Why Runners Should Ruck

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We talk a lot about how to improve our rucking

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here on the Rucker's Edge podcast, but this episode

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is focused on how rucking can give runners an

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edge on their competition and training. When

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runners try to get better at running, they often

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think that they need to move their body faster

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and farther. That's true to an extent, but what

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if I told you that one of the best ways to become

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a stronger runner was actually slowing down and

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putting weight on your back? Today's guest is

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Sam Svetkovsky. an endurance athlete who started

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rucking in 2020 and eventually went on to compete

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in ultramarathons and 100 -mile races. She's

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competed in demanding Green Beret fitness endurance

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events, tackled mountain races across the country,

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and now coaches athletes looking to push their

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limits in both running and rucking. In this episode,

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we break down the four pillars of running performance,

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aerobic capacity, strength, running economy,

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and recovery. We also talk about how rucking

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can help improve every single one of them. If

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you're a runner who wants to get stronger, more

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durable, and mentally tougher, this episode might

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change how you train. You're listening to the

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Rucker's Edge podcast, a show all about rucking

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that is designed to help you improve your rucking

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routine, lose weight, and ultimately gain your

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strength and energy back. Each episode dives

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into the science, stories, and strategies behind

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rucking. You'll learn from top ruckers, coaches,

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health experts, and performance specialists who

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break down what it takes to train smarter, recover

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faster, and stay ready for the next challenge.

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So whether you're new to rucking or an experienced

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rucker that's already logged hundreds of miles,

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this is the show for you. I'm your host, Spencer.

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Thanks for listening in. Before jumping into

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today's conversation, I wanted to take a quick

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second and ask for a favor. If this show has

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helped you in any way, it would be amazing if

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you could drop me a quick review on whatever

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app you're using to listen to this podcast right

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now. It helps me bring new episodes every week.

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And more importantly, more people looking to

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improve their fitness will be able to discover

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the podcast so you can help someone else start

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or improve their rucking. Thanks so much. Sam,

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first of all, welcome to the Rutgers Edge podcast.

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It's great to have you here. Awesome. Super excited

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to be here. I wanted to start out by asking,

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you've done a lot of rucking events. I think

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you do a lot of Green Beret fitness events. You've

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done a lot of running races, ultra marathons.

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What started first? Were you into running first

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or was it rucking? I guess explain that journey

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for you. Yeah, no, it's definitely a journey.

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That's for sure. I'll start with like. First

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things first, I actually hated running for most

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of my life. And I always make that joke because

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everyone's like, I just don't like running. I

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hate running. And I'm like, I get it. Trust me.

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And so this, my like rucking and then eventually

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running journey started. over COVID, which I

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think happens a lot for a lot of people, right?

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2020, I couldn't find any gym equipment. Nothing

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was open. I live in LA, so everything was locked

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down. And my buddy was like, hey, check out this

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GoRuck thing. And he sent me the backpack and

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the sandbags, like the link to them. And I was

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like, oh, cool. This is a really easy way to

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get workouts in at home. And so I bought the

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pack. I bought a sandbag. I got a plate and started

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just, you know, moving around the neighborhood

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and doing some workouts until eventually my barbell

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showed up, which I was really excited about.

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But so I started that and then got into like,

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you know, the interwebs of finding these go rock

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challenges. And so my first like true rocking

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event was actually a go rock tough down in San

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Diego. And so that's what I would say started

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like the rucking adventures. I met some really

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cool people down at Triton Ruck Club. They kept,

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I say bullying me, but they really just kept

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encouraging me to keep showing up and just come

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out to some events. And eventually I made some

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really good friends and we decided to sign up

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for the Go Ruck Recon H2B. And so that was like

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my first probably like. rucking endurance experience

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i would say because that is a full what 48 hours

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over the weekend um and so that was that was

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super cool uh it was honestly that's probably

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one of go rock's best events i would argue it's

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a really meaningful one and and you get to meet

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some really great people Awesome. But yeah, go

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ahead. No, no, that's really cool. So I'm familiar

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with Triton only because I know them via social

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media, but they seem to be very passionate about

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fitness and rucking. Oh, yeah. Cool to hear that

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you're involved with them. I've never met someone

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actually involved with Trident Rock. Oh, yeah,

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yeah. No, they're great. Yeah, they've got a

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San Diego and I think now a Northern California

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chapter too. But at that, what was it? At the

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Recon Challenge, I actually, or Recon HTB, I

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met... Greg, who's the owner of Green Bray Fitness.

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And he was like, Hey, if you like Rocky and you

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should come check out these mountain events I

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do. I was like, Oh, that sounds awesome. That

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also sounds really hard. Let's go do that. And

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eventually I found myself on the Florida trail

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for their Ocala event, which is 68 miles through

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the Florida Ocala National Forest. And it wasn't

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on purpose that I did that one first. It was

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that I had missed one or two of them. And then

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a buddy of mine it's always friends right that

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say hey you should sign up for this you could

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probably do it like you've done two of these

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htbs like sure same same um and it wasn't the

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same that's for sure because because rucking

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for 68 miles straight is very different than

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getting thrashed by cleve in the ocean plus some

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rucking on top of it so um that's how i started

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i'd say transition more into like the endurance

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side of rucking. And, you know, over 2024, I

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spent a lot of time doing the Green Beret fitness

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races. And it was a lot of fun because those

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take you to really cool places. One of my favorites

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is Yosemite. Did a really cool one in Provo,

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Utah, where we ran into tons of snow, which was

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my first time like really experiencing snow on

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a mountain. Oh, yeah. First time just on a mountain.

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I thought you were going to say first time rocking.

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I mean, like I grew up in Buffalo, New York.

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I'm familiar with snow. I've snowboarded. But

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this was the first time it was like, hey, you're

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going to go navigate through the snow covered

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mountain. And I was like, oh, cool. Super unprepared.

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But we made it. Wow. Yeah. But yeah. So then

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my big goal in 2024 was the GBF Operation Century,

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which was a 20 mile loop. And the goal was to

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hit 100 miles. I ended up doing a little over

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80. And something around 18 ,000 feet of elevation

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gain through that time. Um, it was in Idaho,

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Wyoming, like middle of nowhere. I think we saw

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more cows than people and it wasn't cows. It

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was a, yeah, but, but there was so few people

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out there, but it was an incredible experience.

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And then the coach I work with, he, you know,

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it was like, Hey, why don't we, why don't you

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go for some trial runs? And we did a bit of that

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as well when I was training for this instead

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of just rocking, but I. realize that slowing

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down with the rucking because you're not running

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necessarily like you're moving quickly and sometimes

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there's some pace to it but taking the ruck away

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was really nice for me because I could cover

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so much more ground but still not go to that

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place of what I used to think of running, which

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was a punishment for sport, or it was just to

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go hard or to lose weight or do these things.

