Nov. 2, 2025

World Record Ruck and Veteran Support with Mark Jones

World Record Ruck and Veteran Support with Mark Jones
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World Record Ruck and Veteran Support with Mark Jones

In this episode of The Rucker’s Edge, Mark Jones shares his mission-driven journey toward a world record ruck for the Oscar Mike Foundation, an organization dedicated to empowering injured veterans through sports and community.

Mark’s story begins with his first half marathon in 2006 and builds through a decade of testing his limits — from GORUCK Selection Finisher to multiple Death Race completions. Now, he’s taking on an 80-mile (with a 100-mile bonus) ruck while carrying 40 pounds, all to raise awareness and support for the Oscar Mike Foundation’s work with injured veterans.

Mark opens up about working with a coach for the first time and the mindset required to keep going when every step hurts. He also shares his philosophy on competition and the importance of supporting fellow athletes along the way.

If you’re training for your own event, building your rucking endurance, or simply need inspiration to push beyond your limits, this conversation will help you find purpose in the pain and motivation in the mission.

Links & Resources

Notes

  • Music Credit: "Play This Game" by Black Rhomb.
  • I'm not a doctor, and this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Please consult with your physician before starting any new exercise or physical activity.
WEBVTT

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What does it take to carry 40 pounds on your

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back for 80 miles and do it for something bigger

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than yourself? Today on The Record's Edge, I'm

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talking with Mark Jones, a Marine, a Go Rucks

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selection finisher, death race competitor, and

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now a man on a mission to set a world record

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to raise awareness and support for the Oscar

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Mike Foundation, which helps injured veterans

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stay active and unstoppable. He's attempting

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the world record this Thursday, November 6th,

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and the live stream will be available on oscarmike

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.org. In this episode, Mark breaks down how he's

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training for his 24 -hour 80 -mile event, what

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it's like to work with a coach for the first

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time, and how he's built the mental toughness

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to push through fatigue. You'll hear his philosophy

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on competition, recovery, and purpose, and how

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you can apply these same mindsets to your own

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training and life. This one's about endurance,

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service, and what it really means to stay Oscar

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Mike on the move. You're listening to the Rutgers

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Edge podcast, a show all about rucking that is

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designed to help you develop a rucking routine,

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lose weight, and ultimately gain your strength

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and energy back. Whether you're an office worker

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with lower back pain, a fitness first -timer,

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or a new parent trying to get back to your pre

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-kid's weight, this show is for you. I'm your

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host, Spencer. Thanks for listening in. I'm excited

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to share this one with you today. But just a

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real quick sidebar, my apologies for the audio.

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I had a mishap during the editing process. I'm

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going to fix it for next time. But anyway, here's

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my conversation with Mark Jones. Mark, thanks

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for joining me today on the Rutgers Edge podcast.

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It's really good to have you here. Hey, thanks

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for having me. Happy Halloween. Yeah, happy Halloween.

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We're recording this on Halloween. Got some trick

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-or -treating later today, some more fun activities.

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So 100 miles, 24 hours, 40 pounds, five days

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from now. How are you feeling about it? You know,

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it's been a wild ride. But I want to eliminate

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the 100 miles because we're chopping this up.

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Obviously, this is a fundraising event for Oscar

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Mike. The number one goal is to break the record,

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which is currently 79 miles, which means we need

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80. We're looking at the 100 as the bonus piece.

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Everything after 80 is all bonus. 100 is a high

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bar, but if you know me, there's nothing we would

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not do to pursue the 100 in the first place.

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Yeah, feeling really good. That makes total sense.

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And it's really good to hear that you're feeling

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good about it. And I want to talk a lot more

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about the world record attempt and especially

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Oscar Mike, the foundation you're doing this

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for. But I want to back up a little bit and talk

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about your entry into endurance competitions

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and your journey, if that's okay. Your endurance

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competition resume is one of the strongest out

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there from what I can see. And if my research

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serves me well, I think you started with a half

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marathon as one of your first endurance races.

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What drove you to the world of endurance races

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or competition in the first place? man you went

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you went deep that's 2006 okay so i mean the

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story if people have listened to me in the past

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they hear the same story but i love to i love

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to preach it because it was just there's no way

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i could recreate this uh you know the the feeling

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of coming down the stairs uh you know heavily

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overweight hung over it's two in the afternoon

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uh my pockets are empty i'm wondering what the

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hell i did last night And I opened the door and

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the sun hits me dead in my eye. And there's a

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half marathon flyer sitting at my doorstep, the

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Harrisburg, Pennsylvania half marathon. And I

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just was like, what the hell is this? And, you

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know, ego kicked in and something told me I needed

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to change my life and jump into this. And that's

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what I did a few weeks later. And man, I was

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sick for days, but it was, there was something

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about that heat down that really just wanted

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me to search for more. Yeah, it's such a cool

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story. So many people wouldn't even read what

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was on that flyer or pamphlet. It would just

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keep moving. So I'm glad whatever it was caught

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your eye and you dove into this world because

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your resume is just so impressive. I went back

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and took a look at some of the events you've

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done and completed. First of all, GORUCK Selection

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Finisher at the top. That was certainly an eye

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-catcher. Two -time GORUCK. rucking world champ

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five -time death race finisher insane um and

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then most recently and i'm missing a lot of events

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mark but most recently here in april the big

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bad ruck and then congrats on your top 10 finish

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on the inaugural ruck race league regular season

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finish by the way you know you've done all these

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events but what was your first rucking competition

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or competitive event my first it was called a

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hump in the marines so in the united states rink

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or you uh it's called a hump and My first reaction

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was, what the hell is a hump? What are we doing?

