Tough Ruck 26.2 Boston: Honoring the Fallen

Brian Johnson (MM8807, HF7287, DA707) —Marathon 57 State 31.

Tough Ruck. April 20, 2025. (Easter Sunday)

There is a lot I can say about this event. According to the Toughruck.org website: “Tough Ruck Nation is a group of military personnel, first responders, and civilians whose sole purpose is to ruck in honor and memory of our fallen service members, police, firefighters, and EMTs, while raising funds to support our warriors and the families of the fallen. We will march with our rucks and carry the names of our fallen comrades with us.”

I’ve known about this event for a while but was never able to align my schedule to participate until this year.

There are two reasons I’ve wanted to do this event: to honor members of my National Guard unit who were killed in Iraq in 2004 and to earn the finisher’s medal.

From the Toughruck.org website: “Today, the Tough Ruck’s signature event, Tough Ruck 26.2 Boston, held in partnership with the Boston Athletic Association/Boston Marathon, takes place the weekend before Marathon Monday in Concord, Massachusetts. Each year, Tough Ruck 26.2 Boston finishers are awarded the first of the official Boston Marathon medals and receive recognition from the Boston Athletic Association.”

So, a road trip was in my future.

I left the Columbus area for Boston on Friday, April 18, 2025. The event was on Sunday, giving me plenty of time for the journey. After a twelve-and-a-half-hour drive, I arrived in the Boston area.

Friday night and part of Saturday were spent sightseeing. On Saturday afternoon, I went to the packet pickup.

Tough Ruck limits the event to 1,000 participants. It seemed most of them picked up their race packets that afternoon.

Participants can compete in either the civilian or military category and choose between the light or heavy divisions. I opted for the civilian light division, which required carrying at least 15 pounds. My pack initially weighed 24 pounds.

Saturday night, I prepared for a very early start on Sunday morning. As I got ready, I attached 4 yellow streamers to my bag.

Of the four names on my pack: two individuals were from my National Guard unit who were killed in action in Iraq in 2004, and two others whom I was asked to honor.

Sunday morning was indeed an early start. I drove 20 minutes from my hotel to the parking area, followed by a 15-minute shuttle ride to the event starting area.

When I arrived, I weighed my bag, including the food and water I had packed. It was just over 30 pounds.

It was extremely windy, so I found a quiet spot to sit for an hour while waiting for the event to begin.

After a short presentation and the presentation of the colors, the event began.

Why We Ruck

Each streamer on a participant’s pack represented a fallen military member or first responder. Seeing all the streamers was a bit overwhelming.

Tough Ruck started near Concord’s North Bridge, where the initial shots of the Revolutionary War were fired. We walked down to the bridge and crossed it. As we approached, Revolutionary War reenactors on the other side practice firing their weapons. It was interesting to watch.

I was very glad I wore trail shoes for this event. Most of the course consisted of trails and hills between Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.

The hills stretched several miles, with compact dirt and occasional muddy patches.

It’s always fun making friends along the trail. It’s also inspiring to see hundreds of military members and first responders participating in the same event, carrying more weight than I was and moving at a fast pace, while I was just trying to survive the walk.

In the last five miles, after the final hills, I started passing quite a few people as we worked toward the finish.

One of the highlights of this Easter Sunday walk was having my local running friend and fellow Marathon Maniac, Kerri Haskins, come to watch me finish. She took some great photos and videos at the end.

Kerri, Thank you!

It took a little over nine hours to complete.

Before finishing, I had to weigh my pack one more time to ensure it hadn’t fallen below the minimum weight for my category. It weighed over 29 pounds.

Race complete.

Do I hurt? Yes. Would I do it again for this cause? In a heartbeat.