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It was actually like an enjoyable experience

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to be able to go out to the mountains and spend

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some time out there or a lot of time out there

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running, running around. So rucking came first,

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then running. Yeah. Rucking came first. That

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is very interesting. Yeah. So you kind of found

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like your love for endurance through rucking

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and then it transitioned to running and you've

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done some ultra marathons, I think, right? Yeah.

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Yep. Last year, I think I really would say 2025

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was when I started on this like ultra running

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experience. So right after that century in 2024,

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I went out and did an ultra marathon. It was

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called the Barkley Fall Classic. If you're familiar

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with the Barkley marathons, it's like the. entry

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version of that where they allow a lot of people

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to check out very small pieces of that course

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and run it but it's similar in the sense that

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there's no gps and it was just so much like i

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just had so much fun out there and so in 2025

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i you know i did my first 50k first 100k hit

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my first 100 miler as well and i always tell

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people that if i didn't have that rucking background

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I don't think it would have come as quickly as

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it did because with a ruck on, you know what

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it feels like to work under heavy legs. And that's

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what an ultramarathon at the end of the day is,

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right? There's a huge mental component to it.

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But physically, you're climbing up these mountains,

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you're climbing up these hills. If you've done

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that with a ruck on your back, you already know

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what your legs feel like at mile 50, 60, 70 before

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you even get there. Yeah. I mean, I attribute

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it to like it's the same concept. I played baseball

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a lot growing up. When you're in, you know, when

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you're on deck, you're warming up to step up

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to the plate. You have a donut on your back.

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You're swinging it because it's making the bat

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heavier. And you take the donut off. You're like,

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whoa, I need to slow down my swing. It's almost

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too fast. It's sort of like the same concept.

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Like you take the rock off and you can, you know,

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you haul. I mean, if you wanted to go fast, that

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would be. something, but certainly endurance

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wise, you take the ruck off, you feel like you

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can go a lot further at the same pace. And I

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think you're, you're currently coaching. Do you

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coach runners? Uh, I work with runners. I work

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with ruckers and really any general athlete or

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anyone that's trying to achieve really any goal.

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That's I'm your person, but specifically I have

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worked with, um, a lot, like quite a few ruckers,

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um, getting ready for different GoRuck events,

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a few that I'm working with that are specifically

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training for Greenbrae Fitness, some of their

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longer events, and then runners as well. So with

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runners, I'm a former runner, and I mentioned

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this on a previous episode, I've been able to

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start running again, which has been amazing.

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I sort of have this thought, and I know I'm not

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the only one that has had this, but to get better

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as a runner, it's almost like, oh, I just need

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to run. More miles. Do you think a lot of runners

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have that same belief that to get better, you

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just need to, you need to run further? Yeah.

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And I, you know, at the end of the day, you are

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going to have to run more to run more. Right.

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But there, I think there's a cap to that too,

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but more and more right now we're seeing this

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and it's a really good trend to be seen and picking

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back up again, is that strength training and

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just other components are so important to running

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as well. Because you can just keep running, but

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things like strength training make us more durable

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over that time. Yeah. And on a previous call,

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we did talk about, we were kind of chatting about

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like maybe four pillars that would make, improve

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a runner's performance. But you mentioned strength

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training and I'm also thinking maybe cross training,

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but what types of training should runners be

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incorporating besides? You know, just running

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into their plans. I mean, we'll get into the

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pillars here shortly, but I'm just curious, like,

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should they be, you know, deadlifting or should

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they be doing squats? What sort of strength training

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should they be doing? There are different phases

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of where you will be lifting heavier and doing

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exactly what you said. You will be dead lifting.

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You will be doing heavy squats. You can be doing

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heavy lunges, especially a lot of unilateral

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focus work, because we want to make sure that

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we're even on both sides. That said, you also

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do need a strong upper body for running too,

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because if you only focus on the legs, they're

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going to be... uneven but when we get into the

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ultra space you're typically carrying a small

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pack with water or you have a belt on that also

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carries your nutrition and everything else and

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then we also see like well there will be fatigue

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right so if like you're moving your arms are

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a part of the run right sometimes we forget that

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we use our arms when we run so the full body

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does need to be strong the whole time through

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and that said you also need a strong core as

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well. And so there's, there's so much to it that

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yes, you'll be doing different types of strength

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training across the board. And again, depending

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like where you're at and what you're trying to

00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:30.659
do, if you're using poles for your race or not,

00:13:30.820 --> 00:13:33.700
um, that's important as well, because. That is

00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:36.340
just another component that, yeah, it helps maybe

00:13:36.340 --> 00:13:38.259
take something a little bit away from the legs,

00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:40.279
but now you're using your arms more again. So

00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:41.799
you have to learn how to be efficient with that

00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:44.299
as well. I feel so targeted right now, Sam, because

00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:46.919
you just mentioned that even your arms need to

00:13:46.919 --> 00:13:48.659
be sort of developed. You're absolutely right.

00:13:48.779 --> 00:13:51.320
Like I just was fortunate enough to be able to

00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:53.899
run three miles without any significant ankle

00:13:53.899 --> 00:13:57.100
or foot pain. And yeah, I'm really happy about

00:13:57.100 --> 00:13:58.679
that because the whole time I was like kind of

00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:01.879
babying it. The weird thing is, is after the

00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:04.460
run, like my legs weren't sore, hips weren't

00:14:04.460 --> 00:14:06.100
sore, knees weren't sore. My arms were sore.

00:14:06.200 --> 00:14:08.519
I was like, what? I need to work out my biceps

00:14:08.519 --> 00:14:11.159
more. And I was like, why is this? This is weird.

00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:13.120
I think this is a sign I actually need to like

00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:15.159
get back in the gym and start working my arms.

00:14:15.659 --> 00:14:18.659
So embarrassing, but happy to say I don't have

00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:20.559
any like foot or ankle issues. So I'm going to

00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:23.159
keep exploring that. But all right, let's start.

00:14:23.179 --> 00:14:24.919
Let's start talking about the four pillars of

00:14:24.919 --> 00:14:26.720
running performance that we talked about in the

00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:30.080
pre -call. So to improve our running performance

00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:32.440
we were thinking that there are four different

00:14:32.440 --> 00:14:34.500
things that runners should probably focus on

00:14:34.500 --> 00:14:37.740
the first one being aerobic capacity the second

00:14:37.740 --> 00:14:40.279
one strength that we just covered a little bit

00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:43.860
just now the third running economy and the last

00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:45.980
the fourth one recovery and injury prevention

00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:47.899
kind of want to talk a little bit about each

00:14:47.899 --> 00:14:50.360
one so let's start with aerobic capacity what

00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:52.620
exactly does that mean in practical terms for

00:14:52.620 --> 00:14:57.620
a runner yeah it's funny it's like You could

00:14:57.620 --> 00:15:00.299
go into what it fully means, but it's really

00:15:00.299 --> 00:15:03.240
aerobic capacity or building your aerobic base

00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:07.730
is about. being able to sustain over a long period

00:15:07.730 --> 00:15:11.509
of time. Um, and so when you first start something

00:15:11.509 --> 00:15:14.370
and I always compare running actually to weightlifting,

00:15:14.470 --> 00:15:16.769
because I think it's makes a little bit more

00:15:16.769 --> 00:15:19.169
sense for people, right? When you start lifting

00:15:19.169 --> 00:15:21.129
a weight, you might start with five pounds and

00:15:21.129 --> 00:15:23.929
then eventually go to 10 pounds and then 12 and

00:15:23.929 --> 00:15:27.110
15 and so on. And you can do more reps of those

00:15:27.110 --> 00:15:29.830
same weights over time. When people think of

00:15:29.830 --> 00:15:31.529
running, they're always just like, I think I

00:15:31.529 --> 00:15:34.330
should just be able to run no matter what. Right.

