Two weeks ago I lined up for what I can only describe as THE hardest thing I have ever done in my life – both physically and mentally. What is the Bragg HTB? It is three GORUCK challenges back to back to back that took place in Fayetteville, NC March 17-19. It involved lots of physical training (PT), rucking and carrying heavy things. These challenges are team centered and lead by special forces cadre who test your limits, push you beyond them, and build the class into a team.
We started with 90 teammates on Friday at 6 pm for the Bragg Heavy which lasts at least 24 hours and is the ultimate team event. It is known in the GORUCK community as the “King of all Rucks”. With 2023 being the 10th anniversary of the event there was definitely electricity in the air when we started. This Heavy did not disappoint and had it all. Cold, rain, muddy rucks, log PT, a middle of the night Deck of Death session, jiu jitsu lessons, learning to field strip an AR-15 and other activities. Our team was whittled down to 75 people. Those 75 that saw daybreak on Saturday got to hear some great leadership advice during a welcomed first light break, rucking to a local chapter of the Special Forces Association where we performed a service project by clearing their land of cut trees and brush and hearing from our cadres about building strong communities. We rucked back for more shenanigans before ending the event on Saturday at 6 pm. Getting patched and having a beer to celebrate completing my first Heavy felt great but I only had 2-3 hours to get ready for the Tough. We lined up and started the Tough on Saturday at 10 pm and it was clear that this would not be an easier event. We had some PT smoke sessions, a 2-3 mile barefoot walk in the NC woods followed by more PT, passing around heavy medicine balls and a ruck into the woods carry heavy coupons like sandbags, sand jerry cans and medicine balls. Sleep deprivation was definitely a factor as I caught myself falling asleep standing up a few times during the night. The nonstop pace was slowed down when we were broken up into teams to figure out a Rubiks Cube and Bop It. We also got a chance to identify what our core values are thanks to Cadre Chuy and the book The One Thing. After a false ending to the Tough and some old fashioned Army PT test and work with more coupons we did end and rolled right into the Basic which included another heavy ruck in the woods with coupons, drawing crop circles with low crawls and tossing our coupons to get back to the start point. We ended the Basic and the HTB with patches, tacos, and beer! There were a total of 35 people who put in over 40 hours of work to earn four patches total – one for each event and one with three bolts signifying completing the HTB.
To do the hardest thing I’ve ever attempted involved months of training and changing my habits to be as ready as I could. I feel blessed to have trained with Joe Baker to help prepare me to earn my bolts. He provide tough workouts, great advice but most importantly positive encouragement leading up to and during the event. If you are thinking of training for any type of physical race or event, reach out to him. He makes dreams come true.
I was also fortunate to be part of a team of other people who trained with Joe for Bragg. We got to know each other during our training through a video app which allowed us to form a team within the team who pushed and supported each other during the HTB. I cannot wait to see what everyone accomplishes next.
I am thankful to have done this with two of my F3 brothers, Brock Gholston and Troy Michael, who also got their bolts at Bragg, their first events. Shared suffering during months of early morning training sessions formed bonds that carried us through the events when we had our dark moments during the weekend.
The cadre for this event (Cadre Dan, Cadre DS, Cadre Cleve and Cadre Chuy) poured their hearts and souls into us which resulted in an incredible experience for the GRTs who lined up. I learned a lot about myself at these events thanks to them holding the team to a standard and pushing us beyond what we thought we were capable of. Thank you for sharing your hard fought lessons and experiences with us and for building better Americans.
What is my why? My family (Cristina Long Paredes, Xavier (9) and Dominic (7)). I want them to see me do something that takes me outside of my comfort zone and know that its ok to do so. I want them to know that you can set a goal of doing something hard, put a plan together, be singular in your focus of following that plan and execute it successfully. My patches are a direct result of their love and support.
Bragg HTB is in the books. What’s next? Stay tuned…
