followed by a competition. Each Boat Crew partnered up with another Boat Crew to count the opposing Boat Crew’s reps of the exercise. These two weren’t competing against just one another, but ALL of the Crews…
PT COMP 1: 2-minute AMRAP Squats
- Boat Crew performing the exercise must perform exercise holding their boat (how a Boat Crew chose to hold their boat was at their discretion).
- Any squat performed without the boat being held didn’t qualify towards the total count.
- If the opposing Boat Crew counting the reps of the Boat Crew performing the exercise felt a rep didn’t meet standard (e.g. 1 or both of the PAX did not go low enough in the squat) they notified the performing Boat Crew of this immediately & didn’t count the rep towards the total count.
The Boat Crew who produced the highest number of qualifying reps of the exercise won PT COMP 1.
The PT COMP 1 winner was Poop Crew (Fanny Pack & Husky). As a reward, they didn’t have to carry their boat through the Fork for the duration of Leg 1. During this Leg Poop Crew severed as “leaders” to ensure the safety of the other Boat Crews. One member went to the front to lead the way while the other member went to the back to watch the 6.
All Boat Crews picked up their boats & we started off through the Fork. The water level fluctuated from ankle deep to waist deep (depending on your height obviously) & the Fork bottom was predominately rocky, not very muddy. I was out in front as we approached the final 50 yards of the Leg when the water started to rise…waist, chest, neck, & then into a slight treading of the water so I quickly instructed the Boat Crews behind me (Smurf Crew which was Tony Malito & Jolly Rancher) to go towards the other side of the Fork in hopes the water wouldn’t be as deep. Thankfully it was & each of the remaining Boat Crews was able to get to PT Site 2 safely. Once everyone was there we counted off to make sure we hadn’t lost anyone & then explained what was next.
PT SITE 2
Nino
- (20) Copperhead Squats IC
Huggies
- (20) Flutter Kicks IC
Just like we did at PT Site 1, this was followed by a competition in which each Boat Crew partnered up with another Boat Crew to count the opposing Boat Crew’s reps of the exercise.
PT COMP 2: 2-minute AMRAP Curls
- Boat Crew performing the exercise must perform the exercise with their boat. In addition, each Boat Crew was instructed to place (1) member’s Rucksack around the boat for additional weight. Neither PAX had to wear a Rucksack to perform this exercise.
- Any curl performed without the boat being held or performed without a Rucksack on the boat didn’t qualify towards the total count.
- If the opposing Boat Crew counting the reps of the Boat Crew performing the exercise felt a rep didn’t meet standard (e.g. the boat was not lowered enough at the bottom of the curl or raised to full capacity at the top of the curl) they notified the performing Boat Crew of this immediately & didn’t count the rep towards total count.
The Boat Crew who produced the highest number of qualifying reps of the exercise won PT COMP 2.
The PT COMP 2 winner was White Claw Crew (Federale & Short Hose). As a reward, they didn’t have to carry their boat for the duration of Leg 2. During this Leg, White Claw Crew severed as “leaders” to ensure the safety of the other Boat Crews. One member went to the front to lead the way while the other member went to the back to watch the 6.
At this point, the sun was starting to set so Huggies & I made the decision to exit the Fork & continue on the paved path to PT Site 3. Exiting the Fork required going up a steep incline so in an effort to avoid putting the PAX in a position to sustain injury we instructed them to form an assembly line up the hill to transport the boats 1-by-1 out of the water to the top. Once all of the boats were out of the water each Boat Crew picked their boat up & we were on our way to PT Site 3.
PT SITE 3
Nino
- (20) Big Boys IC
Huggies
- (20) Copperhead Tricep Extensions IC
As we did at PT Site 1 & PT Site 2, this was followed by a competition in which each Boat Crew partnered up with another Boat Crew to count the opposing Boat Crew’s reps of the exercise.