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You're a six, 17 -year -old Mayan wanderer when

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you hear that word. When you start packing all

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this stuff up and you have no idea how to do

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it, you don't know. I've never really put anything

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on besides a dance board in my life coming out

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of high school. Now you have this Alice pack

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at the time and your stuff and all the crap they

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tell you to put into it. All of a sudden, you're

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just marching down the road and you just know

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you have to keep moving. That right there. Because

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so many people are jumping into it with, obviously,

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your show is an insider scoop of how to get better

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at this or to take those first steps. But for

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me, I had absolutely no clue what the heck I

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was doing. And what I realized real quick is

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that there was this pain just from carrying some

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weight. But the weight that I was carrying was

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obviously practical and useful to the mission

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that was coming up right at hand. So that's what

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I kind of fell in love with is the practical

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side of it that I always like to preach to towards

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everybody today, like why I do this. I'm kind

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of curious, how much weight do you think you

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were carrying? You know, I would say probably

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in the beginning, I'm just starting off probably

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like 40 pounds or so. And it doesn't sound like

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a lot, but when you get into it and you start

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carrying like real stuff, it's not the same kind

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of load that the equivalent 40 -pound plate would

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be. You know, it's bulkier, it shifts. It's just

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a different style, right? Yeah. And I would definitely

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easily say, just in boot camp, we were carrying

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loads up to 100, no problem. And that was definitely

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towards the end. And, you know, that all varies,

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too. When you get into what they call the fleet,

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you're carrying different weapon systems that

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get shifted around all over the place. So you

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can have a 50 -pound pack, and then all of a

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sudden it becomes 100 or more, depending on what

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else you're carrying. But, you know, that's the

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whole game. Share the weight. I'm curious, of

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all the events in your history of rucking, which

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one are you the most proud of? Man, that's a

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really tough question. There's different moments

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and different times in my life that, you know,

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because we're always facing that finish line

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for something. Not, you know, I don't know, at

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least for me, it's not the award, the pass, money.

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There's something going on in my life that it

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brings an event to surface into my life, just

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like the half marathon. That wasn't placed on

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my doorstep by somebody. That was blown around

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in a little tornado and just landed on my doorstep.

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It was crumbled. It wasn't perfect. That landed

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there for a reason. And I feel like events always

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call to me for a reason. And so whenever I'm

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having something difficult go on in my life and

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an event pops up that I want to pursue, and that

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becomes a great achievement at the end because

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of all the hard work. the time that I reflected

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on how I got better and how I trained for it

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and then how I succeeded. So those are all especially

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unique moments. And it could be from a 5K to

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a multi -day step race or another event that

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might have the same shared feelings. But one

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I have to say that sticks out the most is the

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selection, just because it is one of my only

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stories I can really truly display and speak

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of. how resilience played a huge part to that

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success. That wasn't something I just went and

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did and succeeded. It took a few times. And humbly

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saying, I quit a few times. And finally, when

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I put 100 % focus on it, I was able to just get

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it done. And when I got it done, I put the tools

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needed to get it done into my pack and carried

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that weight literally. it wasn't as bad as it

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was for all those times that I just second, I

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gave it, I gave it like that, that B race mentality.

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It said that 100%, this is all I'm going for

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this year. And when I did that, I made it, it

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made it that much easier, you know? Yeah. So

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I would say, I would say that's definitely up

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there as, as top three, top five for sure. Yeah,

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definitely. I can totally understand that. And

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yeah, congrats to you. That is a phenomenal feat

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and a tremendous amount of respect for your first.

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Did you attempt it more than once? I thought

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I just saw you attempt it the year before and

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then you came back the next year. Was it two

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years later? No. So I had no idea what I was

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getting myself into. A buddy was just like, you

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should go do this. And it was way back when you

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had to do a challenge to kind of like get into

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it. So I went into the challenge and then was

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able to, I guess, get approved for selection.

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And, you know, I was like, okay, I can do anything,

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you know, mentality and got to like 36 hours

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and just quit. I was pissed off. And then I jumped

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right back into it. You know, again, ego kicking

00:09:12.909 --> 00:09:15.769
in saying, oh man, that was a fluke. You got

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it next time, you know what to do. And then it

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was a shorter timeframe. And then it was a legit

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bed drop where I just passed out on the beach

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and I woke up and I said, you're done. So, you

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know, those three times, I think in two years,

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I was told by Jason, the CEO, like, hey, you

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need to take two years off, focus. I see you

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can do this. You just need to focus. So that's

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what I did and took his advice and came back.

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That's awesome. Wow. Thanks for sharing that.

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I didn't realize that. I have a tremendous amount

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of respect for you for your previous attempts

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and then coming back, taking the time off and

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achieving your goal. That's just wild. And so

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few people have achieved that. That's quite the

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accomplishment. And I know you don't do it for

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the medals. There are more greater reasons for

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your why. But yeah, it's a huge accomplishment.

00:10:00.940 --> 00:10:04.480
And going back to the world record attempt, you're

00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:05.919
doing it for Oscar Mike Foundation, which again,

00:10:05.980 --> 00:10:10.049
I want to talk about a little further. Yeah,

00:10:10.049 --> 00:10:13.090
24 hours, 40 pounds. Yeah, the current record

00:10:13.090 --> 00:10:16.610
is 79 miles. That's a little over a 14 -minute

00:10:16.610 --> 00:10:19.210
mile pace. What's your strategy going into this?

00:10:21.350 --> 00:10:24.809
So we had a roller coaster to get to where we're

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at now. So anybody trying to think about maybe

00:10:28.909 --> 00:10:31.169
pursuing a Guinness World Record, you'll get

00:10:31.169 --> 00:10:33.950
into that world where there are a lot of unknown

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answers until you pay a lot of money to get.

00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:39.460
some answers. And that's what we've been doing

00:10:39.460 --> 00:10:43.200
for the better part of a year. So I won't talk

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about the ridiculous amounts they charge for

00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:48.080
an in -person adjudicator, but that's what Oscar

00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:50.860
Mike wanted because they have this big red tie

00:10:50.860 --> 00:10:54.639
event the next day on Red Friday, and they wanted

00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:57.019
a big presentation. So no pressure to me. We

00:10:57.019 --> 00:10:58.980
start on Thursday, it goes to Friday, and then

00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:02.220
at night the presentation will happen. So the

00:11:02.220 --> 00:11:04.639
format that I ended up creating, because Parks

00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:07.080
and Rec's in Chicago, where we were going to

00:11:07.080 --> 00:11:09.440
have it initially, was just such a pain to deal

00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:12.220
with. And they didn't really answer any of our

00:11:12.220 --> 00:11:14.879
questions. And time was ticking down. This is

00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:16.919
what I'm talking about. Maybe a month ago, we

00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:19.440
just finally got the thumbs up. But it wasn't

00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:22.879
from Chicago. It was from a venue in Belvedere,

00:11:22.940 --> 00:11:26.080
Illinois, which is about two hours west of Chicago.

00:11:26.600 --> 00:11:30.720
And this was just spotted on me looking on Google

00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:34.379
Earth. And I see a track. We had a big open space.

00:11:34.580 --> 00:11:36.679
So it's just a bunch of soccer fields in the

00:11:36.679 --> 00:11:39.039
middle. And then it has an asphalt track around.

