100 GORUCK EVENTS

My event tracking started last year at Bragg, where Nick Schrein, of the GORUCK media team, asked me in an interview how many events I've done.


My answer was, "I don't know. A lot."

Although I do keep my patches organized, I was never one for keeping track of the number. It wasn't really important to me.

But when I got home, I did have to count and see where I was at. It was 80-something.

That meant 100 will be coming up fairly soon.

The number slowly crept up the rest of 2023 and by 2024 I had an event target: the Tough of the Memorial Day Naperville HTB.

My memory of events is fairly good, but these reflections are coming many years later for some events, so bear with me. Not all info may be 100% accurate. 

1. GORUCK LIGHT
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: April 2017
Cadre: Belman
Theme: no official theme, local GRTs made a police memorial theme to commemorate the anniversary of three fallen officers
Core Memories: S.W.A.T., being TL and choosing 25 pushups as our first exercise. People were not pleased. Thinking this was cool, but I want more of a challenge.





2. GORUCK TOUGH
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: September 2017
Cadre: Pike
Theme: Battle of Mogadishu 
Core Memories: warming up with "bend and stretch" aka pushups, competing with a Marilyn Manson concert during admin, Pike breaking into Pitt's Cathedral of Learning at 0300, so we could have real bathrooms (jk, the door was unlocked...) Me realizing my Echo ruck with lack of hip belt is not going to work if I'm going to continue this hobby. Buddy carries through the Strip District at sunrise while people were setting up their stores. 
 





3. GORUCK LIGHT 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: September 2017
Cadre: Pike
Theme: Battle of Mogadishu 
Core Memories: first fireman's carry and being paranoid my knee would go out (also, the guy happened to be my husband's coworker's husband), Cadre Pike let me choose the route, so obviously we went up Mt. Washington.





4. GORUCK LIGHT
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: March 2018
Cadre: Belman and Jake
Theme: St. Patrick's Day
Core Memories: 91 participants, two of them left before patching and later complained about the event not being hard enough. Lady log, overhead ruck hold competition, drunk people trying to join us, casino security questioning us.






5. GORUCK CONSTELLATION 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: May 2018
Cadre: J Dub
Theme: no theme
Core Memories: making gas masks out of pop bottles that would later get me in trouble on Instagram after I reposted the photo (I was accused of taking precious PPE away from healthcare workers and also not social distancing). The gym owner of the start point not letting us back in the gym because she claimed we clogged their toilets. Breaking out of restraints, building fires.





6. GORUCK LIGHT 
Location: Cleveland, OH
Date: May 2018
Cadre: Roony
Theme: Memorial Day
Core Memories: Carrying a telephone pole. A lady let the flag touch the ground while furling it, so a GRT corrected her. She started giving him attitude, so Roony stepped in and said he's just trying to save the team because the flag should never touch the ground. She then told Roony that she will not let a man speak to her like that and proceeded to storm off, dragging her three friends with her, quitting the event. Roony on a scooter because he hurt his ankle. Relay races in the sand.








7. GORUCK HEAVY
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: August 2018
Cadre: Belman and Flash
Theme: no theme
Core Memories: 6 weeks post-op broken pinky surgical repair. The surgeon cleared me for full activity a few days earlier, so I took that as clearance for a Heavy. 14 signed up, 11 showed up, 7 finished. Very hot, chafing EVERYWHERE. Wrong clothes, wrong shoes, poor hydration, bladder broke, food taken away at the start (provided intermittently throughout.) The most uncomfortable I've been in my entire life, but I finished. When I think I'm miserable at events now, I reflect back on this event and it puts things into perspective. 




8. GORUCK TOUGH 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: September 2018
Cadre: Belman and Flash
Theme: no theme
Core Memories: Severe Achilles pain. I put myself in a boot after the weekend (then did a Tough Mudder the next weekend 😬) PT for WWII deaths from Pittsburgh area, bladder broke again and poured out on my head at the Welcome Party, first experiences with sleep deprivation hallucinations.







9. GORUCK LIGHT 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: September 2018
Cadre: Belman and Flash 
Theme: no theme
Core Memories: Flashball, Diver operations at The Point. Relay races and the HTL team won almost every time. Lots of fresh friendly faces that brought my energy back. Going to a brewery post-event, then went to get tattoos, then went back to the bar. Where did I get this energy?










