DIY Star Courses – Free Hit Lists to Ruck Over 150 Cities

Itching to get in a ruck, but looking for some motivation? You can do your own Star Course, using our ready-made hit lists. All you need is a ruck and some weight and waypoints for your city. No need to register through our website, do these on your own to stay fit and grounded during these times of uncertainty.

 

Remember: it is critical that you follow all mandates from your specific city or state, CDC guidelines for COVID-19, and maintain safe social distancing. Even if your city is sheltered in place, you are usually still permitted to go outside for exercise. Be sure to stay six feet away from others and refrain from touching your face and anything in public spaces.

 

How it Works:

STEP 1: Download the hit list for your city.

DOWNLOAD HERE. Choose from 5k, 10k, 15k or 12 Miles. If your city doesn’t have a hit list, create your own. Pick the waypoints for a 12 miler (scaling down the mileage to one of the shorter distances above is easy to do on your own), fill out this form and we will add it to the public folder as soon as possible so that others can complete it too.

STEP 2: Get a rucksack (or any backpack) and some weight.

10 lbs if you weigh under 150 lbs and 20 lbs if you weigh over 150 lbs or want more of a challenge. Check out Ruck Plates, the best weight to ruck.

STEP 3: Plot your route and go to the waypoints.

Take a picture at each for more fun. Share with us on social @goruck for bragging rights too.

STEP 4: Make it to all of the waypoints in the following prescribed time limits:

5k – 2.5 hrs; 10k – 3 hrs; 15k – 3.5 hrs, 12 mi – 5 hrs.


Tips For Staying Safe:

  • If you’re rucking alone, go out during daylight hours and avoid any areas or neighborhoods that could pose danger. Bring your cell phone in case of emergency.
  • If a waypoint is a location (park or beach or building) that is currently closed, pick a new spot nearby – do not break any laws or unnecessarily tax law enforcement now or ever.
  • Bring plenty of water and snacks. Stores and restaurants may be closed in your area, so bring everything you need to stay hydrated and energized.
Good luck and get rucking! Check out the Star Course Hit lists here.

 

 

80 comments

  1. Bobby Opheim says:

    if city is on lockdown, can we just use our Bike trail to get the 12 mile in?
    also is the sprint more of a run/jog with ruck sack?

  2. emily says:

    Hi Bobby, the Sprint is just the name for the shorter courses – you can still ruck at your pace without running. As for the bike trail, this is on the honor system so you do what you need to do to earn it. Otherwise, you can wait to do it when the lockdown restrictions are eased up. Stay well!

  3. emily says:

    Hi Heather. You can take any of the waypoints for the SF Hit Lists to make a shorter course that works for you. The new submissions are for cities that do not have any Hit Lists. Stay well!

  4. Michael Matza says:

    Hi all – for Jax Beaches Star Course – the attached doc left off the Beaches Veterans Memorial Park way-point. Stay safe everyone!

  5. Stephen Jimenez says:

    Good morning! Awesome quarantine ruck challenge!
    Was wondering, is it on the person who comes up with the hit list to make sure that the route hits the requisite mileage, or on the individual rucker to plot the route (using the hit list as a guide, maybe not going in the prescribed order) so that they hit the spots and the miles? I want to write up a hit list for my city, but we’re a small city and so I end up plotting either too long or too short a route. Is it alright if the route is maybe a quarter mile longer than advertised, say doing 3.35 miles total for a 5k?

  6. Dan S. says:

    Given the DIY nature of the event (love it BTW), can we lift the age restrictions? My sons Eagle Scouts and have been begging to do a Challenge, but are not yet 18. This would be right up their alley.

  7. Je s says:

    Hey in my region (West Germany) is not a ruck club. Can I create a then a curse too without a club?

  8. Simon Shadowlight says:

    From page Plaque Doctor Patch – “You can earn these anytime, at a minimum, during April and May. If the quarantine lasts longer, so will the timeline. We’ll keep adapting with you.”

  9. Simon Shadowlight says:

    No mention anywhere of needing a club but there is mention of, “… if doing the course alone.” So, go for it.

  10. Simon Shadowlight says:

    Do more. Document the mileage as accurate as you can. Anybody following you will have been informed and warned.

  11. Simon Shadowlight says:

    From page Plaque Doctor Patch – “You can earn these anytime, at a minimum, during April and May. If the quarantine lasts longer, so will the timeline. We’ll keep adapting with you.”

  12. emily says:

    Yes, of course! We’ve had lots of younger participants do a Star Course with a parent or guardian. Given the current climate, it makes most sense to ruck with immediate family members you are quarantined with to reduce exposure. Please be safe and have fun!

  13. Thank you. I care for an elderly person and my son is rooming with two high risk people, and with no one able to verify how long the virus stays in the air, neither of us could risk going into town.

    The option of using less traveled paths is a thoughtful, wise decision on the part of goruck.

