WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. -- A seven-man team from Westover Air Reserve Base completed the 2016 Tough Ruck Marathon in Concord Mass Saturday April 16.
The team had a combined over 350 years of life, 150 years of military experience, and over 235 lbs. of ruck on their backs.
Lt. Col. Qais Ajalat, 42nd Aerial Port Squadron Commander, CMSgt. Daniel Witt 42nd APS Manager, retired CMSgt. Scott Daigneault, retired SMSgt. John MacIntyre, retired MSgt. Steven Wetmore, retired MSgt. Dan Ernst, and retired Army MSgt. Jay Wilson comprised the team, which had one pre-requisite; each member had to be over 50 years-old.
The team set a goal of raising $1,000 to donate to their favorite cause, The Friends of Military Families, and these men raised nearly $2,800.
Each member was in charge of packing their own ruck sack, and the main point of the ruck is for members to “carry” fallen soldiers, -represented by a yellow ribbon with a name- over the finish line. “I had a stack of names that I handed out and we all put them on our sack,” said CMSgt. Witt.
In preparation for this grueling event these men started their training back in September 2015. They put together a training plan, with help from www.toughruck.org, which had a section on how to train and prepare.
“I don’t know if anything can fully prepare you for 26.2 miles,” said Scott Daugneault, “26 miles is just a lot of miles to put on your feet.”
Although each man faced their own challenges, some handled them differently.
“Mile 18 was the roughest for me,” said CMSgt. Witt. “I had to drink pickle juice to get rid of the cramps.”
“I’ve done strong-man competitions here in town before, and that was nothing compared to this,” said Witt. “Pulling a Tahoe was easier than doing that race.”
Mr. Ernst is no stranger to endurance activities, having done the Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World, which consists of a 5K, 10K, half marathon, and full marathon in consecutive days, and this was tougher than that. “I was wiped out,” he said.
A few of these men also competed in a Ragnar Relay race from Yale in New Haven, Conn. to Harvard, Mass., and spanned roughly 200 miles, and they said that the tough ruck was tougher than that.
Every person that completed the Tough Ruck received the 2016 Boston Marathon Medal. “I’m thrilled I got that,” said Mr. Ernst. “We got the medals before they did,” he said, referring to the runners of the actual Boston Marathon.
Although the challenge was the toughest thing any of these men have ever done, the aftermath wasn’t as bad as they anticipated. “I never thought I would recover this fast,” said Mr. Wilson. “The next day I went to a wedding and I was fine,” said Mr. Daigneault.
When asked if they would do it again next year, answers varied. CMSgt. Witt and Mr. Jay Wilson said yes, Mr. Dan Ernst said NO, and Mr. Scott Daigneault said, “To be determined.”
On a final note Mr. Ernst said, “We’ve all done other things, but I have to admit this was the toughest thing I have ever done.”