00:15:34.889 --> 00:15:37.570
So when we talk about that aerobic capacity,

00:15:37.909 --> 00:15:42.049
it's like we have to build that aerobic base.

00:15:42.169 --> 00:15:44.350
We can't just expect that we can go run three

00:15:44.350 --> 00:15:49.509
miles or for 30 minutes. And so what we what

00:15:49.509 --> 00:15:52.330
I like to focus on is that we're going to start

00:15:52.330 --> 00:15:55.009
from wherever you are and then go from there.

00:15:55.090 --> 00:15:58.029
So like if you can run for five minutes, great,

00:15:58.169 --> 00:16:01.190
let's do that. And then 10 and then 20 and then

00:16:01.190 --> 00:16:05.439
30 and so on. And so there's a very like. slow

00:16:05.439 --> 00:16:08.379
build to it where i think sometimes the expectation

00:16:08.379 --> 00:16:11.240
is that it's just going to be just go run forever

00:16:11.240 --> 00:16:16.100
and so over time that will start to build up

00:16:16.100 --> 00:16:19.340
and in the similar way we like to really focus

00:16:19.340 --> 00:16:22.960
a lot on the different heart rate training zones

00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:24.879
and i know like zone two is really hot right

00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:27.840
now it's also a big trend but that is a really

00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:31.240
important component because it's really more

00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:35.500
about being consistent rather than intense, right?

00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:38.500
Like easy run should feel easy. And if you're

00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:40.440
questioning, if it's easy, it's probably too

00:16:40.440 --> 00:16:43.779
hard. And so when we talk about that, it's like,

00:16:43.879 --> 00:16:46.240
okay, I went for an easy run, but I went at a

00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:50.039
12 minute pace. And I'm not trying to say something's

00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:52.379
fast or slow, but let's say you go for an easy

00:16:52.379 --> 00:16:55.600
run. It's a 12 minute pace over time. What we

00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:58.779
would see is that easy run would probably be

00:16:58.779 --> 00:17:01.799
faster over three or six months down the road.

00:17:02.529 --> 00:17:06.009
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And I'm curious,

00:17:06.130 --> 00:17:09.190
what zone should runners be in? I mean, should

00:17:09.190 --> 00:17:12.650
they reach all the way up to like zone five or

00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:15.609
should they stay around like zone four? It depends

00:17:15.609 --> 00:17:17.950
on the session and training session that you're

00:17:17.950 --> 00:17:20.710
doing. You know, working intervals, you're going

00:17:20.710 --> 00:17:23.730
to start to hit into that three, four. If you

00:17:23.730 --> 00:17:27.049
are doing. sprint intervals you're definitely

00:17:27.049 --> 00:17:29.730
going to hit higher into that zone five at times

00:17:29.730 --> 00:17:33.170
or maybe uphill type intervals we start to see

00:17:33.170 --> 00:17:37.569
that three and four but one of the like main

00:17:37.569 --> 00:17:42.690
principles i use or that i'll reference a lot

00:17:42.690 --> 00:17:45.950
is from the uphill athlete that's a really great

00:17:45.950 --> 00:17:48.549
read for anyone that's getting into any type

00:17:48.549 --> 00:17:51.390
of running endurance rocking for long periods

00:17:51.390 --> 00:17:55.809
of time and it talks a lot about like the 80,

00:17:55.829 --> 00:18:01.049
20 split of your aerobic versus like anaerobic.

00:18:01.170 --> 00:18:03.450
So the aerobic being like that longer steady

00:18:03.450 --> 00:18:07.230
state, most of your work should be done in that

00:18:07.230 --> 00:18:10.190
long steady state. And when we think of like

00:18:10.190 --> 00:18:13.869
an ultra marathon, let's say, I believe when

00:18:13.869 --> 00:18:16.529
I just ran a hundred K, which is, it took about

00:18:16.529 --> 00:18:20.769
15 hours in the mountains. And I was predominantly

00:18:20.769 --> 00:18:26.480
in like a zone one. to, I probably peaked up

00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:28.559
to three, a few different times on bigger climbs,

00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:33.339
but the race strategy was if you feel like you

00:18:33.339 --> 00:18:36.599
are gasping for air or out of breath, or your

00:18:36.599 --> 00:18:38.839
heart rate is just feeling too hard. Like if

00:18:38.839 --> 00:18:41.059
it feels too hard, you're going to slow down.

00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:46.059
And because, because you can't, you can't. red

00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:50.240
line for 15 hours. Right. So, so you, I mean,

00:18:50.299 --> 00:18:52.140
you can't red line for more than what, 10 seconds,

00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:55.759
um, maybe, but, but I think the idea is that,

00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:58.980
you know, it's going to really be race dependent

00:18:58.980 --> 00:19:02.660
because if you're running a 400 meter race, I

00:19:02.660 --> 00:19:06.940
mean, you're going to gas. Yeah. Um, and there's

00:19:06.940 --> 00:19:10.059
still strategy to that, but. Uh, I always joke

00:19:10.059 --> 00:19:11.900
like with people and they say, why won't you

00:19:11.900 --> 00:19:14.019
run like a road marathon or why haven't you run

00:19:14.019 --> 00:19:16.059
a road marathon? And I'm always like, because

00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:18.460
it's too hard because you're there. Your heart

00:19:18.460 --> 00:19:20.319
rate is going to be so much higher because it's

00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:23.900
such a much shorter race than I'm used to. And

00:19:23.900 --> 00:19:27.119
I'm like, I just have to run too fast then. Um,

00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:30.400
but jokes aside. Yeah. I think there's, it depends

00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:33.880
really how long you're going for, but at a certain

00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:36.660
point, like it's about the sustainability over

