Since the first GORUCK Challenge in 2010, GORUCK has been synonymous with the harder path. To push yourself, and to be pushed. To find meaning in the beauty of shared pain, to seek challenges that demand growth, to serve something greater than yourself. To be a part of a real community of people pushing each other a little harder.
GORUCK Tribe is the next evolution of commitment — of mind, body, and spirit — to this harder path.
Tribe officially begins January 2021, with the theme of the year being SEEK PAIN. Subscribe and each month you receive a new patch. In exchange, you must do the workout, do the mileage, and read the book.
Here is a run-down on the GORUCK Tribe 2021 programming for each month of this year. We’ll update it here so you have one place to keep track of it.
| GORUCK TRIBE: SEEK PAIN – 2021 |
Monthly Theme | Explanation | Workout | Significance | Rucking | Additional Tasking | Book | |
| January | PAIN | “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
— C.S. Lewis |
MILLER WOD 3 Mile Ruck 12 Rounds: 6 x Sandbag/Ruck Rows 6 x Burpee Squats (Full Burpee with Jump followed by Squat) 6 x 4 Ct Mountain Climbers 6 x Rucksack Getups// 3 Mile Ruck |
Developed by Medal of Honor Robbie’s brothers in arms in 3rd Special Forces Group. | 1 mile/day. 5 mile penalty ruck per day missed. Baseline weight. | Reach out to and connect with one person you haven’t been in contact with in too long. Ruck with them, side by side, or virtually (phone call) while rucking. | TRIBE by Sebastian Junger | |
| February | LOVE | Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. — John 15:13 | IWO JIMA WOD 2 rounds (Scaled up: 6 rounds) 19 Sandbag Cleans 300m Ruck 45 burpee step ups 300m Ruck |
2 rounds = 2 strategic objectives on Iwo Jima Scaled up: 6 rounds (6 Marines in the iconic Iwo Jima photograph) 19 Cleans= 19Feb was first day Distance is equal to the total runway distance of South Field 45 burpee step ups = year and “I’m stepping up, he sees me, I’m down.” | 4 x 5 Miler | Write and send 4 handwritten letters. One of which attempts to make amends. | Warrior’s Creed by Roger Sparks | |
| March | MISERY | “I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains. ” — Anne Frank | FALL OF BAGHDAD WOD
2000m Ruck (30#/20#) 2000m Ruck (30#/20#) |
2k = 2K infil and exfil represents the year and estimated Iraq KIA
34 Rounds = 34 Killed in Action |
3 x 2 Miler (Baseline + 20%), 1x 8 Miler (Baseline) | Do one miserable thing (with someone else) that you haven’t done in at least a year. | Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk | |
| April | ENDURE | “What is to give light must endure burning” — Viktor Frankl |
BATAAN MEMORIAL WOD
9 Rounds
10 Slick Burpees over Sandbag/Ruck
11 Deadlifts (80#/60#)
12 Thrusters with Ruck (30#/20#)
13 American Twists with Ruck (30#/20#)
14 Standing Arm Circles (30#/20#)
15 Neck Circles (Feet Elevated Position)
16 Sit Ups with Ruck (30#/20#)
170m March (30#/20#)
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The Death March began on April 9th and lasted 8 days. Thus, we will honor these POWs with a Bataan Memorial workout consisting of 9 rounds of 8 different movements. | 12 Miler, 10 days of consecutive rucking of 2 or more miles) // ADVANCED: 26.2 Miler, Ruck 2 or more miles every day. | Dream up something big, something you have at least a 50% chance of failing. Write it down somewhere you’ll be reminded of it often. Do something symbolic to take the first step down that path, then endure it as long as you can. | The White Darkness by David Grann | |
| May | HONOR | Acknowledge those who have paid the ultimate price. Honor their lives by living a life of honor. That is where we find immortality. | MURPH (Memorial Day Wknd) | In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, NY, who was killed in Afghanistan June 28, 2005. A U.S. Navy SEAL officer, Murphy was awarded the U.S. military’s highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the War in Afghanistan. | 15 consecutive days with 2+ miles rucking/day | Reach out to and connect with one person you admire greatly, and tell them why. | Ashley’s War by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon | |
| June | FEAR | Fear is inevitable for those brave souls who dare greatly. You cannot run from it, you can only summon the courage to fight through it. You need to figure out how to control and conquer it, to let it heighten your senses and increase your awareness of the situation. | D-DAY | On D-Day, 6 June 1944, Allied forces launched a combined naval, air and land assault on Nazi-occupied France. This year marks 77 years since D-Day, hence the 77 reps. Add 1 rep each year to commemorate the years since D-Day. | 77 miles rucking in the month | Memento Mori – visit a gravesite and make a commitment. What that is is entirely up to you. | Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose | |
