Biggest Rucking News of Spring 2026 (New Gear, Events & Incredible Stories)

WEBVTT

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Welcome to the Rucker's Edge podcast, a show

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all about rucking that is designed to help you

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improve your rucking routine, lose weight, and

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ultimately gain your strength and energy back.

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Each episode dives into the science, stories,

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and strategies behind rucking. You'll learn from

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top ruckers, coaches, health experts, and performance

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specialists who break down what it takes to train

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smarter, recover faster, and stay ready for the

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next challenge. So whether you're new to rucking

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or an experienced rucker that's already logged

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hundreds of miles, this is the show for you i'm

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your host spencer thanks for listening in today

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we're doing another what's in the news episode

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we did one last fall and this is the one for

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spring 2026 these are some of my favorite episodes

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to put together because you get a little bit

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of everything new gear some events what really

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awesome ruckers are doing and we've got a solid

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lineup today some big gear news a couple of events

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worth knowing about and then the ruckers doing

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cool things segment which honestly has Some of

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the coolest stories I've come across in quite

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some time. Before we get going, if this show

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has helped you in any way, it would be amazing

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if you could drop me a quick review on whatever

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app you're listening to this podcast right now.

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It helps me bring new episodes every week. And

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more importantly, more people looking to improve

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their fitness will be able to discover the podcast

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so you can help someone start or improve their

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rucking. Thanks so much. All right, let's get

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into it. Let's start with gear and we'll start

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with Go Ruck. And I'm leading with this headline

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because it's been a long time coming. The Rucker

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5 .0 is here. We've all been waiting for it.

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And if you've been rucking in any previous version

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of the Rucker, you know how good that platform

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already was. And the 5 .0 builds on it with two

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meaningful upgrades. The first one, lumbar support.

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So Go Ruck added what they're calling a damn

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that's big foam pad. It's designed specifically

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for maximum lumbar and lower back support. And

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the idea is that the pack now works with your

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spine's natural curvature rather than just sitting

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against your back. So if you've ever finished

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a long ruck and felt it in your lower back, that

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addition is going to matter for you. The second

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update, magnetic internal pockets. So I think

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previously they did zippers. Now the Rucker 4

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.0 has Velcro, but this newest version, 5 .0,

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has magnets. They've replaced the internal storage

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closure with silent snag -free magnetic closures.

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No zippers to jam, no velcro to wear out or catch

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on things, and just quick, quiet access. I'm

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looking forward to testing these out and taking

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a look at them. Everything else that made the

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Rucker the Rucker is still there. The fit, the

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feel, the durability. It all looks very similar

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to the 4 .0 model outside of those two major

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updates. GoRuck has always said that the Rucker

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is the most comfortable rucksack ever built.

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And the 5 .0 keeps that reputation intact with

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fixing two things that were legitimate friction

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points for a lot of people. Really excited to

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see this one out there in the wild. So we'll

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see. I'll have the link in the show notes. Now,

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a few more things coming from GORUCK worth mentioning.

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They released two new training accessories, the

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Anchor Loop Medicine Band and the T -Rex Hand

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Straps. GORUCK put out videos for both of those,

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and honestly, that's the best way to see what

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they're actually about. So links are in the show

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notes. I'm not going to go into too much detail

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on those on this podcast. another thing the m26

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is also available for pre -order this is the

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first pack that goruck has designed with the

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direct community input built into the process

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of their design from start to finish i guess

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they went through like I'm sure hundreds of comments,

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DMs, and suggestions that shaped the final design.

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And what they finished with was a new quick access

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lid pocket with a rain flap and internal mesh

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organizer, two side zip pockets that sit internal

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to the ruck so they don't throw off your balance,

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and an extended main compartment zipper for better

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access. Pre -ordering locks you in at about 25

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% off retail. They're targeting Q4 2026 for shipping

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with a possible slide into early 2027. And they're

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being upfront about this. It's a limited run.

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However many pre -orders come in, that's roughly

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about how many they're going to make. So I guess

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if you want an M26, you got a place to pre -order

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for it. And finally, I have to mention their

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April Fool's post from April 1st. GoRuck dropped

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a concept online for the... quote -unquote load

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master 42l with wheels um it's a rucking suitcase

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which is hilarious to see some of the comment

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sections online about wheels on a rucksack i

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suggest you go do a quick google for that moving

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on to frontline athletic frontline athletic has

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been busy so there's a lot to cover here first

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they just wrapped up a mother's day sale but

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if you missed that don't worry they are Going

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to be having a Memorial Day sale coming up. If

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you've had your eye on the Trailblazer Ruck,

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that's your window. I'll drop the link in the

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show notes when it goes live. There's your opportunity

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to pick it up at a slight discount. The second

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item Frontline's been working on is they're hosting

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their first ever wellness event. And this one

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looks like it's a really good one. It's going

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to be on June 6th, 730 to 11 at JFIT in Napperville,

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Illinois. The event is... In partnership with

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JFIT, a portion of the proceeds benefit Warriors

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Walk, which supports veterans' suicide awareness

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and prevention. Here's what's on the agenda for

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that event. Sandbag workouts, community rec,

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yoga and recovery, cold plunge, chiropractic

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support, and coffee, food, and other vendors.