10. GORUCK TOUGH 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: November 2018
Cadre: Sanchez
Theme: Veterans Day
Core Memories: Cold, windy, rain/sleet. Welcome Party in puddles. Sanchez admitted he was trying to get someone to quit at the Welcome Party, but no one did. 26 miles, most of which were with construction sandbags. Buddy carries around Heinz Field.






11. GORUCK LIGHT 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: November 2018
Cadre: Sanchez
Theme: Veterans Day 
Core Memories: PT on the sidewalks of the Cultural District. Bar stop, which we originally thought was a trick. Celebrated the Marine Corps birthday. 





12. GORUCK LIGHT 
Location: Canton, OH
Date: November 2018
Cadre: Shredder
Theme: no theme, but a dog-friendly event was created 
Core Memories: Brucie and Rome did their first official GORUCK event! Randall buddy carried his Great Dane. If you didn't bring a dog, you had a partner and you alternated being the dog. Randall really enjoyed the drive there and back...








13. GORUCK TOUGH 
Location: Cleveland, OH
Date: February 2019
Cadre: Igor
Theme: Battle of the Bulge 
Core Memories: We brought food bank donations as our team weight. Cold, a little snow. The Light participants integrated with the Tough halfway. Where Eric Blasko got his tree carrying reputation. Climbing up and down huge stairs. Igor pointing at me saying, "you are the invalid"







14. GORUCK TOUGH 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: March 2019
Cadre: Edge
Theme: Battle of Anaconda
Core Memories: "Warming up" in cold rain doing meditation, yoga, and stretching. Finding our Third Eye. Rucking up and down Rialto 7 times. First event with our SCRC teamweight!







15. GORUCK LIGHT 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: March 2019
Cadre: Edge
Theme: Battle of Anaconda 
Core Memories: Twinning with Randall for the 2nd year in a row, this time intentionally. Tennis court PT, movements up and down the goose poop hill in the North Shore. Having more St. Paddy's Day drunk people join us. Another trip up Rialto right before ENDEX and one of the participants tried to skip it and just head to ENDEX with the shadow until Cullen yelled at her and said she won't earn her patch if she doesn't do it. Oh, and she already gave up her plate and skipped 90% of the PT...





16. GORUCK 50 MILE STAR COURSE
Location: Washington DC
Date: May 2019
Cadre: Igor and JC
Theme: no theme
Core Memories: "it's just rucking." 15 miles to the next checkpoint Snapchat video. Cullen leaving his phone and running across a golf course to get it. Thinking we were almost done, but found out we went to the wrong P Street. Adding 8 miles to our event. Randall almost dying from heat exhaustion. Finishing with 15 minutes to spare.








17. GORUCK TOUGH 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: June 2019
Cadre: Kurth (Whiskey Mike)
Theme: Battle of Ramadi
Core Memories: Kurth's second event as Cadre. Lots of coupons. Crossing the highway in the middle of the night. Donut of Death. No event photos.



18. GORUCK LIGHT 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: June 2019
Cadre: Kurth (Whiskey Mike)
Theme: Battle of Ramadi 
Core Memories: Harder than the Tough. More coupons and less people. Was it intentional? We don't know. Brewery with cadre after!








19. GORUCK SCAVENGER 
Location: Cleveland, OH
Date: June 2019
Cadre: Clay
Theme: 4th of July
Core Memories: Make America Ruck Again custom t-shirts with Cadre Clay's face on them. Cool points galore. Arm wrestling, beer stops, making strangers do PT. We had so much fun that we almost missed the time hack. With some shuffling, we made it back and won! Pyramid building with Cadre Clay on top! 







20. GORUCK TOUGH 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: August 2019
Cadre: Andy (Top)
Theme: Extortion 17
Core Memories: being greeted by Cadre with a resounding, "what's up NERDS?" Logs and lots of construction sandbags. F3 guys suggesting I get off the log. Log PT, carabined rucks, reverse bear crawls with ruck in front up one of the steepest streets in the city. Cadre Andy confirming Pittsburgh is the hardest GRT city. 







21. GORUCK LIGHT 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: August 2019
Cadre: Andy (Top)
Theme: Extortion 17
Core Memories: More logs. Cadre Andy gave a great recap of the events of Extortion 17. We lifted Steelers hating Andy with his very own Terrible Towel.




















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