00:11:39.419 --> 00:11:42.899
And I was playing around with the distances and

00:11:42.899 --> 00:11:47.139
just found that a rectangle around basically

00:11:47.139 --> 00:11:51.539
the entire facility is 1 .4 miles to the T. And

00:11:51.539 --> 00:11:55.580
I was like, no way. 1 .4 times three is 4 .2.

00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:58.460
And that's equivalent to a backyard ultra. So

00:11:58.460 --> 00:12:01.299
this is something manageable where we could say

00:12:01.299 --> 00:12:03.740
every three loops. In under an hour, we're at

00:12:03.740 --> 00:12:06.480
the backyard, maintain 4 .2 an hour, and we're

00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:08.399
on pace. Perfect, yeah. We don't have to wait

00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:10.220
for a bell every hour. We can go whenever we

00:12:10.220 --> 00:12:12.899
need. Yeah. So that's going to be the exciting

00:12:12.899 --> 00:12:15.960
piece. If you're into that stuff that we're going

00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:17.779
to have on the live stream, that you can really

00:12:17.779 --> 00:12:20.659
kind of battle track where I'm at. You have to

00:12:20.659 --> 00:12:22.539
have a camera on you the whole time and then

00:12:22.539 --> 00:12:25.620
a camera on the clock. So it's going to probably

00:12:25.620 --> 00:12:27.720
be a split screen of just things going on the

00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:30.360
entire 24 hours. That's really cool that it's

00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:32.409
going to be live streamed. Wow. Is it typical

00:12:32.409 --> 00:12:34.370
that you have a coach help you? I think from

00:12:34.370 --> 00:12:36.309
my understanding, historically, you train yourself,

00:12:36.470 --> 00:12:38.470
but I noticed you have a coach helping you just

00:12:38.470 --> 00:12:40.669
go around. Why did you decide to get outside

00:12:40.669 --> 00:12:42.610
help after years of self -directed training,

00:12:42.690 --> 00:12:45.649
I guess? Well, you know, you talk to a lot of

00:12:45.649 --> 00:12:47.929
different athletes and you see some of them as

00:12:47.929 --> 00:12:50.970
coaches and then some of them being coached.

00:12:51.169 --> 00:12:55.330
And sometimes they do both. I said, we have enough

00:12:55.330 --> 00:12:57.929
time to try this out, but I have to go all in.

00:12:57.970 --> 00:13:00.509
I can't. I can't do a little bit of my stuff

00:13:00.509 --> 00:13:02.830
and then some of their stuff. I have to listen

00:13:02.830 --> 00:13:05.549
to my coach 100%. And I've just never done that

00:13:05.549 --> 00:13:08.289
before. And I like doing things for the first

00:13:08.289 --> 00:13:11.169
time in probably the worst case scenario. I am

00:13:11.169 --> 00:13:13.389
not a perfect person where I go into something

00:13:13.389 --> 00:13:16.970
and it's 100 % success or 100 % win. I go in

00:13:16.970 --> 00:13:19.090
with a lot of unknowns all the time. But I'm

00:13:19.090 --> 00:13:21.429
also an unknown when I enter the arena in races.

00:13:21.610 --> 00:13:24.789
And I just love that. I don't like guarantees

00:13:24.789 --> 00:13:27.740
in life. I like going in there almost like the

00:13:27.740 --> 00:13:30.820
underdog and battling issues that arise as they

00:13:30.820 --> 00:13:36.000
come. So having a coach was one of those. It's

00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:38.159
never happened before. I can always just say,

00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:42.340
hey, I've always succeeded in the past. Actually,

00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:46.799
the coach I have, Ron Geiger, he reached out

00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:49.659
to me for an athlete he had going to selection.

00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:53.340
So I spoke with him and helped one of his athletes.

00:13:53.929 --> 00:13:56.830
And then he actually wanted to compensate me

00:13:56.830 --> 00:13:58.750
for my time. And I was like, no, absolutely not.

00:13:59.570 --> 00:14:02.389
And then I just came back to him and said, hey,

00:14:02.429 --> 00:14:07.870
you know, time to pay your debt. But man, he

00:14:07.870 --> 00:14:12.090
is phenomenal. He is so knowledgeable. I'm just

00:14:12.090 --> 00:14:14.669
a dumb grunt, right? I go out there, yeah, I'm

00:14:14.669 --> 00:14:17.250
going to do this. And I figure, I call it fitful.

00:14:17.330 --> 00:14:21.750
I figure it out. And that's kind of how I do

00:14:21.750 --> 00:14:24.320
everything. But this time. Everything has been

00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:26.120
structured. I listened to everything he said.

00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:31.799
We'd get on weekly or biweekly calls, and I could

00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:33.919
tell him, I don't really feel good about this,

00:14:33.940 --> 00:14:36.740
or maybe we shift this and that, and I'd probably

00:14:36.740 --> 00:14:39.419
give him a hard time, but we work really well

00:14:39.419 --> 00:14:42.240
together, and he's very receptive to the criticism

00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:44.940
I present, and I'm very good at following his

00:14:44.940 --> 00:14:47.659
direction because he knows his stuff, and it's

00:14:47.659 --> 00:14:49.840
worked out really well, and I can't wait to have

00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:51.840
him there. He's going to show up there also and

00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:53.629
be coaching me the entire time. Oh, that's really

00:14:53.629 --> 00:14:55.110
cool. He's going to be in person. Wow. Yeah.

00:14:56.230 --> 00:14:59.370
I just felt really, really good about having

00:14:59.370 --> 00:15:02.809
him as a coach. Since I was thinking about it,

00:15:02.830 --> 00:15:05.490
with all the, you've got to get this done scenarios

00:15:05.490 --> 00:15:07.429
that were presented and all the investments and

00:15:07.429 --> 00:15:08.970
all the sponsors, I was like, well, I got to

00:15:08.970 --> 00:15:12.289
be legit all the way through on this. Yeah, no,

00:15:12.370 --> 00:15:13.850
that's great. It's good to hear y 'all's communication

00:15:13.850 --> 00:15:17.029
is really good. You know, the coach -athlete

00:15:17.029 --> 00:15:18.870
dynamic really depends on trust and communication.

00:15:19.049 --> 00:15:20.429
It sounds like y 'all figured that out really

00:15:20.429 --> 00:15:22.169
early. Of course, it helps when you've already

00:15:22.169 --> 00:15:24.230
had a relationship sort of established and you

00:15:24.230 --> 00:15:26.409
kind of know sort of who you're going to be working

00:15:26.409 --> 00:15:28.870
with going into it. So what does training look

00:15:28.870 --> 00:15:30.950
like for something like setting a world record

00:15:30.950 --> 00:15:34.269
with 40 pounds in your back? A lot of rocking.

