Carry the Weight: How to Ruck
Rucking for the One Mile Challenge
This year, the second week (September 7–13) of the 2026 One Mile Challenge is Carry the Weight Week, powered by GORUCK — an optional focus week that participants could choose to challenge themselves to take on.
The idea behind this week belongs to everyone taking on OMC this year — and rucking is a great physical fitness practice in general, so we wanted to explain what it's really about.
What is Rucking?
It’s actually quite simple: rucking is walking while carrying weight.
A “loaded march” is a common military exercise and test practiced in preparation for carrying a heavy backpack for real world operations, and the term “rucking” became common in Canadian and American forces from the term “rucksack” (aka a backpack). As a civilian exercise, it is often less intense and more focused on carrying weight while hiking, walking, or as part of another workout.
As GORUCK shares:
“By adding load to low-impact movement, rucking turns an everyday walk into a full-body workout. It improves cardio, builds real-world strength, and supports fat loss — without the wear and tear (and misery) of running.”
And while you can ruck anywhere, including indoors on a treadmill, we always encourage and appreciate more time outdoors. Rucking can certainly be done on its own, but it’s also a great way to workout with others — and since each person can choose the amount of weight they carry, it’s easy to modify individual intensity while maintaining a shared pace.
Why We Carry Weight
When Alex first envisioned the One Mile Challenge, carrying weight wasn't an optional theme week — it was the core of the whole idea:
Every participant would carry weight during their mile, as a way to physically feel something guardians carry every day but rarely talk about: the invisible weight of trauma, service, and stress.
We've since made carrying weight optional, so OMC can be accessible to everyone and anyone to participate in whatever way works best for them. But Carry the Weight Week brings that original idea back into focus.
"The concept of carrying weight and the philosophy behind why we encourage participants to walk with weight is because our guardians walk around every day with invisible weight and invisible wounds — those mental health challenges, traumatic experiences, and stressors that they encounter and carry with them due to their work and service." – Alex Othmer, Guardian Revival Co-Founder and former Navy SEAL
So this isn't about how much weight you carry or how far you go. It's about intention — pushing yourself to take on something that feels a little hard, and using that difficulty as a moment to be mindful in the moment and reflect on what our guardians carry every single day.
How to Ruck
Former Navy SEAL and Guardian Revival co-founder, Alex, has rucked for most of his adult life — from training for BUDS through today — and his advice for anyone trying it for the first time is simple:
"Start off slow. Don't go crazy — do not start throwing half your bodyweight on your back. You want to slowly build up, because all the muscles and the ligaments and the tendons and the bones in your body have to adjust and accommodate for that extra load you bring."
A few tips to keep in mind:
Start light. Carrying somewhere between 10 to 20 pounds is a great starting point depending on your current level of fitness and comfort with weights.
Sustained weight over distance is different than sets of reps in the gym, so start with low weight and see how it feels after a mile.
Make sure you can maintain good posture and an even distribution of the weight.
Any format works. You can ruck with many kinds of weights and gear, and you can carry the weight on your core or in your hands. What’s most important is using what you can safely carry — there’s no reason to injure yourself (and certainly no benefit)
Especially for beginners, it’s best to aim for an even distribution of weight, and GORUCK encourages keeping the weight “high and stable, close to your back”
You can also try a suitcase carry, which is when the weight is held in your hand at your side… surprise: like a suitcase! (watch coach Jen Widerstrom’s instructional video for an example)
Don’t worry too much about specific gear — start with what you have, whether it’s a regular backpack with weight plates inside (or simply some heavy books), weighted vest, dumbbell or kettlebell, or a sandbag.
Specialized gear is great once you know you’re committed to rucking long-term, what feels best for your body, and how much weight you want to carry.
Options we recommend: GORUCK's Spy Ruck weighted vest, Ruck Plate Carrier, and Rucker 5.0 rucking backpack*
Build gradually. Add weight over time as your body adjusts — this isn't a one-day challenge or burnout fitness effort.
No minimum required. Rucking in general and our Carry the Weight Week have no required weight. The idea of carrying weight while you walk your daily mile for OMC is about showing up with intention, not intensity.
*The affiliate links we share incur no additional cost to you and help support Guardian Revival’s mission. Thank you!
Now you should be ready to ruck. There’s just one last thing:
Who Do You Carry For?
For One Mile Challenge participants taking on Carry the Weight week, we ask a simple question: Who do you carry for?
Maybe it's a family member, a friend, the broader guardian community, or even yourself — or simply to raise more awareness and help combat stigma. If you’re comfortable sharing your reason on social media, we’re interested in seeing it — tag @guardianrevival #omc2026
If you’re not yet part of OMC, there’s still time to take on the challenge of one mile a day in September by joining now. You can also make a donation to OMC. Either way, we appreciate the financial support that empowers the programs Guardian Revival offers at no cost to guardians & families, and because each person who contributes to OMC in any way is more proof that shows our guardians that they are not alone.
Good luck with your ruck.
About Our Partner: GORUCK
Our sponsor for this year's Carry the Weight Week, GORUCK was founded in 2008 by a Special Forces veteran and a CIA officer — guardians who understood exactly what it means to carry weight, literally and otherwise. Their gear, and the community they've built around it, brought the concept of rucking out of military training and into everyday civilian life.
All 2026 One Mile Challenge participants who purchased a kit received a custom GR x GORUCK patch and were entered to win one of five RUCKER backpacks. We appreciate GORUCK’s support of Guardian Revival and the One Mile Challenge.
*The affiliate links we share incur no additional cost to you and help support Guardian Revival’s mission. Thank you!
One Mile Challenge
The One Mile Challenge is Guardian Revival’s annual fundraiser and virtual fitness event, challenging participants to walk, run, or ruck 30 miles: 1 mile a day, each day of September — Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
As a non-profit with the mission of improving the lives of our guardians (military, veterans, and first responders), we rely on several things:
Awareness of the mental health challenges that our guardians face
Reduction of stigmas that keep our guardians from talking about this topic and getting help
Funds to put on our programs & events, all of which are offered at no cost to guardians
By participating in or donating to OMC, you are truly helping make a difference. Many participants join or start teams for OMC each year, bringing more people into the mission and helping spread awareness & breaking down the stigmas around mental health.
As you take on your miles, we hope you’ll invite someone to walk with you (whether they’re a participant or not). If you post on social, please tag us: @guardianrevival and #omc2026
See you at the NYC Remembrance Ruck?
Guardian Revival will have a table set up at the first New York City-sponsored “Remembrance Ruck” to honor the city’s veterans on September 13th, 2026.
The NYC Department of Veterans’ Services is organizing a resource fair at Surrogate’s Court for military community. We look forward to seeing some of you there!
General event info:
Sunday, September 13
Kick off at 9:00 AM at Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn
1.5 mile walk, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan
Ends at Foley Square
Who: Open to all!
Note: Participants who are interested in rucking with a weighted backpack may bring an empty backpack and will be supplied with a gallon-sized water bottle at on-site registration. Participation with a weighted ruck is at your own risk. Please exercise cautionary discretion.
Free event, register with NYRR