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Aloha Team:)

It’s Tuesday, day after Veterans Day. I hope all of my TRVLSQD Vets enjoyed the day as it was yours to celebrate!

Alright, the news you’ve been waiting for….

HEAVY IS A GREEN LIGHT!!!

…I say again, we will be having a HEAVY in March!!!! I got the word late last night, and have been working through the details with HQ, and was on the phone with Bert this morning as he was getting on a flight to DC for Selection this weekend.

This will be a HEAVY in winter, so make no mistake about it, it is going to be a serious undertaking. The agreed upon HEAVY location – our beloved Cascades, the Snoqualmie area, the hallowed grounds of SELECTION 008. Bert and I agree – it will be a TEST. From the mountains, the GRC & Light will then pick-up in downtown Seattle. There will be ample time to leave the mountains and be in town for the GRC & then Light. I’ll be coordinating with GRHQ in the design (Attn: Joe Coffman) of an entirely new patch that will only be available to anyone that can complete all three events in the same weekend. There may be a “new” ceremony or tradition regarding the “patching” of these folks. SELECTION is THE EVENT for an individual, we are creating a “NEW” Category regarding TEAM MEMBER Achievement, reaching the pinnacle of TEAM Events.

After some careful conversations behind the scenes between Jason, Bert, and HQ Coordinators, the reason why it’s taken a few days to say yes to this…is because TRVLSQD has actually tapped into an area that holds merit for the “endurance warriors” of GRT’s. What I mean is – the fact that so many GRT’s have asked HQ for B2B GRC’s, it was one of the biggest reasons for the 2014 GRC’s into LIGHT weekends. We’ve seen quite a few of those. The fact that this BEST/WORST Scenario of HEAVY-GRC-LIGHT was presented to them, has given HQ a new sense of fire regarding what a TEAM can accomplish. HQ feels that depending on the success of “the Weekend”, GRHQ may incorporate this scenario in different cities throughout the year. HEAVY-GRC-LIGHT won’t be packaged as “ONE” event…..at least not yet….

Folks are going to be able to sign up for whatever they want, H,GRC, L, etc. Since this has never been attempted in GORUCK History, Seattle will be the first city to attempt this suffering:)

THIS WILL BE AN OPEN EVENT! It will NOT Sell-Out. To mitigate around the details of a true CUSTOM Heavy, we decided to go down the standard HEAVY route. Custom we can do later. Having a standard HEAVY allows us to bypass the money gathering phase, and focus on training. Having it open means we will have a TON more GRT’s fly in to attempt to complete the 3 HCL (HeavyChallengeLight)

In a few weeks (after the details are hammered out) GORUCK will launch the HEAVY on the main site. TRVLSQD will be mentioned as the group to throw down the Gauntlet!

DETAILS

* HEAVY is going down in March. Start rucking NOW….go long, go heavy…
* Cost is yet TBD, if you want to be safe on cost, plan for $200, expect it to be less…

More details as I’m able to gather them from HQ.

Congratulations to TRVLSQD – We’ve now managed to solidify our TEAM as folks that can come up with a stupid-enough idea that may change the course of GORUCK Team events…….

…..sickos….
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Tuesday night, 30+ friends and family gathered at the Schooner Exact Brewery in Seattle to enjoy some great conversations with each other, and to hear the Founder of GORUCK, Jason McCarthy, talk about the experiences that led him to create GORUCK and how the Challenge created what GORUCK is today. Jason was joined by Christian Sbailo and Son Vo, part of the Seattle GORUCK Team.

The last time Jason was here in the Pacific Northwest, was to run Class 054, Portland, OR. That was so many classes ago that Jason did smile when he was reminded that I had shadowed that GRC with now Selectee David Thomas. “Shit, that’s right! David was there!”

David and I remembered Jason’s desire to run that class into the ground. “If it wasn’t for someone needing to catch a military flight out, that Portland Class was going to be running for a lot further than they did!”

It’s always great to hear stories, and Jason didn’t disappoint. “I remember when I was able to source some folks to help with the rucks, and was connected with folks in Bozeman, MT from a Craigslist ad I placed in NYC!”

And the stories from the Tough Mudder days, and knowing that it wasn’t going to last. “Yes, there were golf carts and getting chased and building huge bonfires…it was awesome!”

Jason dove right into the stories of how GORUCK came to be, from his desire to create a great gear company, and ended up with something far more important – He created a company based on people, and “..doing right by people.”

“In the end, all of us here can have a closet full of gear…but what’s really important? It’s the people in your lives that are important.”

After touching on the different levels of gear, etc., a question came up about the classic THREE RULES that many of those involved in GORUCK Challenges have seen and have heard about.

“It’s a Special Forces thing…you say Rule #1 and everyone knows what you’re talking about. But I’ll tell you what it REALLY means.” (For those of you unable to make it out last night, here you go:)

1. Look Cool  – Most people think that it’s about how you look, and it is. But it’s much more that that. It means when “…Hell descends down on you….slow it down…and be cool. When shot’s are being fired, don’t lose your mind, don’t lose control….just be cool.”

2. Never Get Lost – Be confident, be smart, learn your trade. Whatever your job is, be skilled at it. If it’s Land Navigation, then learn EVERYTHING there is about Land Navigation. Be passionate about what you do.

3. When You Get Lost / Look Cool – “Simply means this, when the world  descends upon you, and it will…Look Cool. You need to look cool because inside you’re not going to feel cool. It’s much easier to take control of a situation and the folks around you when you “look cool”.

Everyone took away from the evening just a little bit of insight into a company founded in American patriotism, passion, and perseverance. There are so many lessons that can be learned from what Jason has accomplished, and more importantly – from what the most important thing is in life – the people in our lives.

Tomorrow night in Seattle folks! Come meet Jason, throw out some ideas, and enjoy a beverage or few!

Our team is always looking for new challenges, and we’ve decided to take this on! It’s the Big Climb to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. We all hate cancer…so we fight! You want to join TEAM TRVLSQD on this mission, check the link below.

http://www.llswa.org/site/TR/Events/BigClimb?team_id=54057&pg=team&fr_id=1390

Aloha,

fkh