00:15:36.889 --> 00:15:38.809
I want to talk about how I was training prior.

00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:43.879
But he opened the door into how to take blocks,

00:15:44.299 --> 00:15:46.720
piece them together where everything makes sense

00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:48.659
and they're actually building off each other.

00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:51.419
And I'm not just going through these grinds of

00:15:51.419 --> 00:15:54.679
pain and misery and suffering for almost no reason

00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:59.679
on my own. So we had a huge block of strength

00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:02.720
and just pushing that to the limit and then dropping

00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:04.580
back down and starting to build up the rough

00:16:04.580 --> 00:16:09.120
piece. We would do 40 pounds, 50 pounds, sometimes

00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:13.399
30. And we had speed sessions. We had long walks.

00:16:13.460 --> 00:16:16.679
Long walks is something I wasn't really doing

00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:21.820
much of because I just hate walking. But on my

00:16:21.820 --> 00:16:23.759
own, I was running and then just walking. There

00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:25.460
was a little bit of elevation or something like

00:16:25.460 --> 00:16:28.000
that. But he's been putting me on mandatory walks.

00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:32.320
And I've really come to enjoy them. Maybe that's

00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:34.919
because I'm becoming an old man. I've really

00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:37.519
enjoyed the walk. Today was 10K. It's 3 in the

00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:42.519
morning. It's delightful. That's awesome. Are

00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:45.019
they for recovery purposes or do they serve some

00:16:45.019 --> 00:16:49.580
other purpose? For the 50 pounds, I think it's

00:16:49.580 --> 00:16:51.820
just having that... When you think about it,

00:16:51.899 --> 00:16:55.139
I'm basically a little over 3 miles an hour.

00:16:55.840 --> 00:16:58.820
I'm going out for... He likes to do it in kilometers.

00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:03.200
Basically, a 12 -mile run or a ruck is walking.

00:17:04.329 --> 00:17:05.930
you're looking at like four hours with the ruck

00:17:05.930 --> 00:17:07.970
on. We're not putting that down at all. Like

00:17:07.970 --> 00:17:10.609
the ruck is on for four hours with 50 pounds.

00:17:10.690 --> 00:17:13.309
So now when you drop back and you're doing a

00:17:13.309 --> 00:17:15.450
run with 40 pounds, that's an increment comparable

00:17:15.450 --> 00:17:17.769
to what we're going to be doing. I've been calling

00:17:17.769 --> 00:17:20.049
it my tough training on Strava, like train how

00:17:20.049 --> 00:17:23.289
you fight. You know, it makes everything feel

00:17:23.289 --> 00:17:27.569
easier. And that's, I think I come, because I

00:17:27.569 --> 00:17:30.089
have a triathlon background too, and he's a professional

00:17:30.089 --> 00:17:33.450
mountain biker. I think he's really incorporating

00:17:33.450 --> 00:17:36.069
what I used to do with the brick training. And,

00:17:36.089 --> 00:17:37.730
you know, doing some of that with the rucking

00:17:37.730 --> 00:17:42.210
has really paid off. Of all the workouts that

00:17:42.210 --> 00:17:45.170
y 'all are doing, what non -rucking workout are

00:17:45.170 --> 00:17:46.890
you doing that provides the most benefit for

00:17:46.890 --> 00:17:52.450
you? Ooh, great question. Or is there? It's just,

00:17:52.509 --> 00:17:56.109
they're all complimentary maybe. You know, he,

00:17:56.289 --> 00:17:58.529
and it's something I never liked and I wouldn't

00:17:58.529 --> 00:18:02.079
wish on anybody, but. He's had me up to doing

00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:07.740
about half mile repeats of 50 pound over the

00:18:07.740 --> 00:18:10.700
head with 50 pounds on my rock, uh, with a, with

00:18:10.700 --> 00:18:14.420
a dumbbell. And that's just been a mental mindfuck,

00:18:14.500 --> 00:18:17.400
like carrying a dumbbell overhead with a rock

00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:19.519
and you're just, you're counterbalancing everything

00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:21.799
and you come back and now you're doing it on

00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:23.599
the other side and then you're doing it just

00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:26.339
a single, the single movements I think have been

00:18:26.339 --> 00:18:28.799
really beneficial because it's just, it's exposing.

00:18:29.339 --> 00:18:32.380
one side or the other. And then just again and

00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:35.900
again and again. That's been really hard. Obviously,

00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:39.039
that's with a ruck. What's one training principle

00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:42.519
that's universal to someone that's training for

00:18:42.519 --> 00:18:46.599
a 5 -mile ruck versus an 80 -mile ruck? You know,

00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:49.220
man, I think you've said it. We're going to probably

00:18:49.220 --> 00:18:50.819
be the dead horse with everything you've presented

00:18:50.819 --> 00:18:53.859
prior to this podcast. You've got to keep it

00:18:53.859 --> 00:18:56.259
simple. You start light, especially if you're

00:18:56.259 --> 00:18:58.500
getting into it. And then figure out the interval

00:18:58.500 --> 00:19:01.640
that works for you for the time you're going

00:19:01.640 --> 00:19:04.140
out. It starts with just walking the five miles.

00:19:04.579 --> 00:19:07.779
And then with half the load that you're going

00:19:07.779 --> 00:19:10.960
to race in. And then building that and then start

00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:14.539
incorporating, okay, maybe a minute I walk and

00:19:14.539 --> 00:19:16.960
two minutes I run or vice versa. And then start

00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:20.619
getting into specific distances. A quarter mile

00:19:20.619 --> 00:19:23.319
I'm walking, a quarter mile I'm running. And

00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:25.549
then just start. seeing what works, what doesn't,

00:19:25.609 --> 00:19:27.930
and then shrinking those numbers to, uh, to get

00:19:27.930 --> 00:19:31.390
to your race point or your goals. I, you know,

00:19:31.390 --> 00:19:33.750
Giovanni is sticking out to me. Uh, he mentioned

00:19:33.750 --> 00:19:35.250
Deca this morning and that's what I work for.

00:19:35.650 --> 00:19:39.170
And, uh, you know, I always tell people on site,

00:19:39.250 --> 00:19:42.230
what's your, what's your, uh, we call it slick

00:19:42.230 --> 00:19:44.150
without the ruck, right? So what's your slick

00:19:44.150 --> 00:19:46.430
time for Deca and then what's your ruck time.