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So it's a full morning. You get the physical

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workout in, and then you actually take care of

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your body afterwards. If you're in the Chicago

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area, mark June 6th on the calendar. Again, details

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to follow. Third, and this is a big deal, Frontline

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has partnered with Spartan DECA and is now the

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official RUC partner of DECA Fit. And it goes

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further than that. They're going to be the RUC

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partner for DECA affiliates hosting DECA Strong

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and DECA Model events as well. So affiliate gems

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will have a specific discount code to purchase

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RUCs for their facility and events. So if your

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gem runs DECA events, keep an eye out for that.

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Really cool to see Frontline. Getting that kind

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of partnership, it puts their gear in front of

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a massive community of functional fitness athletes

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who are a natural fit for rucking. And finally,

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a quick note on Wild Gem. The Wild Gem Feather

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Ruck is now available in black. I think that

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came out in December or so. So some of you already

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know, but in case you missed it, it's out there.

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A clean, low -profile look if that's your thing.

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Moving on to software or ruck tracking. The Rucker

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app is live. I got an email earlier this week

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as I'm recording this now that it's live. This

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is a rucking specific app built from the ground

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up for our community. And the feature set is

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genuinely impressive. One of the features is

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a load aware calorie tracking feature, which

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is pretty cool. There's also equipment tracking

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that locks your specific plates and pack to every

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ruck across your mileage history. Apple Health

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and Garmin import with smart deduplication. So

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you're not getting double entries. It's always

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a hard thing to go and manage. Have to go back

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and delete a workout. And a social feed built

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for Rutgers. So fist bumps, comments, hitting

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up your crew. It's on the App Store and Google

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Play right now. The developer, Ben, is actively

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building from community feedback. So if you see

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something, say something. Give him a heads up.

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He's asked for people to report bugs. Download

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links in the show notes and follow at rucker

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.app on Instagram for updates. And that's Rucker

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without the E. Okay, moving on to events. Let's

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start with Tough Ruck 26 .2. So the Tough Ruck

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Marathon just ran. And I want to take a minute

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on this one because it's pretty profound. Tough

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Ruck Nation is a group of military, first responders,

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and civilians who ruck in honor and in memory

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of fallen service members, police, firefighters,

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and EMTs. Their signature event, Tough Rock 26

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.2 Boston, runs the weekend before the Boston

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Marathon in partnership with the Boston Athletic

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Association. And Tough Rock finishers are awarded

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the first of the official Boston Marathon medals

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each year. That's a detail I didn't know anything

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about. That's really cool. Gritty Soldier was

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in attendance in Ruck the Marathon this year,

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and they highlighted a few athletes with some

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really meaningful missions on their website.

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I'd encourage you to check out the Tough Ruck

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website directly for the full list, but I want

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to mention one specifically. Andrew Staruck,

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I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly. Great

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last name. Air Force veteran, Worcester firefighter.

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Completed back -to -back marathons. He did the

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Tough Ruck 26 .2 on Saturday and then turned

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around and did the Bossa Marathon on Monday.

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There's a term for that, actually. It's called

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the double unicorn. I found that out doing research

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for this episode. But he was raising money for

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the Military Friends Foundation, which is the

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official charity of Tuck Ruck Nation. So two

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marathons, three days apart, and one of them

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with a ruck. That's a remarkable feat, and it's

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for a great cause. Hats off to Andrew and everyone

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who ran it this year. Link to Tough Ruck Nation

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is in the show notes. Moving on to Ruck Race

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League. They wrapped their second event in April.

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The challenge was ruck a 5K as heavy as you can

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go. And the men's division winner set some pretty

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phenomenal records. Mike Pinckney rucked it with

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333 pounds. Just amazing. And the women's division

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winner, also amazing. Amanda Gray, she rucked

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it with 231 pounds. Those are insane weights.