00:19:36.660 --> 00:19:39.609
time. Understood. Okay. Now moving on to the

00:19:39.609 --> 00:19:41.970
second pillar of strength. We already hit on

00:19:41.970 --> 00:19:45.130
this topic earlier. We kind of talked about why

00:19:45.130 --> 00:19:47.910
it's important, but go over again, which muscle

00:19:47.910 --> 00:19:50.309
groups are most critical for runners to strengthen

00:19:50.309 --> 00:19:52.470
if they want to improve performance and maybe

00:19:52.470 --> 00:19:56.049
more importantly, reduce injury risk. It's hard

00:19:56.049 --> 00:19:57.930
to say. I mean, like lower body obviously is

00:19:57.930 --> 00:20:01.009
a huge key for running and just having that muscle

00:20:01.009 --> 00:20:03.690
over time. And then when we think upper body

00:20:03.690 --> 00:20:07.450
really definitely in the back is good. And then

00:20:07.789 --> 00:20:09.750
Everything else kind of helps fill out posture,

00:20:09.890 --> 00:20:12.210
though, too, because if you're imbalanced, you

00:20:12.210 --> 00:20:14.410
might start to lean forward or do other things

00:20:14.410 --> 00:20:18.529
in the upper half. And then obviously, I think

00:20:18.529 --> 00:20:20.690
this goes for anybody or anything is just that

00:20:20.690 --> 00:20:23.470
core and trunk stability. When we think like

00:20:23.470 --> 00:20:25.490
major muscle groups in the legs, like you're

00:20:25.490 --> 00:20:29.130
looking hamstrings, glutes, quads, but just as

00:20:29.130 --> 00:20:32.109
important, like you said, ankle and feet, which

00:20:32.109 --> 00:20:37.279
I think are often neglected. You can. Do a lot

00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:41.420
of like small movement exercises that will help

00:20:41.420 --> 00:20:44.400
strengthen them just to help support the rest

00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:47.759
of the body. Awesome. OK, now moving on to the

00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:50.460
third pillar, running economy. Can you briefly

00:20:50.460 --> 00:20:52.599
describe what that is? Because I'm sure people

00:20:52.599 --> 00:20:54.619
hearing it running, you know what that is. Economy

00:20:54.619 --> 00:20:56.720
kind of know what that is. But those two words

00:20:56.720 --> 00:21:00.460
together, what does that mean? I like to think

00:21:00.460 --> 00:21:04.960
of it as how efficient you are when you're running.

00:21:05.400 --> 00:21:11.059
Right. It's, it's using that less energy to do

00:21:11.059 --> 00:21:14.980
the same thing. Right. So it's just being more

00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:17.460
efficient overall. And there's different ways

00:21:17.460 --> 00:21:20.420
to do that. And a piece of it obviously is that

00:21:20.420 --> 00:21:22.700
aerobic base as that builds, you become more

00:21:22.700 --> 00:21:26.980
efficient, but also when you actually look at

00:21:26.980 --> 00:21:29.680
like the technical side of it and running gate

00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:33.309
and things like cadence and other pieces. Putting

00:21:33.309 --> 00:21:35.369
that all together will make you more efficient

00:21:35.369 --> 00:21:39.109
as a runner. Okay. And then lastly, recovery

00:21:39.109 --> 00:21:42.109
and injury prevention. So I know, you know, runners

00:21:42.109 --> 00:21:44.890
deal with a lot of repetitive stress, especially

00:21:44.890 --> 00:21:47.450
on the knees. Why is recovery and injury prevention

00:21:47.450 --> 00:21:51.630
such a big part of improving performance? Yeah,

00:21:51.670 --> 00:21:55.089
I think it's like saying, why do we brush our

00:21:55.089 --> 00:21:57.730
teeth every day? Yeah. Right. We do it because

00:21:57.730 --> 00:22:00.750
it's preventative. Right. And so there are so

00:22:00.750 --> 00:22:04.740
many. things that we can be doing and then identifying,

00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:08.359
especially depending on like your running gait

00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:10.599
or posture, just different things and imbalances

00:22:10.599 --> 00:22:13.099
that we have. If we can identify some of those

00:22:13.099 --> 00:22:17.460
imbalances and start to correct them, it helps

00:22:17.460 --> 00:22:20.660
fix everything else. And then if you, let's say

00:22:20.660 --> 00:22:23.660
you're perfect, whatever, probably not true,

00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:27.279
but we can do all these like prehab or corrective

00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:32.140
type exercises on a daily basis that take 10,

00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:34.880
15 minutes out of your day to help you in the

00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:37.140
long term and keep you more durable over time.

00:22:37.579 --> 00:22:41.400
Prehab, I'm totally stealing that. Before we

00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:44.079
move on, what are some signs that a runner maybe

00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:48.799
isn't recovering from their longer runs or their

00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:52.940
training in general? I think consistently feeling

00:22:52.940 --> 00:22:59.099
tired during training sessions, I would say not

00:22:59.099 --> 00:23:01.640
sleeping well it's it's funny it's that one of

00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:03.180
those things where it's like if you don't sleep

00:23:03.180 --> 00:23:05.579
well you're probably going to continue feeling

00:23:05.579 --> 00:23:08.220
like crap but if you also feel like crap you

00:23:08.220 --> 00:23:11.200
also might not be sleeping well and so I would

00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:14.579
say just over training is a common thing and

00:23:14.579 --> 00:23:16.799
you say runners but I also think that across

00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:20.240
the rucking groups as well where it's like the

00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:23.420
idea that more more more is always better is

00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:26.539
just not true, right? We need to take rest days.

00:23:26.599 --> 00:23:28.359
We need to do things that take care of ourselves.

00:23:28.819 --> 00:23:32.059
And so if you find yourself getting injured more

00:23:32.059 --> 00:23:34.900
often, if you find training to be very difficult

00:23:34.900 --> 00:23:38.000
all the time, it's probably a good indication

00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:41.279
that you need to take a break. Okay, now let's

00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:43.559
talk about how rucking fits into these pillars.

00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:46.460
So aerobic benefits. How does rucking help runners

00:23:46.460 --> 00:23:49.099
build aerobic capacity without the wear and tear

00:23:49.099 --> 00:23:53.329
of additional miles of running? Yeah, no, rucking

00:23:53.329 --> 00:23:55.670
is amazing for running, especially if you're

00:23:55.670 --> 00:23:59.190
doing mountain events. So I have, I'm working

00:23:59.190 --> 00:24:02.529
with an athlete right now. She, well, originally

00:24:02.529 --> 00:24:05.650
she's, she was training for this 55 K, which

00:24:05.650 --> 00:24:07.930
she's still doing next week, but she actually

00:24:07.930 --> 00:24:10.390
just completed a hundred miler for the first

00:24:10.390 --> 00:24:13.549
time in like a year or two in the last few weeks.

