"You better finish under 3 hours, Chaplain," said my XO. That was an order. 3 hours is the upper limit to meet the Expert Infantryman's Badge (EIB) standard for a 12 mile ruck march with a 35lb pack.
With permission given I was pumped to run this MWR sponsored Combat Cross-Country Race at Smith Lake, Ft. Bragg.
I had only rucked once in Iraq for training. Before that it was prior to deployment. Then, last Friday, I rucked with my buddy, Tim: 10 miles and 45lbs. We did that in about 2:40, which would have put me over the 3 hours if I were to go an extra 2.
So, toeing the line on Thursday, it sort of felt like the first time I was running a marathon: it was a big unknown, and I really liked that. The course was about 90% trails, about 9% on packed dirt roads, and maybe not even 1% of hard-ball surface. It was mostly sand trails.
Uniform and equipment requirements: 35lb ruck, which officials weighed before and after the race. BDU or ACU uniform (no serious standards though). Soft-cap. And, a full canteen of water. But, we weren't allowed to drink our canteen. They had water stops on the course. I added a few extra pounds to my ruck for good measure while packing, just in case my scale was off. So, with the water bottle my ruck was nearly 40lbs.
I'm not sure how many started the race, but there were 72 finishers. When I arrived to register I didn't know anyone who was running it. Not even on the starting line. And, right off the start there was a huge crowd that began sprinting down the first hill. My plan was to run it until I couldn't anymore. Then fast walk it the rest of the way.
By mile 2 I had been passing by most of that crowd that launched ahead so quickly. I basically ran the whole thing except for 2 very large hills. There was gas in the tank, so I kept going, running it. When I'd pass someone, or they'd pass me, I'd always say something like, "Good job, keep it up." That's how another Captain in the Brigade recognized me at mile 6. Then we exchanged words about how we were doing. And, it was the same in the last 200 meters running next LT Nelson, a Platoon Leader from my Battalion. When I said that, he replied to me, "Chaplain, is that you?" I didn't recognize him in passing until we crossed the finish line.
We finished 21st and 22nd with my time at 2:21:31. It was a lot of fun at the finish to be able to compare notes about the race together over bananas and gatorade. He told me that he had over 50lbs in his ruck. That's about the equivalent weight of what Ranger School students carry, plus their weapon and ammo. In the winter it's much more.
So, I obeyed my XO's order and at least met the EIB standard and ran under the 3 hour mark, which I was pleased. The whole thing was a total blast.
