From the ‘in case you wondered too’ file: The flag-bearing marchers

Several people asked us about a group seen “marching” northbound on California, through The Junction and beyond, this morning, carrying a flag and some wearing what at least two observers perceived as military-style garb. One person caught the photo shown above. We caught up with the group north of The Junction; when asked what they were about, they directed us to goruck.com. In addition to selling rucksacks and other gear, the company organizes/facilitates teambuilding-type long-distance walks; its founders include a former Green Beret, and some of its events raise money for the Green Beret Foundation. Thanks again for the tips – on many things, so far today! – 206-293-6302 any time of any day/night.

Sam December 2, 2017 (12:39 pm)

I saw these guys at about 12:20 AM at California and Fauntleroy. I really didn’t feel safe around them. Thank you for reporting on them. I think I’ll still keep my distance though.

Veteran Supporter December 4, 2017 (4:43 pm)

Sam,

Although you may have felt intimidated, you actually couldn’t have been any safer. You encountered a group of folks pushing themselves beyond normal mental and physical boundaries, to learn about Teamwork. All of this under the watchful eyes of a combat veteran. If you’d like to know more about what you saw, go to this link: https://www.goruck.com/the-challenge/
Christi December 5, 2017 (11:50 am)

HI Sam,

We are weirdos but nothing to be scared of… (although at 5’2″ I can be intimidating). These endurance events are all about learning to push yourself and be strong. We learn awesome things from former and current special forces operators. Each event also has a Service Project built in too!! Seattle will be hosting a Santa Themed ruck too to benefit local charity. Check it out.. http://www.teamninja.org/santaruck/
Goad December 5, 2017 (12:20 pm)

Probably a good move…especially if you had any chocolate covered espresso beans, cans of chef boyardee or zipper lube on you.

Safety first!
kasey December 6, 2017 (11:39 am)

i can assure you that you’ll never be safer around a group than when in the midst of a bunch of GORUCK participants / devotees. some of the greatest people i’ve ever met, and GORUCK has changed my life 180 degrees.

Guy December 2, 2017 (2:22 pm)

Here is a link about the group they are marching for.

http://www.sanantoniomag.com/December-2017/New-Mission/

This is a group of local veterans supporting the families of a group that have been fighting now for 16 years straight. I know that day to day life can get scary and frustrating but please don’t forget that there are people out there doing a job that I sure as he’ll wouldn’t want to do anymore.

Veteran Supporter December 4, 2017 (4:45 pm)

Guy,

What was encountered was this:

https://www.goruck.com/the-challenge/

WSRes December 2, 2017 (2:26 pm)

For anyone wondering, this group is devoted to honoring those serving us in the military past and present. Goruck events are long hikes under some challenging weather conditions to build team spirit. The participants are looking to challenge themselves in a manner no different from someone entering a 5k, 10k, full marathon or a Tough Mudder type event.

Emily December 2, 2017 (4:02 pm)

Wow; This is much better than I was assuming was going on. Good for Goruck and these men supporting military past and present. Thank you for reporting, WSB!

Christi December 5, 2017 (11:51 am)

@Emily: lots of women participate too

There is an event this weekend for kids and parents: http://www.teamninja.org/santaruck/

South of Seattle December 2, 2017 (6:00 pm)

I’m curious what these folks did that made someone feel unsafe?

hj December 2, 2017 (6:22 pm)

I can’t speak for those who felt unsafe, but I was on the next street over and I heard them long before I saw them. There was a lot of whooping and hollering and what sounded like the occasional shouting match, but once I actually saw them they had quieted down.
- ExCanadian December 4, 2017 (8:18 pm)
  
  Well, there were a few somewhat inebriated people who would yell at us at various points.
- Shredder December 5, 2017 (10:46 am)
  
  What you may have heard was our crew shouting USA, USA, USA as a response to someone beeping their horns. Horn blowing is often done as a show of support to our forward charging beautiful American Flag.
  
  Which of course, is never disrespected, always leads the way and never touches the ground.
  
  :)

A.Coker December 4, 2017 (4:34 pm)

Goruck events have service project component. For this group of 22 people they put together a generous donation of supplies for Westside Baby!

ExCanadian December 4, 2017 (8:11 pm)

This particular group was made up of active duty military, veterans, law enforcement, and civilians. Yeah, you were safe. Safer than you know.
They did a stellar job, on a cool night and wet morning, ruck marching just shy of 20 miles, all over West Seattle, as far as Fauntleroy, starting and finishing at Seacrest Park. You have some nice steep hills in West Seattle. OY.

Before the event, as an act of community service, the group donated a van-full of supplies for Westside Baby. At the end of the event, they donated hundreds of dollars to a very special project for the Green Beret Foundation taking care of the family of a Green Beret. Somewhere in the middle, we happened along a gift delivery at a school (Lafayette I think) and helped unload the bus.

Along the entire 20 mile journey, each of the 22 event participants carried heavy weighted rucks (aka rucksacks) between 30 and 50lbs, and various heavy items; ridiculously heavy items, such as kegs full of seawater (from Seacove), 5gal water cans, (you go through a lot of water working that hard for 14 hours), large bags of sand/rocks (again from Seacove), taped up bags of rye, and sometimes, each other. Yes, they buddy carried mock casualties, up and down streets, trails and stairs. No, nobody got dropped.
In addition to the team building aspect of learning to work like a team under adverse (ok, really sucky) conditions, carrying heavy stuff, there was a teaching theme of this event.
The team of 24 stalwarts learned the history of the 18th Amendment (Prohibition), with emphasis on the Pac NW connection (go look up Roy Olmstead. we’ll wait…). That somewhat explains the kegs of water, bags of rye, etc. The bags of rocks? Shrug. Maybe sour mash? Grain? Rice? or maybe just a very heavy weight to teach team building through mutual suffering. No, you cannot carry the load alone, no matter how strong you are. You need your team, and they need you.
At several points along the way, they learned history and enjoyed various physical and mental team challenges and competitions thematically related to Prohibition. As always, it pays to be a winner; the other team doing pushups, burpees, etc with their weighted rucks…

Leading the event, and providing the history lessons, was a college professor, who just happens to be a retired US Army Special Forces (aka Green Berets) veteran. All in all, a fun challenging event.

Oh, the yelling? If you saw/heard that Sat morning along California, it was part of a game. It would take too long to explain, but it helped morale.
If you heard it earlier in the night, in the dark, well, that was probably one of the team building phases; Storming, Forming, Norming, and Performing. It’s not always smooth…