PT COMP 3: 2-minute AMRAP Shoulder Press
- Boat Crew performing the exercise must perform the exercise with their boat. In addition, each Boat Crew was instructed to place (1) member’s Rucksack around the boat for additional weight (how a Boat Crew chose to do this is at their discretion). Neither PAX had to wear a Rucksack to perform this exercise.
- Any press performed without the boat being held or performed without a Rucksack on the boat didn’t qualify towards total the count.
- If the opposing Boat Crew counting the reps of the Boat Crew performing the exercise felt a rep didn’t meet standard (e.g. the boat was raised to full capacity at the top of the press) they notified the performing Boat Crew of this immediately & didn’t count the rep towards the total count.
The Boat Crew who produced the highest number of qualifying reps of the exercise won PT COMP 3.
The PT COMP 3 winner was Glitter Crew (Diablo & Tool Time). As a reward, they didn’t have to carry their boat for the duration of Leg 3 (shockingly though these two refused to give up their boat). At this point, Huggies & I were faced with a decision because as soon as the sun began to set the darkness began to come on QUICK & we still had (2) more Legs to go that were meant to be in the water. When I gave the disclaimer, I told the PAX while we wanted to be challenged & have fun the most important thing was to keep everyone as safe as possible. With that being said to the PAX how could we ask them to go back into the Fork for about another 1.25 miles in the dark with complete uncertainty of the varying water levels??? Simple…we couldn’t so we changed course. We told the PAX of this change, why we’re doing it (no one seemed upset), boats were picked up, & we were on our way to PT Site 4.
PT SITE 4
Nino
- (20) Derkins IC
Huggies
- (15) SSH Tucks IC (don’t ask)
In case you haven’t picked up on the pattern from PT Site 1, PT Site 2, & PT Site 3 this was followed by a competition in which each Boat Crew partnered up with another Boat Crew to count the opposing Boat Crew’s reps of the exercise.
PT COMP 4: 2-minute AMRAP Boat Bench Press
- Boat Crew performing the exercise must perform the exercise with their boat. In addition, each Boat Crew was instructed to place (1) member’s Rucksack around the boat for additional weight. Neither PAX had to wear a Rucksack to perform this exercise.
- Any press performed without the boat being held or performed without a Rucksack on the boat didn’t qualify towards total the count.
- If the opposing Boat Crew counting the reps of the Boat Crew performing the exercise felt a rep didn’t meet standard (e.g. the boat was not lowered all the way to the PAX’s chest or was raised to full capacity at the top of the press) they notified the performing Boat Crew of this immediately & didn’t count the rep towards total count.
The Boat Crew who produced the highest number of qualifying reps of the exercise won PT COMP 3.
The PT COMP 4 winner was Sunshine Crew (FNG & Huggies). As a reward, they didn’t have to carry their boat for the duration of Leg 4, but this FNG was a monster so he & I carried to the End Site. At the End Site, we put all the boats down & gave the PAX 5-10 minutes to change any clothing or shoes they wanted to before we embarked on the last stretch of the Ruck. For this portion we didn’t use the boats, it was just you & your Rucksack for the last 2.8 miles to The G.O.A.T. This 2.8 miles involved a two-lane road the entire way requiring all of the PAX to be alert & look out for one another.
Once we got to The G.O.A.T. we circled up for COT before going in to partake in some solid 2ndF.
COT
- COR (didn’t lose anyone)
- NOR
- Had (1) FNG, Jay Smith, who was given the name Duff-Ski
- Announcements: Thanked all of the PAX who gave donations over the last couple of weeks for the Back to School Supplies Campaign & the 25 PAX who attended.
- Intentions
Huggies & I have both Qd a good amount, but this was the first time either of us had Qd one of the Monthly Ruck Events & it was definitely a learning experience. We hope the PAX who participated had as much fun as we did planning it & we hope the PAX who weren’t able to make it can next year.
Whenever leading the men of this group in any capacity its always an honor & a privilege.
Huggies & Nino out!
F3 Louisville 