00:19:47.009 --> 00:19:49.130
And if they don't have it, I always, or one of,

00:19:49.150 --> 00:19:50.329
if they don't have one or the other, I always

00:19:50.329 --> 00:19:52.670
say, go after the slick or go after the ruck.

00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:55.680
So you have those two numbers in your head and

00:19:55.680 --> 00:19:58.400
then you shrink those two, you know, and that's,

00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:01.279
that's really like the ultimate goal is how do

00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:02.759
we, how do we get better at both of these? But

00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:05.619
now we know we have two, uh, you know, bookends

00:20:05.619 --> 00:20:07.200
and you just shrink that number in the middle.

00:20:07.859 --> 00:20:09.559
Yeah. That's a good way to frame it. I like that.

00:20:09.900 --> 00:20:12.980
Um, switching to talking about gear, what rucksack

00:20:12.980 --> 00:20:15.400
are you going to be using? Man, this is, this

00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:17.880
has been really hard because I've had a lot of

00:20:17.880 --> 00:20:20.940
companies, uh, send me the rucks and I've tried

00:20:20.940 --> 00:20:25.559
and. You know, so many amazing features with

00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:29.380
a lot of the packs I've worked with. And, you

00:20:29.380 --> 00:20:33.480
know, just because GoRuck is kind of like monopolized,

00:20:33.500 --> 00:20:36.619
you use this ruck for our events and a lot of

00:20:36.619 --> 00:20:39.339
the events I've gone through for many years now,

00:20:39.539 --> 00:20:43.759
that's all I've been using. So it's really been

00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:47.819
tough for me to jump into a new ruck when that

00:20:47.819 --> 00:20:52.099
rucker, the 20 liter rucker, has been... like

00:20:52.099 --> 00:20:55.319
a part of my body for so long that my body just

00:20:55.319 --> 00:20:58.140
is not receptive to something new quite yet for

00:20:58.140 --> 00:21:02.299
this journey. And, uh, you know, a couple have

00:21:02.299 --> 00:21:04.920
been close, you know, wild gym I think is right

00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:07.559
there with a, with a feather ruck and then frontline

00:21:07.559 --> 00:21:11.099
just has a couple more adjustments. And I think

00:21:11.099 --> 00:21:13.579
they're there as well. Just a lot of other companies

00:21:13.579 --> 00:21:15.900
are more for like multi -day backpacking, like

00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:18.000
camping stuff. That's, I wouldn't use a rucker

00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:19.940
for that. I like to have things accessible and

00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:22.420
pockets everywhere, but. For this, I mean, we're

00:21:22.420 --> 00:21:25.000
trying to be as slick as possible without flopping

00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:27.160
all over the place. But we're going to do two

00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:29.640
of those, two ruckers, alternate every, we're

00:21:29.640 --> 00:21:33.039
calling it lap, every 4 .2 miles. Yeah, I mean,

00:21:33.059 --> 00:21:35.220
you use what works for you. You've already established

00:21:35.220 --> 00:21:37.900
that. You know, the rucker, which is an extension

00:21:37.900 --> 00:21:39.759
of your body at this point, is something you're

00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:41.299
comfortable with, so that definitely makes sense

00:21:41.299 --> 00:21:42.359
that you're just going to continue with that.

00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:47.680
More with Mark in just a moment, including how

00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:49.740
he approaches recovery and his philosophy on

00:21:49.740 --> 00:21:51.740
competition. But I want to take a quick break

00:21:51.740 --> 00:21:54.519
to say thanks for listening to the podcast. Please

00:21:54.519 --> 00:21:56.440
text this episode with a fellow rucker that might

00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:58.519
find it interesting or a friend that could benefit

00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:00.619
from rucking. Sharing this episode would help

00:22:00.619 --> 00:22:02.960
the show grow and help more people improve their

00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:07.759
health and their lives. Okay, back to it. I want

00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:10.420
to move on to recovery. How do you recover from

00:22:10.420 --> 00:22:12.500
an 80 -mile ruck? What do you do differently?

00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:17.099
uh after 80 miles than you know five miles i

00:22:17.099 --> 00:22:18.539
don't i don't think i'll do anything different

00:22:18.539 --> 00:22:23.500
except walk the way i walk uh everything i mean

00:22:23.500 --> 00:22:25.339
well obviously i'm not gonna i'm not gonna be

00:22:25.339 --> 00:22:27.440
leaving my garage at home and then coming back

00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:29.500
to my garage at home where all my stuff is this

00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:32.079
is gonna be a few days on the road to get to

00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:35.559
the venue to figure everything out to do the

00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:40.140
event to come back to nothing there's there's

00:22:40.140 --> 00:22:42.019
gonna be nothing that i'm used to i mean i'll

00:22:42.019 --> 00:22:46.700
have my Fresh in mood, I'll have a gun. But that's

00:22:46.700 --> 00:22:48.240
pretty much it. There might be some people on

00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:50.359
site that can work me out a little bit, but that's

00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:52.960
it. And ultimately, I really don't care because

00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:54.819
I'm going to be in freaking cloud nine. It got

00:22:54.819 --> 00:22:57.319
done. All the stress is off my plate. I'm going

00:22:57.319 --> 00:22:58.920
to go take a hot shower, eat some good chow,

00:22:59.099 --> 00:23:02.779
have a great night, and then head back with my

00:23:02.779 --> 00:23:05.119
family and just enjoy the time back on the road.

00:23:05.579 --> 00:23:07.740
But yeah, I don't think anything's really going

00:23:07.740 --> 00:23:10.079
to change. I might need a wheelchair or some

00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:13.349
crutches, but I've also done... I've also done

00:23:13.349 --> 00:23:17.690
80, not with a 40, but it was under a different

00:23:17.690 --> 00:23:20.769
circumstance. There was pouring rain where everybody

00:23:20.769 --> 00:23:23.630
basically just went inside and stopped running,

00:23:23.710 --> 00:23:27.069
and I just kept running. I had no crew. Nothing

00:23:27.069 --> 00:23:29.849
good was happening. I still hit 80 and won the

00:23:29.849 --> 00:23:34.309
event, but that number doesn't seem untouchable

00:23:34.309 --> 00:23:37.789
to me. It seems like, okay, that's why we put

00:23:37.789 --> 00:23:40.970
the 100 out there. I feel pretty confident that's

00:23:40.970 --> 00:23:43.660
going to happen. And if you feel confident that

00:23:43.660 --> 00:23:46.519
you can get something, why just settle for that?