00:24:13.910 --> 00:24:19.480
And one day of her. training every day is instead

00:24:19.480 --> 00:24:23.420
of running, we do uphill rucking on a treadmill

00:24:23.420 --> 00:24:27.920
and that could be done on a trail too. But again,

00:24:28.059 --> 00:24:33.720
it's that idea that rucking helps you obviously

00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:35.740
build that capacity, right? You're moving at

00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:37.839
a slower pace. So your heart rate's probably

00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:40.819
not spiking as high as sometimes when you'd be

00:24:40.819 --> 00:24:44.660
running uphill, you are building strength because

00:24:44.660 --> 00:24:49.109
of the added weight. And it's also making you

00:24:49.109 --> 00:24:52.450
more durable, right? So for your ankles and feet

00:24:52.450 --> 00:24:57.009
and other things. And so instead of her doing

00:24:57.009 --> 00:25:00.369
a 90 minute run those days, we've done that uphill

00:25:00.369 --> 00:25:03.430
rug. And it's one of those benefits that always

00:25:03.430 --> 00:25:06.029
just in the moment, it kind of feels like, man,

00:25:06.150 --> 00:25:07.849
like, especially when you're a runner, you're

00:25:07.849 --> 00:25:09.630
like, man, I just really want to be out running.

00:25:09.970 --> 00:25:13.690
But this has been like tried and true that it's.

00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:16.839
super beneficial and it's just an alternative

00:25:16.839 --> 00:25:20.359
way to get time on feet but maybe just slow down

00:25:20.359 --> 00:25:22.500
the pace you know bring your heart rate down

00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:24.880
and then again feel like what it's like to be

00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:28.740
on tired legs you just mentioned how it can strengthen

00:25:28.740 --> 00:25:30.640
muscles around your feet and ankle i'm curious

00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:33.500
what other muscles get stronger through rocking

00:25:33.500 --> 00:25:37.759
that might otherwise be under, you know, I'm

00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:40.220
not the perfect person to ask exactly which ones,

00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:42.980
but I think, I think honestly, like the legs

00:25:42.980 --> 00:25:45.779
just get stronger, right? If you add any weight

00:25:45.779 --> 00:25:48.180
to anything, your legs will be stronger through

00:25:48.180 --> 00:25:50.579
that. And even like, I mentioned this earlier,

00:25:50.619 --> 00:25:52.779
I experienced that as well. Like my first ultra

00:25:52.779 --> 00:25:54.599
race, I had no business being there in terms

00:25:54.599 --> 00:25:58.539
of like running, but It was a huge hill race,

00:25:58.660 --> 00:26:02.220
tons of mountains, tons of climbing. And so I

00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:05.220
was used to carrying weight up those hills. And

00:26:05.220 --> 00:26:07.160
so now it was like, okay, like I know what it's

00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:10.380
like to carry this weight. And my legs were strong

00:26:10.380 --> 00:26:13.460
because of that. I have noticed a very similar

00:26:13.460 --> 00:26:16.460
thing. I have never been complimented on my calves

00:26:16.460 --> 00:26:19.500
ever. Growing up, there were jokes that they

00:26:19.500 --> 00:26:22.079
were like my legs were strings hanging from my

00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:24.960
shorts. But like I got I got a compliment on

00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:26.339
my calves the other day. I was like, are you

00:26:26.339 --> 00:26:28.680
talking to me? And I attribute that 100 percent

00:26:28.680 --> 00:26:33.180
to rucking. And that the previous run that that

00:26:33.180 --> 00:26:36.950
I had over the past couple of days. Yeah, I felt

00:26:36.950 --> 00:26:40.750
like I was springing off like I had never like

00:26:40.750 --> 00:26:44.809
sprung off in the history of my running ability.

00:26:44.970 --> 00:26:48.670
So, yeah, definitely feet, definitely calves

00:26:48.670 --> 00:26:51.049
from my experience have been strengthened through

00:26:51.049 --> 00:26:53.910
rucking. Yeah. Let's talk about running economy.

00:26:54.109 --> 00:26:56.890
Does rucking improve running economy? Because

00:26:56.890 --> 00:26:58.970
we're talking about like form and running and

00:26:58.970 --> 00:27:01.009
rucking don't really use the same form. Are there

00:27:01.009 --> 00:27:04.660
any rucking benefits to running economy? Probably

00:27:04.660 --> 00:27:09.099
just in the sense of, you know, if we're talking

00:27:09.099 --> 00:27:11.960
about running economy in terms of like a VO2

00:27:11.960 --> 00:27:16.779
max or lactate threshold, possibly. Again, it

00:27:16.779 --> 00:27:20.599
depends like what type of training you're doing

00:27:20.599 --> 00:27:24.759
under the ruck, right? If you're doing something

00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:27.180
that would like be hitting that lactate threshold,

00:27:27.380 --> 00:27:29.819
we can be improving that, right? If we're doing

00:27:29.819 --> 00:27:32.440
something that's improving the VO2 with the rock,

00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:35.759
yeah, great. It does that as well. In terms of

00:27:35.759 --> 00:27:40.130
like the actual gait. they are often different,

00:27:40.230 --> 00:27:43.910
but we do typically see, and I know in myself,

00:27:44.009 --> 00:27:46.609
even like it's been seen like the same sort of

00:27:46.609 --> 00:27:49.750
patterns or movement patterns, really good example

00:27:49.750 --> 00:27:52.569
of this. And I'll use myself for it is that when

00:27:52.569 --> 00:27:56.049
I ruck, I tend to like swing my leg out, my left

00:27:56.049 --> 00:27:58.390
leg out just a little bit rather than keeping

00:27:58.390 --> 00:28:01.769
it in line. And when I am tired, when I'm running,

00:28:01.849 --> 00:28:05.589
I do the same thing. And so Interesting. Yeah.

00:28:05.769 --> 00:28:10.309
And so it is interesting. It's maybe that's not

00:28:10.309 --> 00:28:12.089
necessarily true for everybody and everything,

00:28:12.250 --> 00:28:14.910
but I do think that there is value to seeing

00:28:14.910 --> 00:28:17.609
both of them. So when I have an athlete that

00:28:17.609 --> 00:28:20.609
comes on that is going to do any rocking or any

00:28:20.609 --> 00:28:23.829
running, we'll do a gait assessment of both.

00:28:23.890 --> 00:28:26.930
And so that we can see if there's imbalances

00:28:26.930 --> 00:28:28.869
or just different movement patterns that need

00:28:28.869 --> 00:28:32.990
to be adjusted. And both of them will show this.

00:28:33.579 --> 00:28:36.259
Maybe not the exact same problems, but the same,

00:28:36.319 --> 00:28:40.740
again, imbalances, right? Do their hips need

00:28:40.740 --> 00:28:44.619
strengthening? Is one side maybe less mobile

00:28:44.619 --> 00:28:48.740
than the other? Again, not the exact same. Yeah.

