What The Ruck!

What in the world is a ruck?  According to the website GoRuck, rucking is the action of walking with a weight on your back.  Walking with a weighted rucksack (aka backpack) is a low impact exercise based on military training workouts.  About a month ago I was at a meeting and a young man mentioned that he was a rucker.  After the meeting I asked him about it and he explained that it is a great way to socialize and stay fit.  He invited me to join a rucking group in New Braunfels that he organized and explained that they have group rucks every other weekend.  He also explained that they meet at the town square at 6:00 a.m. on Saturdays and ruck for 4 miles, including rucking through Landa Park.  At the time I first learned of rucking, I was in no shape to join in on the fun.  I was recovering from prostate surgery and several months of a difficult and painful recovery process.  But I had started walking three miles several times a week at the indoor track at Das Rec. So I promised myself when I felt a little better, I would join the New Braunfels group for a ruck. 

Fast forward to Saturday, August 3, 2024.  I was starting to feel much better, so I packed one of my small Osprey packs with my 500mm lens and some water, laced up my Mishmi Takin boots and headed to the square in New Braunfels, arriving at 5:45 a.m.  By the time we took off on our ruck, we had a group of thirteen people.  I was also carrying my D500 with a 400 mm zoom lens on a quick release strap.  We were lead by a really nice fellow named Dane, and the four miles went by very quickly.  It was dark when we started, but the sun came up and we welcomed a beautiful morning.  I was a little concerned that I might not be able to keep up with the group, but I did just fine.  While I was by far the oldest of the group, I felt very welcomed, and enjoyed this social exercise.  I plan to join the group every chance I get!  Here are a few photos from my first ruck…I  hope there are many more!