GORUCK Triple Heavy AAR – Part 1 of 4

This is the After Action Review (AAR) of the first ever GORUCK Triple Heavy (HHH). This AAR presumes that you are already familiar with GORUCK events, but if you are not, here are some resources (Goruck Challenge Explained, GRC1000 AAR) to get you up to speed.

I divided this AAR into four parts.

How it started

On December 2014, a very good friend of mine, Doug Otte, asked me if I would be interested in doing a one-of-a-kind event, the GORUCK Triple Heavy. The GORUCK Heavy is a very difficult team endurance event that lasts at least twenty-four hours, so the thought of doing three of them in a row sounded dangerous, impossible, and irresponsible. There was precedent for doing three GORUCK events in a row with the HCL, which is the GORUCK Heavy, followed by the GORUCK Challenge (recently rebranded to the GORUCK Tough), followed by the GORUCK Light (learn more about the first HCL event). Yet there was something so audacious about attempting three consecutive Heavies that I couldn’t help but promptly send Doug the registration money. I got to know Doug well from two other GORUCK events (GRC 1000 and the NYC HCL 007), so I knew this wasn’t just a “Let’s do something stupid for stupid’s sake” idea. He had a clear goal in mind with the HHH, but it didn’t hit me what he was truly going for until after the event was done.

Why would you sign up for this?

One reason why I sign up for endurance events is the thrill of the challenge and pushing myself to accomplish a goal that many would consider difficult. It’s what led me to attempt my first GORUCK Challenge in 2013, and I’ve attempted harder GORUCK events since then.

The biggest motivator to do the GORUCK HHH was failing a different GORUCK event, GORUCK Selection. Billed as the hardest endurance event in the world, I attempted to complete this event in October 2014 and withdrew after twelve hours (read my Selection 015 AAR for more info). It was a humbling and fantastic learning experience, and I was determined to do the event again the following year. However, that plan was derailed when I tore my calf in early 2015.

Selection is usually only offered once a year, and I was disappointed when I realized that there wasn’t enough time to properly train for the event after my calf rehab ended. Resigned to having to wait until 2016 before attempting Selection again, I looked for opportunities to test my physical capabilities and help prepare me for Selection. The HHH seemed to fulfill that criteria, although I have to note the difference between the two events. GORUCK Selection is an individual event where the special operation cadre will do anything and everything to force you to quit. The GORUCK Triple Heavy, on the other hand, is a team-based event (taken to an extreme level) where the cadre will test you but are not actively looking to make you quit. Nonetheless, there is some overlap regarding pushing your limits in both events, so I was confident that there would be some lessons from the HHH that could be applied to enduring Selection.

Another reason why I signed up for the HHH was because I was genuinely curious about the other people who willingly signed up to do this event. I really wanted to meet them and learn their motivations and reasons. Furthermore, who better to do an ultimate team event than with people who are as brave and crazy as you are? I also couldn’t deny the allure of being among the first ones to do an event like this. It was uncharted territory, and I wanted to know how long a committed group of individuals can push themselves and each other to accomplish an audacious goal.

Training

Recovering from a calf tear took a few months and restricted my workouts to upper-body bodyweight exercises (wall handstand work, pull-ups, push-ups) for strength and swimming (no leg use) for cardio. On the guidance of my physical therapist, I slowly integrated running and rucking until the calf fully recovered. The big question was whether my calf was up to endurance abuse I was used to do prior to the injury. When my calf was one of the few things that wasn’t hurting after completing the 4th of July GORUCK Challenge in San Francisco (Class 1550!), I was confident in my ability to attempt the HHH.

I asked Cadre Brad who led that Challenge for advice on doing the HHH. He laughed and said, “Miles, miles, and miles.” It made sense. The distance traveled in a GORUCK Heavy is around 40 miles, so there was the potential of rucking 120 miles for the entire event. Cadre Glenn “Flash” Wells, the lead cadre for the HHH, recommended the 10 week MARSOC training plan for HHH training, but I modified the plan to do longer rucks on the weekends.

I also incorporated a self-motivating three-month rucking plan from Team Spearhead’s Pathfinder program. I won’t go into too much details about this program, but my Pathfinder online training log is available if you are curious. Note that this doesn’t reveal everything that I did, as I didn’t log non-ruck sessions such as swimming and yoga. Nonetheless, it should give you an idea of what I did to prepare for the HHH. I will say is that if you want to excel and thrive in a GORUCK Tough or Heavy, I recommend that you sign up for the next Pathfinder class.

After the Pathfinder program ended, I still had a month of training left before the HHH. I incorporated heavy ruck sessions outlined in this Prevost Training plan and progressed to do a 20-mile long ruck with heavier weight. I had already done a 20-mile ruck in the Pathfinder program, but I’d figured doing another 20-miler with heavier weight would be good prep for the HHH. I timed my training so that it would taper two weeks prior to the HHH. The purpose of the taper is to let your body recover from the intense training you put it through in the previous months. Without this recovery, your body won’t be fresh for the event.

The Gear

Packing for the HHH was difficult because you were required to carry all your gear for all three days. Unlike the GORUCK HCL, you would not have an opportunity to leave certain items at a base and swap your gear between events. Thus, you had to strike a delicate balance of carrying just enough items for all three days without overpacking and weighing down your ruck with unneccesary weight. I ultimately settled with this gear list.

Worn during the event

GR1 (26L) with waist belt and ruck handle

30# Steel plate

Long sleeve merino wool shirt (Icebreaker 150)

Moisture wicking shirt

Triple Aught Design Recon AC pants

Brooks Beast 14 sneakers with orange Superfeet soles

Injiji toe socks + Darn Tough Merino wool socks

Compression calf sleeves

In ruck

Two hydration bladders (two is one, and one is none)

20L Dry bag

Columbia windbreaker

Beanie

Injiji toe compression socks

Darn Tough Merino wool socks

Green Superfeet soles

Headlamp + Spare batteries

Food (Quest bars, sandwiches and Tailwind powder in vaccum sealed bags, Ensure+)

Trail Toes in a squeezable tube

Runners

Wrist straps (never used)

I decided to go with a GR1 instead of a GR0 (now 21L GR1) for the extra space. I wore sneakers because there aren’t many light boots that can fit my size 11.5 – 4E feet (even “wide” boots are too narrow). I’ve found through extensive personal testing that using Trail Toes cream with a Injiji toe sock + Darn Tough Merino wool sock combo is the way to keep my feet blister-free.

The only spare clothes I brought was an extra pair of Injiji and Darn Tough socks. Packing an extra pair of shoes was out of the question since they took up too much space.

Mental State

One of my concerns as the event got closer was whether I was doing enough training, even with the two separate 20-mile rucks. However, I decided not to stress about the uncertainty of the HHH since I ultimately had no control about what would happen during the event. The only control I had was how I would react and how I can contribute to the team. I reviewed the mental toughness techniques in Mark Divine’s Unbeatable Mind, as they have helped me succeed in previous GORUCK events. Since the HHH was also a special Mogadishu Mile GORUCK event, I read Black Hawk Down to better understand what happened during the Operation Gothic Serpent mission in Mogadishu, Somalia.

On Wednesday, September 30th, 2015, I flew to New York City and prepped my gear for what would be the biggest challenge of my life on the following day.

Next: The first Heavy of the GORUCK HHH