Record cold, record turnout for Ruck ’N’ Run

15 degrees. That was the record breaking temperature at Saturday’s 4th Annual Ruck N Run walk/run event in Republic.
The military-centric event featured not only a 5.56K walk/run, but also a 5.56K and 7.62K distance ruck run—runners wearing back packs—with stations for participants to stop and do calisthenics.
Including a shadow event for those who couldn’t participate in person, there were exactly 300 registrants—the most ever—supporting the cause.
“Ruck ‘N’ Run is not just a walk/run event but a celebration of service members,” said organizer George Fuller. “We want to continue to honor veterans as a community. Veterans Day is too commercialized, so our event helps refocus Veterans Day. Ruck ‘N’ Run provides an opportunity for the community to interact with our veterans, build camaraderie, and experience a small taste of military training.”
Base camp for the event was at Meadowview Baptist Church, where a fire, music and food and drink were available. It was also the drop off for the food fundraiser.
“We raised $4,500 and 1,707 pounds of food, which brings our overall total raised to $15,000 and 5,866 pounds of food for nonprofit veteran organizations,” said Fuller.
The 5th annual Ruck ‘N’ Run is set for Nov 9, 2019.