00:28:49.359 --> 00:28:53.519
But it will show very similar things. That is

00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:56.359
really interesting. And I could see how that

00:28:56.359 --> 00:28:59.720
might be like one of the biggest. Maybe not one

00:28:59.720 --> 00:29:02.559
of the biggest, but it's certainly a good piece

00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:05.779
that a coach could provide that otherwise people

00:29:05.779 --> 00:29:08.859
that aren't being coached would actually come

00:29:08.859 --> 00:29:11.220
across. I mean, I'm just like, how would you

00:29:11.220 --> 00:29:12.980
do that yourself? You'd have to like set up a

00:29:12.980 --> 00:29:14.900
camera and then run at it and away from it in

00:29:14.900 --> 00:29:17.339
several different directions as opposed to having

00:29:17.339 --> 00:29:19.559
a coach just like visually assess you. That's

00:29:19.559 --> 00:29:22.019
really interesting, Sam. Yeah, and I predominantly

00:29:22.019 --> 00:29:25.980
work with remote. athletes, but, and so it is

00:29:25.980 --> 00:29:28.279
a lot of that, right? It's a little bit of like,

00:29:28.359 --> 00:29:30.500
Hey, go film yourself. Nobody's actually watching

00:29:30.500 --> 00:29:32.700
you. It's okay. No one thinks you're an influencer.

00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:40.420
But yeah, it is a lot of that. And then in person

00:29:40.420 --> 00:29:43.000
as well, obviously it's very, I'd say it's a

00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:44.880
lot easier than because you can assess in the

00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:48.119
moment. I work with an older client in her late

00:29:48.119 --> 00:29:50.500
sixties and we've been working just on her walking

00:29:50.500 --> 00:29:54.549
and just. in the moment doing different things

00:29:54.549 --> 00:29:58.869
to help make her move. Like for her, what is

00:29:58.869 --> 00:30:01.869
more efficient? Okay. So that was the fourth

00:30:01.869 --> 00:30:05.009
pillar. Let's talk about mental benefits. So

00:30:05.009 --> 00:30:07.630
running can become very performance driven. I

00:30:07.630 --> 00:30:10.190
think a lot of people get really obsessed and

00:30:10.190 --> 00:30:13.450
they become very metric focused. Do you see mental

00:30:13.450 --> 00:30:15.890
benefits when runners incorporate rucking into

00:30:15.890 --> 00:30:23.049
their routine? I would say yes. I think the there's

00:30:23.049 --> 00:30:26.529
such a. I feel like I'm going to I'm going to

00:30:26.529 --> 00:30:28.970
go a little down a hole here. I feel like Rutgers

00:30:28.970 --> 00:30:32.789
have this like really hard head about them when

00:30:32.789 --> 00:30:35.369
it comes to like being uncomfortable, do hard

00:30:35.369 --> 00:30:40.630
things. And that is really good. But we also

00:30:40.630 --> 00:30:42.769
need to like have the opposite of that, too.

00:30:42.829 --> 00:30:45.369
Right. And I I've been stuck in that hole, too,

00:30:45.450 --> 00:30:50.190
where it's just like. All grit, that's it. Which

00:30:50.190 --> 00:30:53.269
is, it has its time and place. And running has

00:30:53.269 --> 00:30:56.069
that as well, where it's very much like, this

00:30:56.069 --> 00:31:00.789
is really hard, like keep going. And when you

00:31:00.789 --> 00:31:04.750
throw a ruck on, what's the hardest part about

00:31:04.750 --> 00:31:07.970
that is that you can take it off, right? It's

00:31:07.970 --> 00:31:11.750
like, especially I know this Sunday I have like,

00:31:11.890 --> 00:31:15.630
I don't know, four mountain repeats with a ruck

00:31:15.630 --> 00:31:18.730
on. And I'm already like, man. I really don't

00:31:18.730 --> 00:31:21.970
want to do this, but because I know it's hard,

00:31:22.130 --> 00:31:25.049
right? I know it's hard to do, but it's, it's

00:31:25.049 --> 00:31:29.630
one of those things that, you know, you can take

00:31:29.630 --> 00:31:33.069
the rock off and just keeping the, making the

00:31:33.069 --> 00:31:36.170
decision to keep it on and keep going, I think

00:31:36.170 --> 00:31:40.410
is a really valuable one. And then, I mean, other

00:31:40.410 --> 00:31:43.150
than that, like, I think for running and Rutgers

00:31:43.150 --> 00:31:47.579
out there, just like. Doing something that is

00:31:47.579 --> 00:31:50.319
difficult and putting yourself in these situations

00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:53.359
like purposefully, like choosing something that's

00:31:53.359 --> 00:31:56.000
going to be hard and then staying there and learning

00:31:56.000 --> 00:32:00.339
to be present with it is just super valuable

00:32:00.339 --> 00:32:03.460
over the course of our life. Completely agree.

00:32:04.279 --> 00:32:06.859
More with Sam in just a moment, including Sam's

00:32:06.859 --> 00:32:09.380
suggestions and how runners can implement rucking

00:32:09.380 --> 00:32:11.619
into their training plan. But I want to take

00:32:11.619 --> 00:32:13.200
a quick break to say thanks for listening to

00:32:13.200 --> 00:32:15.279
the podcast. If you have a friend who is training

00:32:15.279 --> 00:32:17.660
for a race right now, send this episode to them.

00:32:17.839 --> 00:32:20.380
They'll get a lot out of it. Sharing this episode

00:32:20.380 --> 00:32:22.119
will not only help the show grow, but it can

00:32:22.119 --> 00:32:24.380
help more people improve their health and lives.

00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:29.299
Okay, back to it. So moving into implementing

00:32:29.299 --> 00:32:34.160
rucking into a running training program. If a

00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:37.920
runner listening to this episode wanted to start

00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:40.299
incorporating rucking, where should they begin?

00:32:41.259 --> 00:32:44.380
let's just say they're a they they're focused

00:32:44.380 --> 00:32:47.119
on running their first like maybe they're like

00:32:47.119 --> 00:32:50.319
a 5k 10k runner and they want to start rucking

00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:55.619
what should they be doing yeah it i think it's

00:32:55.619 --> 00:32:57.779
what's tough sometimes is like it obviously varies

00:32:57.779 --> 00:33:01.039
person to person but if they want to be adding

00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:03.500
let's say you're running two days three days

00:33:03.500 --> 00:33:08.099
a week you could always maybe split one of your

00:33:08.099 --> 00:33:11.319
runs if it's like a one of the like lower zone

00:33:11.319 --> 00:33:13.259
runs. So if you're running like a zone one, zone

00:33:13.259 --> 00:33:15.680
two, let's say, or a conversation pace, like

00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:17.960
we're not using heart rate zones or anything

00:33:17.960 --> 00:33:21.660
like that. If one of your runs is a shorter conversation

00:33:21.660 --> 00:33:27.539
pace, maybe you try rucking during that. Or if

00:33:27.539 --> 00:33:30.819
you just want to, let's say you just do your

00:33:30.819 --> 00:33:33.539
steps every day, like 10 ,000 steps is always

00:33:33.539 --> 00:33:36.519
the number that's thrown out there. Maybe one

00:33:36.519 --> 00:33:39.779
of those. walks that you go for during the day,

00:33:40.039 --> 00:33:42.680
throw the rock on. The thing I would tell people

00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:46.000
though, is when you are starting rucking is like,

00:33:46.039 --> 00:33:48.079
you need to think about it as something brand

00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:50.099
new, especially if you've never done it before.