| July | DEFY | Oppressors Beware. Stand up to those who seek injustice. | JOIN OR DIE | This entire workout is meant to be completed with Ruck on or in hands. The 8 x 250m Ruck segments (2 minutes) representing the original 8 segments of the snake, conjoined together by the entire workout. 17+76 for exercises will be tough. 4 x 17 = 68 squats. The first round would be 17 squats then 76 pull throughs, then 17 squats and 76 flutter kicks, and so on. I’d expect this to be a 30 minute + effort. | 3 x 5 Miler (Baseline +20%) | Write down a list of your loyalties in life. People, causes, you name it. What you do with that list is entirely up to you. One suggestion is to pick your top three and talk to a friend or loved one about it. Are they the right loyalties? | The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron by Howard Bryant | |
| August | SUFFER | Suffering is inevitable, it’s the cost of life. Pain and misery bring suffering, and through suffering we cleanse ourselves. | EXTORTION | This months TRIBE Training workout “Extortion 17” will honor a group of Elite Warriors that paid the ultimate sacrifice. This workout is meant to be heavy, brutal, and best done with a partner to share the work load (if you don’t have a partner, just complete the 400m ruck between each round. We’ve modified the original 31 Heroes workout to be completed with just a ruck or sandbag, so make sure to check out the demo video for details on these two new movements and note the higher weight on the ruck. | 6x 3 Miler (2 of those 6 scaled up in weight). Tracking max distance in 60 minutes (45# / 30# recommended baseline rucksack. Add 40# / 20# for scaled up rucks). | Volunteerism. Find a good cause and donate a block of your time, asking nothing in return. | The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter | |
| September | DUTY | To avoid one’s duty to God, family, country brings a life of sadness and regret. Better to hear the call to service, and to answer it. Come what may. | 9/11 WOD | This workout honors the firefighters and first responders of 9/11. Be steady and get in the mindset to move forward with bravery and DUTY in mind. Making small physical sacrifices to honor those who have gone before you. It is our DUTY to carry our heritage of sacrifice forward. Your goal should be to go HEAVY. | 13 Miler – Ruck – One mile for each service member who died in Afghanistan. (Baseline weight) | FUNCTIONS CHECK – 7 DAY CHALLENGE
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Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 by Mitchell Zuckoff | |
| October | CHAOS | All life is chaos. Some more than others. And it’s the gauntlet of life, through pain, misery and suffering that brings you to the point of greatest despair and highest station. It’s the worst thing you’ve ever done, but it’s the best thing you’ve ever done. | MOG Mile WOD | Symbolism of the “Mogadishu Mile”
*You cover a total distance of one mile. Even though the soldiers actually walked between 2.5 and 3 miles depending on their starting point, it has become known as a “mile”. You carry your Sandbag during the run to symbolize the gear the soldiers carried. *19 reps – one honoring each soldier of Task Force Ranger killed during the battle and the day after. *Ground to overhead – as the soldiers held up their rifles the entire time *Squats – as they sought cover behind anything available *Push-ups – as they fell to the ground and had to get back up *Don’t let the SB go – symbolic for the dedication the soldiers showed towards their creed to “not leave a man behind” |
Cashout 4X. After 4 separate workouts in the month — 1 Mile Ruck – Max Weight | Write a love letter, put a stamp on it, and mail it to them. | Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden | |
| November | PERSEVERE | The easiest thing to do is to lay down and accept your fate. Never do this. Stand up, endure the pain and chaos, and persevere in all of life. | CHAD 1000X (Veteran Suicide Prevention) | Hero workout “CHAD” is in honor of Navy SEAL Chad Wilkinson who took his life on October 29, 2018 due to the effects of numerous deployments, several TBIs, blast wave injuries and PTSD. Our goal is to honor Chad’s life and legacy and to raise awareness for suicide prevention. If you would like to donate to the cause visit CHAD1000X.COM | 22 Miles. You pick how to get them in. | Ask a Veteran what the best part of their service was. | A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis | |
| December | SACRIFICE | Nothing worth fighting for is without sacrifice. Better to die fighting for those you love than to live a life of wonder at what true love really is. | Pearl Harbor Memorial WOD | 80 years ago, 2,403 service-members and civilians were killed during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December, 1941. We will do this memorial WOD to pay respects to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. |
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Write down the answer to something you’ve been thinking about for far too long. | Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl |