Watch This Guy Attempt the Army Rangers' 12-Mile Ruck March
The first week of training in the US Army Rangers, known as the Ranger Assessment Phase (RAP), consists of several grueling challenges, including the Physical Fitness Test, Combat Water Survival Training, Land Navigation, and on Day 5, the infamous Ruck March.
The Ruck March is a 12-mile foot march which must be completed in 3 hours or less, while carrying a 50-pound backpack. Marine veteran and YouTuber Armando Nava demonstrated the Ruck March in a video where he walked 12 miles through New York City.
In his pack he’s carrying a banana and blueberries for fuel, a whole lotta water, two 10-pound dumbbells, and another two 15-pound dumbbells to bring it up to the required 50 pounds. He stresses the importance of packing the bag correctly to avoid any unnecessary strain on the back while on a hike: “When you ruck march, you gotta make sure you get all your stuff aligned.”
Armando sets off at 2:30 p.m., but after just 0.6 miles he realizes that he’s been going too easy, and needs to pick up the pace if he’s going to hit his sub-3-hour target. “I underestimated it so much, I was literally chilling like I was walking down to the park with my dog,” he says. “Don’t start the way I started, I would recommend keeping a good, nice, fast pace in the beginning.”
After accelerating his pace to make up for his slow start (and seeing a whole lot of the Big Apple in the process), Armando hits his goal, reaching the 12-mile finish in 2 hours 36 minutes. “I was kind of hallucinating,” he says at the end of the video. “I was really just over it. My body was shut. My body is still shut: it’s day 2, I’m still recovering.” He signs off with a reminder of how important it is to push yourself past your limits.
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