00:33:50.279 --> 00:33:52.079
So if you're running all the time and you're

00:33:52.079 --> 00:33:54.019
just like, okay, I can throw a rock on and go,

00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:58.059
you probably can, but that opens you up towards

00:33:58.059 --> 00:34:01.519
injury. Right. And so starting with a lower weight,

00:34:01.559 --> 00:34:04.640
I know the standard plates are like 20, 30 pounds.

00:34:05.359 --> 00:34:06.720
But you don't need to use a plate. You could

00:34:06.720 --> 00:34:09.739
throw a 10 -pound dumbbell in your bag or a bunch

00:34:09.739 --> 00:34:13.840
of waters. Water's really heavy. And start easy.

00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:16.579
So start lighter probably than you want to start.

00:34:16.679 --> 00:34:18.960
Make sure you build up. And then the same way

00:34:18.960 --> 00:34:21.500
you build your miles with running, you need to

00:34:21.500 --> 00:34:24.400
do that with rucking too. Thanks for that, Sam.

00:34:25.059 --> 00:34:27.679
Now, since you're a coach, have you implemented

00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:31.670
rucking in some of your athletes? Yeah. Yeah.

00:34:31.769 --> 00:34:34.829
I mean, obviously the Rutgers are out there rocking.

00:34:35.190 --> 00:34:39.030
Um, for those that, uh, are running, absolutely.

00:34:39.250 --> 00:34:42.510
Like I said, um, I have someone that's heading

00:34:42.510 --> 00:34:45.889
up for her 55 K next weekend. Um, it's like a

00:34:45.889 --> 00:34:48.949
mountain run. We've got her rocking once a week.

00:34:49.010 --> 00:34:51.829
She's, she's back to just running now just because

00:34:51.829 --> 00:34:54.590
we're so close to the race. Um, and as you get

00:34:54.590 --> 00:34:57.389
closer, you want to be more specific, but you

00:34:57.389 --> 00:34:59.849
know, the. During like the base and the building

00:34:59.849 --> 00:35:03.929
phases, we were doing more rucking. For just

00:35:03.929 --> 00:35:08.130
some of my general population athletes, they

00:35:08.130 --> 00:35:10.969
do camping and hiking. And so they get rucking

00:35:10.969 --> 00:35:13.170
thrown in anytime that they have bigger trips

00:35:13.170 --> 00:35:16.750
coming up. And then others that have limited

00:35:16.750 --> 00:35:20.030
equipment at home, rucking is a really nice way

00:35:20.030 --> 00:35:23.769
to kind of diversify and change it up. Yeah,

00:35:23.789 --> 00:35:25.110
that's one of my favorite parts about rucking

00:35:25.110 --> 00:35:27.650
is like you already have the equipment. In your

00:35:27.650 --> 00:35:30.090
house somewhere, throw it all together. Doesn't

00:35:30.090 --> 00:35:32.369
need to be perfect. Just rig it so it's safe

00:35:32.369 --> 00:35:36.349
enough. Let's talk about common mistakes. What

00:35:36.349 --> 00:35:39.409
mistakes do runners make when they first start

00:35:39.409 --> 00:35:41.989
rucking? Is it pretty much the same general mistakes

00:35:41.989 --> 00:35:44.690
going too heavy, too fast situation? Or is there

00:35:44.690 --> 00:35:47.309
anything specific to runners? I would say too

00:35:47.309 --> 00:35:52.820
heavy, too fast, probably. too long right away

00:35:52.820 --> 00:35:55.440
just because they're used to going a certain

00:35:55.440 --> 00:35:57.900
distance. And so making sure that it's just,

00:35:57.980 --> 00:36:00.420
again, you're building the correct way for that.

00:36:00.860 --> 00:36:05.980
And then maybe trying to run immediately with

00:36:05.980 --> 00:36:09.400
a ruck on. I'm not against it. Like I said, I've

00:36:09.400 --> 00:36:12.639
done races where you're moving very quickly up

00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:16.289
and down these mountains. That takes time though,

00:36:16.389 --> 00:36:18.550
right? There's a lot of impact to that and making

00:36:18.550 --> 00:36:22.690
sure that what you're doing is correct. And so

00:36:22.690 --> 00:36:25.889
yeah, too heavy, too fast, too long, too fast,

00:36:25.909 --> 00:36:29.809
and probably moving too quickly without building

00:36:29.809 --> 00:36:32.170
up to that. Are you having to like correct their

00:36:32.170 --> 00:36:35.210
mechanics? Like maybe not overextending too much?

00:36:35.349 --> 00:36:37.309
Yeah, I would say definitely mechanics play a

00:36:37.309 --> 00:36:39.710
big part in it, but also it's just like getting

00:36:39.710 --> 00:36:42.599
used to moving with the extra weight on. Yeah,

00:36:42.619 --> 00:36:44.980
definitely. Your center of gravity is significantly

00:36:44.980 --> 00:36:47.739
different with 20 pounds on versus not. And I

00:36:47.739 --> 00:36:50.239
think what's cool, though, for like ultra marathoners

00:36:50.239 --> 00:36:52.679
is especially when you get into these longer

00:36:52.679 --> 00:36:55.260
distances with longer distance between aid stations

00:36:55.260 --> 00:36:58.119
is you're wearing, like I said, a mentioned of

00:36:58.119 --> 00:37:00.940
vest. Right. And water is kind of heavy. You're

00:37:00.940 --> 00:37:03.500
carrying some nutrition with you. And so maybe

00:37:03.500 --> 00:37:06.320
it's not the 20 or 30 pound rock that, you know,

00:37:06.320 --> 00:37:09.340
most people are thinking in their head. But.

00:37:10.090 --> 00:37:13.210
I like, I've done self -supported adventure runs,

00:37:13.329 --> 00:37:15.989
which are 40, 50 miles, and you have to have

00:37:15.989 --> 00:37:18.670
enough to carry you through that. And so like,

00:37:18.730 --> 00:37:20.889
there's a lot of translation of the rucking to

00:37:20.889 --> 00:37:23.250
runners, especially when we get into these longer

00:37:23.250 --> 00:37:27.550
distances. That makes sense. Now, um, for runners

00:37:27.550 --> 00:37:30.489
who want help implementing this kind of training,

00:37:30.590 --> 00:37:32.449
you know, adding rucking to their training and

00:37:32.449 --> 00:37:35.010
are seeking some help, they can go to you. You're

00:37:35.010 --> 00:37:38.070
a coach. What services do you offer through Omni?

00:37:38.150 --> 00:37:40.329
If you don't mind explaining that to us. Yeah.

