On March 25 at 5:52 GMT, after rucking the final 94 miles in a single, 25-hour ruck, former paratrooper, fitness expert, and friend of GORUCK Farren Morgan completed his 1000 mile rucking challenge from the southernmost point in England to the northern tip of Scotland.
With a Rucker 4.0 on his back, Farren endured exhaustion, British weather, and some gnarly blisters while rucking in support of REORG, a charity supporting veterans and first responders in the UK.
He will be sharing more of his behind-the-scenes story on his Instagram over the next week, but Farren was kind enough to answer some of our questions about his challenge.
Where did you get the (inadvisable) idea to ruck 1000 miles in 25 days?
I love rucking, it’s been part of my life for over 10 years and I wanted to do something no person had ever done and push myself to the absolute limit. I’ve completed Guinness world records carrying Weight before but they were always one day events, and I wanted to see what I had in the tank over multiple days. I knew this would be a battle of the mind and that’s what made the challenge special. I also wanted to prove to the world that anything is possible with hard work, determination and get it done no matter what gets in your way.
How did you come to be involved with REORG?
I’ve worked with Reorg before when I did 500 burpees a day for a month in 2021 and I love their ethos and what they stand for. They support serving soldiers, veterans, and blue light responders. They’ve also been very supportive of my challenges.
How did you train for the ruck?
I trained for 6 months; it took up my whole life from day one. I was rucking between 6 and 12 hours per week, a lot faster than I planned to do on the challenge and on occasion upwards of 100lb to try and accumulate as much fatigue in my body to simulate the conditions on how I would feel each day. I added in running around 4 runs per week, mainly slow zone 2 running with high elevation. I added in 3,4 strength sessions per week to keep my body nice and strong and around 13-15 recovery sessions per week which consisted of flexibility, yoga, saunas, and sports massages.
What proved to be the most challenging part? Any challenges you didn’t expect?
The most challenging part was the “shock of capture.” What I mean by that is that day 1 I was excited to get started, day 2 I was still excited, then day 3 I started to get injuries and niggles and realised I still had 900 miles to go. I knew I had to change my strategy up fast or I risked failing the challenge altogether. This was mentally draining because I knew the days were going to be longer and slower than I originally anticipated. I didn’t expect to be changing my strategy daily, but it had to be done. “Improvise, adapt, overcome” injury management was key on this challenge, I had to take a lull in the Challenge where I was completing 35 miles per day so that at the end I was “hopefully” strong enough to push harder and faster to regain the miles I had missed. I was very lucky to have a supportive team and family that never even suggested quitting which kept my head in the game. “My mum didn’t raise a quitter”
Your final post showed that you’d burned 16,000 calories in the final 25 hours. What did you do to stay fuelled throughout the journey?
Throughout the Challenge I ate relatively good, fish and potato, rice, chicken, lots of high carb foods like chocolate, sweets at the end of the day for a quick, a bar called real meal that were high in everything that I needed. I was also no stranger to burgers, chips, and pizza when it was needed to get some extra calories into my diet. Towards the end of the Challenge my diet got worse and worse as I was just trying to eat anything to give me energy and a happy tummy. I didn’t take any gels or energy drinks. Only drank water, juice, and coffees to hydrate. No electrolytes or extra sodium like I was advised to. The weather was -4 to +10 degrees, so I was never sweating too much.
You shared some truly brutal images of your blisters and general wear and tear on your feet. How did you keep your feet in good enough condition?
I aired my feet every time I had a break, apart from that I didn’t do anything. No tape or talc, I let Mother Nature take its course.
What other physical issues did you have to deal with?
I had ankle, calf, knee, back and shoulder pain but this was down to repetition and overuse. I knew this would happen, I just had to keep managing it to the best of my ability. I didn’t get seen by any doctors or physios for the entire 25 days. I managed it all myself. Body and mind were in tune.
How did you stay motivated?
I didn’t want to let my family, friends, and charity down by failing. I’ve never failed anything In my life and I’m a man of my word, so I stayed motivated knowing I just need to take one more step and I’m another step closer to the end. If I was on crutches I would have finished this challenge.
How did it feel to reach the end? How did you celebrate?
I was filled with mixed emotions when I got to the end. Happy that I had achieved my goal and target in the time frame I said I was going to but sad that it was over, and everything had come to a close. I had the feeling of what next?
You spent a lot of time on the road with your earbuds in. Did you have a go-to playlist?
I listened to every song on the planet I think over the 280 hours I was rucking. I enjoyed slow relaxing classical music in the mornings before or during the sunrise and more upbeat house music or old-school rap music throughout the day (most of the music was from the 80s,90s or 2000s - showing my age haha).
Any takeaways or final thoughts?
This Challenge was the hardest, most brutal, enjoyable, exciting, emotionally, and challenging thing I’ve ever done. I have changed as a person on this challenge, and I wouldn’t have changed anything about it. If anyone wants to do anything like this, I suggest meticulous planning and training. No stone unturned. Believe in yourself even when things get dark. There is always light at the end of the tunnel.