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My ankle would be done after the first block

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with that much weight. These are absolutely elite

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performances from both Mike. and amanda and actually

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they have both secured their slots and the ruck

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race league finals which makes them back -to

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-back ruck race league finalists they both made

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the finals last year so they're locked in for

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the finals this fall congrats to them both and

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moving on to our last segment let's talk about

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ruckers doing cool things we'll start off with

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the fridge guy jordan adams Jordan Adams is a

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30 -year -old from Worcestershire, England. He

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and his brother Kian lost their mother to frontotemporal

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dementia, FTD, when she was just 52. After she

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passed, both brothers were told they carry the

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same rare FTD gene, meaning they're very likely

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to face the same diagnosis in their 40s, with

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likely the same result. Their response to that

00:10:08.870 --> 00:10:11.850
news raised a million pounds for dementia research.

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before it catches up with them. Jordan ran the

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2026 London Marathon with a 25 kilogram fridge

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strapped to his back. That's 55 pounds. A household

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appliance for 26 .2 miles. And he had a very

00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:26.440
specific reason for choosing a fridge. He said,

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quote unquote, because that's what it feels like

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sometimes. Like you're carrying something heavy

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that no one else can see. I'm doing this to make

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dementia visible. Mo Farah ran alongside him

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at one point during the race, and Jordan said

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the crowd support was unlike anything he'd ever

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experienced. But the London Marathon was just

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the start. The next day, Jordan flew to Belfast

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and began running a marathon a day across all

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32 counties of Ireland. 32 marathons in 32 days,

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with his brother Kian cycling the route beside

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him. Their family lost 12 relatives to FTD. They

00:10:59.460 --> 00:11:02.039
are literally running out of time and they are

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spending that time running for everyone who will

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face this disease after them. The FTD fundraising

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page is linked in the show notes. And finally,

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the last story here is about Jeff Allen. He's

00:11:14.360 --> 00:11:17.220
the $10 million winner from season one of Beast

00:11:17.220 --> 00:11:20.000
Games. That's Mr. Beast competition show, which

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I didn't even realize he had one. Jeff's son,

00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:24.820
Lucas, has an ultra rare brain disorder called

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creatine transporter deficiency or CTD. There

00:11:27.740 --> 00:11:30.230
are only about. 400 diagnosed cases in the entire

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world. The condition prevents creatine from reaching

00:11:32.610 --> 00:11:35.330
the brain and can lead to severe developmental

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challenges, seizures, and speech impairment.

00:11:39.309 --> 00:11:42.450
There's no cure, unfortunately. Getting a promising

00:11:42.450 --> 00:11:45.450
treatment into clinical trials costs an estimated

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$8 million. So Jeff did something pretty astounding

00:11:49.409 --> 00:11:52.250
to raise awareness for this. He rocked five marathons

00:11:52.250 --> 00:11:55.230
in five days across eastern North Carolina. from

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Atlantic Beach to Beaufort County, carrying a

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weighted backpack representing the weight of

00:11:59.590 --> 00:12:03.909
his son, Lucas. He called the campaign Ruck for

00:12:03.909 --> 00:12:07.090
Rare. He wasn't alone. Other Beast Games contestants

00:12:07.090 --> 00:12:10.269
joined him, along with a U .S. Marine named Christopher

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DeVault, who found out earlier this year that

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his own young son has the same condition. Two

00:12:16.809 --> 00:12:19.490
dads rocking for their boys. Freaking awesome.

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Jeff and his family have already helped raise

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over a million dollars for CTD research, and

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they're matching any donation of $500 ,000 dollar

00:12:28.350 --> 00:12:31.090
for dollar. The effort is part of a broader push

00:12:31.090 --> 00:12:33.429
with the Association of Creatine Deficiencies

00:12:33.429 --> 00:12:37.529
Race for a Cure initiative. The Ruck for Rare

00:12:37.529 --> 00:12:39.769
donation link is in the show notes if you want

00:12:39.769 --> 00:12:41.809
to contribute yourself. All right, that wraps

00:12:41.809 --> 00:12:44.269
up today's Rucking in the News episode. If you

00:12:44.269 --> 00:12:46.289
want to reach out to me, head on over to theruckersedge

00:12:46.289 --> 00:12:50.149
.com or find me on Instagram at theruckersedgepod.

00:12:50.570 --> 00:12:52.490
If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to

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follow or subscribe to the show in your favorite

00:12:54.289 --> 00:12:56.669
podcast app so you're notified when new episodes

00:12:56.669 --> 00:12:59.269
drop. That's it for today. Thanks again for listening

00:12:59.269 --> 00:13:01.490
to this episode of The Rucker's Edge.