00:23:48.140 --> 00:23:51.160
It's like entering a race where the first thing

00:23:51.160 --> 00:23:52.579
you think is, all right, who else is going to

00:23:52.579 --> 00:23:54.740
be there? And if you're saying, oh, that guy's

00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:56.240
going to beat me right off the bat and you don't

00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:57.900
sign up for it because he's going to be there,

00:23:58.039 --> 00:24:00.339
what does that say about you or your mentality?

00:24:01.140 --> 00:24:04.079
You should be attacking that, right? No, it doesn't

00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:05.480
matter who's there. That's what I always told

00:24:05.480 --> 00:24:07.480
my athletes. It doesn't matter who's there because

00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:09.000
if you want to win this, you're going to freaking

00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:11.680
win. If you want to achieve this, you want to

00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:14.119
finish this, you will do it. Don't care about

00:24:14.119 --> 00:24:16.099
anybody else. This is always a race versus you

00:24:16.099 --> 00:24:18.980
versus you and your time and how you feel afterwards.

00:24:19.420 --> 00:24:21.000
How is that compared to all the training, all

00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:22.539
the hours, all the time away from family you

00:24:22.539 --> 00:24:26.940
put in, right? That's what it's all about. So

00:24:26.940 --> 00:24:29.240
that's exactly one of two things that I've noticed

00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:31.920
about you and from my research. First one is

00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:33.740
you don't have excuses. You figure it out, you

00:24:33.740 --> 00:24:36.740
get it done. The second one is when you are in

00:24:36.740 --> 00:24:39.450
these endurance races or events, It just seems

00:24:39.450 --> 00:24:42.369
like the competitors aren't necessarily competitors.

00:24:42.410 --> 00:24:45.069
They're almost like co -athletes. I don't know

00:24:45.069 --> 00:24:46.529
what you would call it, but it seems like your

00:24:46.529 --> 00:24:48.750
mindset going into these competitions is you're

00:24:48.750 --> 00:24:51.069
doing it for another reason than just to beat

00:24:51.069 --> 00:24:54.650
other people. I saw, I guess I saw someone from

00:24:54.650 --> 00:24:57.569
the UK doing, he attempted the world record.

00:24:57.630 --> 00:25:00.630
I think he ended up around 67 miles and you were

00:25:00.630 --> 00:25:03.140
like. pumping them up you're almost like giving

00:25:03.140 --> 00:25:05.339
them encouragement and then you know Giovanni

00:25:05.339 --> 00:25:07.759
had mentioned he was at a DECA event he chose

00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:10.700
to do it with the rucksack and I think you were

00:25:10.700 --> 00:25:12.299
in the competition with them instead of viewing

00:25:12.299 --> 00:25:14.640
you know him as competition you were like you

00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:16.420
were giving them pointers like hey you're you're

00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:18.160
currently in 10th you got behind you's 11th you

00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:21.420
keep him off you got top 10 finish yeah 100 %

00:25:21.420 --> 00:25:23.839
no no no so yeah all right so it's different

00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:26.279
scenarios again like DECA you got to understand

00:25:26.279 --> 00:25:28.119
like that's first and foremost that's my job

00:25:28.119 --> 00:25:31.000
so I go there I'm traveling I'm working, which

00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:34.619
is all physical, setting it up, late hours sometimes,

00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:38.119
most times, you know, in an early morning. And,

00:25:38.119 --> 00:25:41.279
you know, then a few of us, most of us decide

00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:43.700
to race. And you can't really take it seriously

00:25:43.700 --> 00:25:46.819
because we're not going into there fresh at all.

00:25:47.259 --> 00:25:51.140
You know, we're depleted. When you say that,

00:25:51.220 --> 00:25:53.720
you're like, okay, I'm depleted. I'm tired. I'm

00:25:53.720 --> 00:25:58.819
already sore. It's training. So when you're training,

00:25:58.980 --> 00:26:02.859
especially with others, why not help them? And

00:26:02.859 --> 00:26:05.180
for me in that scenario, I obviously finished

00:26:05.180 --> 00:26:09.119
it. I ran back to him. And as soon as I'm done,

00:26:09.180 --> 00:26:11.720
I love to see the competition. If I'm not racing,

00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:14.559
I'm pumping everybody up. You've got to get him.

00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:17.640
He's coming. He's in zone three. And I'm just

00:26:17.640 --> 00:26:20.720
running around, just encouraging that friendly

00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:22.980
competition all over the place. And like he said,

00:26:23.220 --> 00:26:25.769
and like other athletes have always said, Man,

00:26:25.769 --> 00:26:28.190
thank you so much for that push because a lot

00:26:28.190 --> 00:26:32.250
of us, just by nature, we like to be in our packs.

00:26:32.430 --> 00:26:35.049
We like to be in our groups. And that little

00:26:35.049 --> 00:26:38.650
bit of encouragement unleashes something inside

00:26:38.650 --> 00:26:42.130
each one of us and unlocks that secret level.

00:26:42.809 --> 00:26:46.369
It unlocks that new ability that we didn't know

00:26:46.369 --> 00:26:48.869
was there. And when it comes out, it's like a

00:26:48.869 --> 00:26:51.710
shot of adrenaline and you're just like freaking

00:26:51.710 --> 00:26:54.690
superhero. And it's just a really good feeling.

00:26:55.289 --> 00:26:57.529
If you can get that out of somebody and have

00:26:57.529 --> 00:27:00.190
them experience it for the first time or for

00:27:00.190 --> 00:27:02.930
a new time that they haven't had it for a while,

00:27:03.049 --> 00:27:05.630
it's always the same outcome. Like, thanks, man.

00:27:05.690 --> 00:27:08.490
I really appreciate that push. And it's just

00:27:08.490 --> 00:27:11.450
really cool to see. Yeah, I think the world of

00:27:11.450 --> 00:27:13.170
sport competition definitely needs more people

00:27:13.170 --> 00:27:15.150
that have that mindset. Absolutely. I know that

00:27:15.150 --> 00:27:19.049
the smallest gesture on the course goes so far,

00:27:19.170 --> 00:27:21.369
especially in endurance events, even from strangers.

00:27:21.630 --> 00:27:25.660
That goes on and off the course. That should

00:27:25.660 --> 00:27:28.559
be spread worldwide. You're right. If it's on

00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:30.380
the course, it should be a guaranteed in life

00:27:30.380 --> 00:27:34.400
because the world is fucking crazy. And, you

00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:37.460
know, if you can do any good to support, help,

00:27:37.559 --> 00:27:40.960
you know, I don't want to be kind, but because

00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:43.440
we all have different levels of support, but,

00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:46.240
you know, simple, kind gestures on a daily basis.