00:37:40.329 --> 00:37:43.309
So I work with Omni athlete training. Our real

00:37:43.309 --> 00:37:45.449
bread and butter, I would say is one -on -one

00:37:45.449 --> 00:37:48.989
programming and coaching, and it's really performance

00:37:48.989 --> 00:37:51.329
coaching, but that's for everybody. You know,

00:37:51.329 --> 00:37:53.449
we say, if you're an athlete, if you move your

00:37:53.449 --> 00:37:56.010
body, so whatever your goals are, we want to

00:37:56.010 --> 00:37:58.889
help you get to those. And so again, the one

00:37:58.889 --> 00:38:01.929
-on -one training, it is remote, or if you're

00:38:01.929 --> 00:38:04.670
in LA or San Diego area, it can be hybrid and

00:38:04.670 --> 00:38:07.639
in -person too. And then if they want to reach

00:38:07.639 --> 00:38:09.760
out to you, where can listeners find you if they

00:38:09.760 --> 00:38:11.320
want to learn more about your coaching and training

00:38:11.320 --> 00:38:13.940
programs? Totally. I mean, Instagram is the place

00:38:13.940 --> 00:38:18.739
to be, right? Yeah. Until it's not. It's like

00:38:18.739 --> 00:38:21.599
when Facebook is not cool anymore. But yeah,

00:38:21.699 --> 00:38:25.019
Instagram, Facebook is great. And then I do have

00:38:25.019 --> 00:38:27.320
a website and blog where I've talked about a

00:38:27.320 --> 00:38:30.420
lot of my different rucking adventures, which

00:38:30.420 --> 00:38:33.460
is Ruck With Sam. But you can also contact me

00:38:33.460 --> 00:38:35.920
there. and i've read a few of your blogs i really

00:38:35.920 --> 00:38:38.239
like your writing style it's very personable

00:38:38.239 --> 00:38:41.119
the stories are great and uh you have really

00:38:41.119 --> 00:38:44.900
good messages in those a lot like Carving trails.

00:38:45.159 --> 00:38:48.480
I've read a few carving trail blogs, and I've

00:38:48.480 --> 00:38:51.280
had that similar feeling reading those too. I

00:38:51.280 --> 00:38:53.320
highly recommend listeners check out those. Clint's

00:38:53.320 --> 00:38:57.619
a good friend. I thought I had seen that we shared

00:38:57.619 --> 00:39:00.079
him as a friend on Instagram. So have you all

00:39:00.079 --> 00:39:03.599
met up a few times? Oh, yeah, we're pretty good

00:39:03.599 --> 00:39:06.699
friends. Oh, that's awesome. I met him at a GBF

00:39:06.699 --> 00:39:11.619
event, his first one. And then, yeah, we've gone

00:39:11.619 --> 00:39:15.719
to plenty of Ruck events. Iron Peak. Yep. Yeah.

00:39:15.800 --> 00:39:18.360
Cool. And he actually paced me during my first

00:39:18.360 --> 00:39:22.400
hundred miler. So come on. Oh, wow. Well, Sam,

00:39:22.500 --> 00:39:24.539
I've had a blast. This conversation is a lot

00:39:24.539 --> 00:39:27.780
of fun. I think it's very helpful to me and other

00:39:27.780 --> 00:39:30.619
runners out there that are also rucking. But

00:39:30.619 --> 00:39:34.139
before I let you go, I have one last kind of

00:39:34.139 --> 00:39:36.739
fun question for you. If you could create a bumper

00:39:36.739 --> 00:39:40.019
sticker about rucking, what would it be? Man,

00:39:40.059 --> 00:39:41.960
that's a really hard question. A bumper sticker

00:39:41.960 --> 00:39:45.960
about rucking. It would say do hard things, but

00:39:45.960 --> 00:39:50.239
make sure you still fuel during your ruck. I

00:39:50.239 --> 00:39:53.300
like that. Yeah, that's key. Oh, man, I went

00:39:53.300 --> 00:39:55.159
out on a ruck once. It was like one of my first

00:39:55.159 --> 00:39:57.739
longer ones didn't bring any food. And I'm like,

00:39:57.800 --> 00:39:59.800
I had to turn around early because I was like,

00:39:59.840 --> 00:40:02.920
I'm going to pass out. I see that all the time.

00:40:02.940 --> 00:40:05.059
It's like, no, I'm not going to eat because it's

00:40:05.059 --> 00:40:07.219
harder. And it's like, yeah, but. You're going

00:40:07.219 --> 00:40:09.880
for two or three hours. You got to eat and drink

00:40:09.880 --> 00:40:11.960
water. I promise you're going to feel so much

00:40:11.960 --> 00:40:14.679
better tomorrow because of it. Yeah. My go -to

00:40:14.679 --> 00:40:18.320
darn rocks for quick carbs are dates. I don't

00:40:18.320 --> 00:40:20.699
know what it is. I don't eat dates at the house,

00:40:20.760 --> 00:40:24.239
but if I'm going like long, I'll bring a. Ziploc

00:40:24.239 --> 00:40:25.900
of dates. I'm like, this is perfect. This is

00:40:25.900 --> 00:40:29.460
exactly what my body needs. And it's cheap. Yes.

00:40:29.519 --> 00:40:31.239
Yeah. You go to Costco, you get like a whole

00:40:31.239 --> 00:40:34.179
bag of them. They stay good forever too. Yeah.

00:40:34.420 --> 00:40:36.639
Cool. Well, Sam, thanks. I really appreciate

00:40:36.639 --> 00:40:39.039
your time. Thanks for joining me today. Awesome.

00:40:39.119 --> 00:40:41.780
Thanks, Wes. All right. That wraps up my conversation

00:40:41.780 --> 00:40:43.820
with Sam. You can connect with her on Instagram

00:40:43.820 --> 00:40:46.559
at samstrap. I'll drop a link in the show notes.

00:40:46.960 --> 00:40:48.539
That's probably the best place to reach her if

00:40:48.539 --> 00:40:50.380
you're curious about her one -on -one training

00:40:50.380 --> 00:40:53.530
services. You can also check out the Omni Athletes

00:40:53.530 --> 00:40:56.349
Training website at omniathletetraining .com.

00:40:56.530 --> 00:40:59.250
And I encourage you to check out Sam's blog over

00:40:59.250 --> 00:41:02.110
at ruckwithsam .com. If you want to reach out

00:41:02.110 --> 00:41:04.230
to me, head on over to theruckersedge .com or

00:41:04.230 --> 00:41:07.070
on Instagram at theruckersedgepod. If you enjoyed

00:41:07.070 --> 00:41:09.030
today's episode, make sure to follow or subscribe

00:41:09.030 --> 00:41:11.590
to the show in your favorite podcast app so you're

00:41:11.590 --> 00:41:14.610
notified of new episodes. Okay, that's it for

00:41:14.610 --> 00:41:16.769
today. Thanks again for listening to this episode

00:41:16.769 --> 00:41:17.889
of The Rucker's Edge.