  14. Albert H Raymond says:

    How many way points do you need for the 5K, 10K and 15K courses? What should you figure as the average minute pace per mile be between way points?

  15. Tyler says:

    Mess around with google earth, you can plot a route on there and it’s generally very accurate. A good tool for pre-planning.

  16. Meg says:

    Does the design your own need to be difficult in terms of route? I live at the beach in N.J. and there are a ton of great way points, but the route would still be an out and back straight line.

  17. taurus says:

    2 of us did the Star Course in Olomouc, CZ. It was such beautiful day. We look forward to get the patch and t-shirt 😉

  18. Jim Clelland says:

    If we live in a rural area, is it okay if we use one of our biking/hiking trails to do our waypoints? Thanks

  19. emily says:

    Check again, I see that Orlando was added in late March. If it was you who submitted waypoints for your city, thank you!

  20. emily says:

    Depends on your city and what waypoints allow for a safe/pedestrian-friendly route. Feel free to check out other Hit Lists in the public folder as examples.

  21. emily says:

    That’s fine, do what works best for you and your city if you are submitting the waypoints. Just make sure to design a safe and pedestrian-friendly route.

  22. emily says:

    Hi there! I noticed a Hit List for St. Mary’s but not for your area. Use the form in the blog above to create your own Hit List which can be shared with others.

  23. emily says:

    Hi Jason, you do not need to belong to a ruck club to fill out the DIY form. Most folks who do the DIY course creation route are ruck clubs but not everyone. Please submit your waypoints via the form and if you are interested, you can find more info on ruck clubs here: https://www.goruck.com/whats-a-goruck-club

  24. Neil Leonzio says:

    Just trying to figure out the waypoint submission. I made 2 maps (can’t do more than 8 waypoints on google maps, so I needed to break it up) if you have any tips you have for me that would be awesome, the routes go through parks so I don’t have addresses just coordinates.

  25. Sarah says:

    Thanks for the challenge. Just got my GR1 and weight plate last week. I’ve been using a barbell weight in a backpack I’ve had for years to get used to rucking first a while now. This challenge was just what I needed. I Completed a 10k ruck on my own (limited to certain route due to circumstancrs) to earn my patch. Please consider more of these DIY rucks!

  26. Matty says:

    I recall when I ordered the 12miler patch it was going to be good for April & May, I’d like to know why they pulled everything from the site.

  27. Karsten O Lies says:

    I just tried to order the Quarantine 12 Miler patch, but I get to a page that tells me “Page not Found”. Are these still available. Based on the comments above, they were going to be available April and May. Is that still the case?

  28. Michael D Elkins says:

    Is there any way we can still order patches and T-Shirts for this event? I understand I waited too long for the original run, but hey the lockdown is still going strong out in in Riverside, CA. This will be my 15 year old daughters first event and she has been kicking my butt training. Hope you can help out.

  29. Kevin says:

    Just completed a 15K in Myrtle Beach this past weekend, Several people looking to order patches and shirts.

  30. Garmon says:

    My son and I trained for and just completed a 15K ruck here in Menifee, CA, but I see that we cannot order quarantine patches. I thought we could earn these patches in April and May during quarantine. Were we supposed to purchase the patches before earning them? I hope GORUCK reconsiders the April 30 deadline.

  31. Susan says:

    I just learned about this event from someone who just recently (like this week) had their course accepted and put in the list. I was REALLY excited about the patches! I really hope they reconsider this, so disappointing. 🙁

  32. Peter Jennings says:

    Thank you for bringing the patches back!!!! T-shirts would be another great add to help us wear and promote GoRuck!

  33. Ryan de la Garza says:

    Just found out about this event and I’m excited to complete it! I’m also excited to build my patch collection. I’ve seen in previous comments the patches would be available again soon, will these be in the normal patch section of the site or are they in a different location?

  34. Megan Anway says:

    Just completed the 12mile DIY Quarantine Star Course with spouse and two kids. It has been a fantastic experience to do this together as a family! Thanks for the inspiration GORUCK! Kids are pushing me to start a club in our area!

  35. Jake says:

    Same question as Ryan above. I’m waiting for the patches to show up on the website so I can get them for my daughter and I. Any update on when they will be back on the site? Will they be in the same spot as all the other patches?

  36. Tevin says:

    Since quarantine is still in effect in areas/possible retracting of re-open phases, are the plague patches still available to earn?

  37. Garrett says:

    So technically we could do this in Canada ?? to right? But I’m in the Bush, and I do 5k in an hour. Is this how you earn the patch? I’m so noob

  38. Rob says:

    Yes you can do this in Canada! There are a couple of hitlists up for Canada. The point isn’t just to ruck a 5k, this is to explore your city a little more, find interesting spots around town.

  39. Bob rose says:

    Looks like this was set up to run earlier in 2020. Is it still something we can do/earn the patch? My whole family now has rucks:) We’d be doing tampa, OKC, and Nashville 12 M

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