SGPT Interviews GORUCK Grad Ed Schmid

SGPT GoRuck Interview with Ed Schmid

SGPT: Tell us about yourself?

Ed: I am 46 years old and have been involved with Crossfit since about 2008.

SGPT: Did you have an athletic background growing up?

Ed: As a kid I was exposed to many sports and was quite terrible at all of them. It wasn’t until I was exposed to Shotokan karate as a teenager that i found something I was passionate about.

SGPT: How did you train for GoRuck?

Ed: When I did the GORUCK Challenge, I had been running every other day and was focusing on bodyweight exercises. I actually did very little rucking but I do recommend some rucking to get used to the ruck and the way it can wear down the body, etc.

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SGPT: Tell us a little about the GoRuck event? Where and how many events?

Ed: The GORUCK Challenge is advertised as a 8-10 hour event. However, be prepared to for the Challenge to last past 12 hours.

As far what events you do, well that varies.
Anything from log carries, buddy/fireman carries, bear crawls, push ups, crab walks, etc. It’s up to the cadre how they want to ”motivate” the class. Just be prepared mentally to do activities that will not be fun.

SGPT: What was hardest part of the event?

Ed: The rucking in the Challenge is probably the easiest thing you will do. The hardest part of my Challenge was the log carry. The cadre found this horrific log that was brutal just getting it off the ground.

SGPT: What is one thing you wish you would have done to get ready for GoRuck?

Ed: You can always train more but in the end be confident in yourself.

SGPT: What boots did you wear? Double socks? Bodyglide or another type of anti-chafe balm?

Ed: As far as footwear is concerned, I wore my Reebok Nanos and they were just fine.

I saw Five Fingers, running shoes, trail running shoes and boots.

I wore one pair of socks and my feet were just fine at the end.

SGPT: What kind of pack did you use? How did you like it?

Ed: I used an ALICE pack, but a few hours into the Challenge I was having problems with one of my shoulder straps.

I found out the hard way what happens when you don’t test out your gear for an extended period of time before an event.

Just because your ruck/pack feels fine during training rucks, doesn’t mean it will feel that way after crawling, sliding, rolling over, etc. hours later.

I now have a GR1 ruck now and I really like it so far.

SGPT: Any tips for up and coming athletes that want to do GoRuck?

Ed: If you going to do a GORUCK Challenge, test your ruck doing all sorts of crazy stuff to see if it works and to find out the easiest way to handle/carry your ruck doing different exercises.

Get your running in and do many and varied bodyweight exercises including Kettlebells and be prepared mentally to endure some pain and suffering. Remember, this is a team event. Everyone is expected to finish. It wasn’t fun, it sucked on many levels…so you should do it.

SGPT: Thanks for the interview Ed.

Are you interested in training for an endurance event like SEALFIT 20X, GORUCK or a Spartan Race? Do you want to increase your human potential so that you can move faster to your goals?

Do you have a big event on the horizon and you want to finish the drill?

Looking to get out of a rut and push forward to beat yesterday now?

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About the Author:
Brad McLeod knows first hand about mental toughness after being kicked out of a top tier Spec Ops training unit. He failed out of BUD/S the first time after failing a math test (made it through Hell Week and Dive Pool Comp). He came back a year later and graduated and served as an operator on the Navy SEAL Teams.