00:27:46.700 --> 00:27:49.559
I mean, it just goes so far. And then, you know,

00:27:49.559 --> 00:27:51.759
another one of your podcasts, you're just talking.

00:27:52.220 --> 00:27:54.599
in the bathroom just by wearing the same shirt

00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:56.500
and you start getting into these conversations

00:27:56.500 --> 00:27:58.740
and you realize the connection was for a purpose,

00:27:58.940 --> 00:28:02.619
I just love that interaction as well when it

00:28:02.619 --> 00:28:05.420
comes. And it comes a lot. You just have to allow

00:28:05.420 --> 00:28:07.839
it to come to you. And then the connections you

00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:10.160
make and then you connect others, it's just a

00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:12.960
beautiful, powerful thing we have the ability

00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:15.619
to do in this world. I really like that and that

00:28:15.619 --> 00:28:19.059
really ties in with Oscar Mike's. I feel like

00:28:19.059 --> 00:28:20.460
this is a good time to talk about that. So can

00:28:20.460 --> 00:28:22.440
you tell us about the Oscar Mike Foundation and

00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:28.539
what it means to you? Man, I wish I knew more.

00:28:29.519 --> 00:28:32.319
And that's me saying I wish I was on the inside

00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:34.980
working with them side by side on a daily basis.

00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:38.700
Because I feel like once this event is finished,

00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:42.180
that's the pursuit that I'm going to take. And

00:28:42.180 --> 00:28:43.640
I've had these conversations with them. I think

00:28:43.640 --> 00:28:45.240
it's just really like, let's get this done first.

00:28:47.319 --> 00:28:51.200
I just, I feel they came into my life and without

00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:53.400
going deep into it really saved me in a way.

00:28:54.079 --> 00:28:58.980
And again, all for the right reasons. So it's

00:28:58.980 --> 00:29:01.299
my way to get back. You know, I feel like there's

00:29:01.299 --> 00:29:03.240
more that I can do than just run around in circles.

00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:06.079
And that's kind of what I want to pursue. And

00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:09.079
I feel like that's what this is all about. You

00:29:09.079 --> 00:29:13.339
know, besides talking about the lack of knowledge

00:29:13.339 --> 00:29:15.400
and support the military provides you when you

00:29:15.400 --> 00:29:18.460
get out. it's really just like, okay, goodbye,

00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:21.240
good luck. And you're thrown into the real world.

00:29:21.460 --> 00:29:25.259
And a lot of us are lost and we don't stay on

00:29:25.259 --> 00:29:28.880
the move. And the ability to really get people

00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:32.859
on the move and to realize there's more that

00:29:32.859 --> 00:29:36.200
you can do, more that can be done. Your journey

00:29:36.200 --> 00:29:38.660
doesn't have to end despite your disabilities,

00:29:38.779 --> 00:29:42.019
despite your depression, your PTSD, whatever

00:29:42.019 --> 00:29:44.980
it is. There's always something else because

00:29:44.980 --> 00:29:47.190
life's a puzzle. We just need to figure it out

00:29:47.190 --> 00:29:49.890
or we need some help figuring it out. And that's

00:29:49.890 --> 00:29:51.329
what I feel like the mission is all about to

00:29:51.329 --> 00:29:55.529
me. So Oscar Mike Foundation, it provides services

00:29:55.529 --> 00:29:58.029
to injured veterans. Can you describe some of

00:29:58.029 --> 00:30:00.730
the services or programs that they offer? Yeah.

00:30:00.750 --> 00:30:04.730
So they're huge on their rugby team, which is

00:30:04.730 --> 00:30:07.789
like battle royale on wheelchairs. I think it's

00:30:07.789 --> 00:30:12.579
awesome. At some point, the whole six months

00:30:12.579 --> 00:30:15.460
with them has flown by. We were going to have

00:30:15.460 --> 00:30:19.640
me go out there and do this, a bunch of things

00:30:19.640 --> 00:30:21.700
in the wheelchair. We'll just save that. And

00:30:21.700 --> 00:30:24.180
that's still to come down the road. Cool. I'll

00:30:24.180 --> 00:30:28.740
look forward to that. The biggest mission with

00:30:28.740 --> 00:30:32.839
this specific year or endeavor is to create the

00:30:32.839 --> 00:30:35.099
world's greatest facility for disabled veterans.

00:30:35.380 --> 00:30:38.359
And we're really trying to do the whole train

00:30:38.359 --> 00:30:40.630
-the -trainers scenario. You come in there and

00:30:40.630 --> 00:30:42.089
you have a piece of equipment that's specific

00:30:42.089 --> 00:30:44.750
to a disabled veteran, whatever it may be, that

00:30:44.750 --> 00:30:46.589
you don't normally see in a gym, but is very

00:30:46.589 --> 00:30:49.789
specific to what their needs and wants are. Well,

00:30:49.829 --> 00:30:52.250
now you can go in there and get trained of how

00:30:52.250 --> 00:30:53.750
to do that and then become a trainer yourself

00:30:53.750 --> 00:30:57.329
and show others. And this facility is supposed

00:30:57.329 --> 00:31:01.690
to be state -of -the -art everything. And for

00:31:01.690 --> 00:31:04.170
me to jump in at a time, coincidentally, where

00:31:04.170 --> 00:31:07.569
they were getting basically booed out of town

00:31:07.569 --> 00:31:10.259
with their proposition. of this is what we'd

00:31:10.259 --> 00:31:14.039
like to do i was just like blown away and that's

00:31:14.039 --> 00:31:16.460
that's where you know the underdog came out and

00:31:16.460 --> 00:31:20.000
was like no we're fighting this um yeah i just

00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:23.420
i couldn't believe that people would just throw

00:31:23.420 --> 00:31:26.339
that like let's not even support that i i don't

00:31:26.339 --> 00:31:29.319
i'm just not understanding that at all yeah for

00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:31.059
the listener the oscar mike foundation has a

00:31:31.059 --> 00:31:32.599
really cool youtube channel i'd probably suggest

00:31:32.599 --> 00:31:33.779
you go check it out there's a there's i think

00:31:33.779 --> 00:31:35.779
it's a six -part series and what we're talking

00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:39.230
about is in the first video It kind of shows

00:31:39.230 --> 00:31:41.069
it as a city council meeting. Is that what it

00:31:41.069 --> 00:31:43.609
was? Yep. It was something like that where, where

00:31:43.609 --> 00:31:45.849
they're, um, you know, they're proposing plans

00:31:45.849 --> 00:31:49.369
for the new foundation and a majority of the

00:31:49.369 --> 00:31:52.529
attendees at this congregation were pretty vocal

00:31:52.529 --> 00:31:55.150
about them not wanting it in their, in their

00:31:55.150 --> 00:31:57.069
neighborhood, which I don't understand why it

00:31:57.069 --> 00:31:58.730
has such a great mission. Why wouldn't you want

00:31:58.730 --> 00:32:01.869
that in your backyard? But yeah, I was, that's

00:32:01.869 --> 00:32:04.349
appalling. I was, I was really, really disappointed

00:32:04.349 --> 00:32:08.450
to hear those people voice those opinions. Where

00:32:08.450 --> 00:32:11.430
can listeners go and support you and donate to

00:32:11.430 --> 00:32:14.130
the Oscar Mike Foundation? Just go right to the

00:32:14.130 --> 00:32:16.769
page. It should be right in the main page there.

00:32:17.269 --> 00:32:19.250
Awesome. Yeah, I'll include a link in the show

00:32:19.250 --> 00:32:21.410
notes. And we're going to get into the last segment

00:32:21.410 --> 00:32:23.490
of rapid fire questions that we do on the podcast.

00:32:23.750 --> 00:32:25.470
I just want to say before doing that, Mark, I

00:32:25.470 --> 00:32:26.750
have a tremendous amount of respect for you.

00:32:26.769 --> 00:32:28.089
I think what you're doing is phenomenal. And

00:32:28.089 --> 00:32:29.609
thanks for sharing your stories. Thanks for sharing

00:32:29.609 --> 00:32:31.730
your insight. And the best of luck to you for

00:32:31.730 --> 00:32:34.619
your world record attempt. Yeah. I'm just, I

00:32:34.619 --> 00:32:35.859
was thrilled to have you on. I just appreciate

00:32:35.859 --> 00:32:37.799
you taking the time to speak with me today. Thanks.

00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:41.599
I love it, man. However we can help, right? All

00:32:41.599 --> 00:32:44.480
right. So rapid fire round. So just a few questions

00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:46.000
here, just quick answers, whatever comes, whatever

00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:48.240
jumped out at you. If you can only rock one trail

00:32:48.240 --> 00:32:49.559
for the rest of your life, what trail would that

00:32:49.559 --> 00:32:53.900
be? Treks. Where does that? If you know, you

00:32:53.900 --> 00:32:56.119
know. Okay. I'll leave it at it. What's your

00:32:56.119 --> 00:32:58.779
favorite non -rocking workout? Non -rocking workout.

00:32:59.940 --> 00:33:04.349
Oh man. Rusters. Okay, okay. And what do you

00:33:04.349 --> 00:33:05.990
listen to when you're rucking? Because I can

00:33:05.990 --> 00:33:08.329
imagine you've had a lot of time on your rucks.

00:33:08.369 --> 00:33:11.109
What are you listening to? Yeah, if I'm walking,

00:33:11.309 --> 00:33:16.289
audiobooks. If I'm running, and I've only really

00:33:16.289 --> 00:33:19.750
put headphones in because I get up super early

00:33:19.750 --> 00:33:21.569
and if my wife needs help with the kids, she'll

00:33:21.569 --> 00:33:23.650
call. So that's why I have my headphones on.

00:33:24.130 --> 00:33:26.670
But typically I'll listen to, this is a mix of

00:33:26.670 --> 00:33:29.690
music. I'm going to have an interesting mix for

00:33:29.690 --> 00:33:34.900
this event. Yeah. Are you making it or is someone

00:33:34.900 --> 00:33:37.599
making it for you? No, I made it. And it's going

00:33:37.599 --> 00:33:39.299
to be to everybody. So it's family -friendly

00:33:39.299 --> 00:33:44.279
kind of music that starts in the 60s to current

00:33:44.279 --> 00:33:47.019
times. But you might see some Backstreet Boys

00:33:47.019 --> 00:33:50.039
and Britney Spears and then jump to the Serbs.

00:33:51.140 --> 00:33:54.380
It's going to be a shocking value. That's awesome.

00:33:54.720 --> 00:33:57.819
Last one. What is your bucket list rocking trail

00:33:57.819 --> 00:34:00.900
or just region or area of the planet that you'd

00:34:00.900 --> 00:34:05.240
like to rock? I love to rock across country.

00:34:06.099 --> 00:34:09.480
I think that's just kind of like my second retirement

00:34:09.480 --> 00:34:13.260
goal. Yeah, I think so. If you can climb every

00:34:13.260 --> 00:34:15.239
mountain in the world, I would love to do that.

00:34:15.360 --> 00:34:18.280
But I think rocking across the country would

00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:20.760
be something special in which you meet a ton

00:34:20.760 --> 00:34:24.059
of people and just have a really good time. And

00:34:24.059 --> 00:34:27.300
obviously self -support. Yeah, that's awesome.

00:34:27.420 --> 00:34:29.519
Have you seen what... Terrence Ogden is doing

00:34:29.519 --> 00:34:31.280
in Texas recently. He's doing 1 ,000 miles across

00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:32.619
the state of Texas. I think that's pretty cool.

00:34:33.659 --> 00:34:36.199
Yeah, yeah. That's something special for sure.

00:34:36.420 --> 00:34:38.980
Pretty wild. Well, Mark, thanks again. Really

00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:40.380
appreciate your time. Thanks for joining me today.

00:34:41.099 --> 00:34:43.940
Oh, thank you. All right, that wraps up my conversation

00:34:43.940 --> 00:34:46.699
with Mark. You can help support Mark and Oscar

00:34:46.699 --> 00:34:48.880
Mike by providing a donation on the Oscar Mike

00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:52.659
website, which is oscarmike .org. You can connect

00:34:52.659 --> 00:34:55.460
with Mark on Instagram at Wrecking100. I'll drop

00:34:55.460 --> 00:34:57.380
a link to both of these in the show notes. And

00:34:57.380 --> 00:34:58.699
if you want to reach out to me, head on over

00:34:58.699 --> 00:35:01.800
to theruckersedge .com or on Instagram at theruckersedgepod.

00:35:02.320 --> 00:35:04.239
If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to

00:35:04.239 --> 00:35:06.780
follow or subscribe to the show so that you're

00:35:06.780 --> 00:35:09.579
notified of new episodes. Okay, that's it for

00:35:09.579 --> 00:35:11.400
today. Thanks again for listening to this episode

00:35:11.400 --> 00:35:12.380
of The Rucker's Edge.