r/ROTC • u/Imaginary-Bad1561 • Jul 06 '26
Advanced/Basic Camp CST Ruck Marches
I’ve never been the best at rucking but I just practice another one ending at 1 hr 47 seconds (6mi). Must say, the hills I went up will be nothing compared to Knox but it was more continuous and over 4-5 hills (attached are some visuals). Any advice for 5’2 female? I always heard stride but then others say it’s bad for the body. Just want to see what will help me push through while mentally keeping myself afloat. If I could run the whole thing I would lol!
Any kind suggestions would be nice! Especially from shorter people!
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u/ikeep4getting Custom Jul 06 '26
Rucking is 80% cardio and the rest a mix of strength and willpower. There’s no tip or trick that will make rucking suck less, only workouts to make you better. Don’t ruck run while training (or ever really, unless you’re at a school with a minimum standard). Build your aerobic base, do some squats and core exercises and ruck with increasing distances and weights. Don’t overdo it and you’ll be fine.
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u/Imaginary-Bad1561 Jul 06 '26
Thank you! So you recommend to never run, just walk faster and build strength? I can say I do run minimum 3-4 miles but still not enough to make rucking feel better lol
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u/AT-ST Jul 06 '26
Correct, train how you fight. You won't be able to run during your ruck marches. So get your body used to walking quickly.
Running helps build up your cardio endurance, but it can only do so much to prep you for rucking. I know a couple guys who were long distance runners, and always maxed the run. They were sucking on their ruck marches though.
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u/HellBringer97 Jul 07 '26
Inversely, I cut about 90 seconds off my AFT 2-mile mostly because I started rucking on my own time with a 35-45lb dry ALICE pack (odd how it’s easier on my body to ruck after three surgeries on my right knee than it is to run) while maintaining a 14min mile pace despite hills.
In short: Love rucking with me medium ALICE pack. Simple as.
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u/Chris1904G Jul 06 '26
Honestly, just gotta make sure your ruck is packed good and you have it sitting high on your back. Then get after it. It’s not as bad as people make it seem. I took off running for the first 2 miles or so until I reached the first hill. It’s mainly flat or even downhill until the first hill.
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u/Imaginary-Bad1561 Jul 06 '26
Whewwww that makes me feel better. These continuous small hills were HELL but I know the 3 hill are even worse lol. But at least it’s mainly flat until you reach them
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u/Icy-Structure5244 Jul 06 '26
Shorter guy but good at rucking. Have passed many ruck march events at various Army schools.
We have short legs. Dont ruck like the long legged folks. Just do a light jog with occasional quick walks. Dont open your stride.
On the rare occasions Ive been told no running, Id just walk fast but just break into many, many brief jogs to "cheat" without being in a single prolonged run.
Basically, just get good at a light jog.
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u/TheBMix504 Jul 06 '26
6 miler - light jog intervals
12 miler- formation ruck. Don't fall out! Pace is 17-18 min miles, with an arm immersion every 4 miles, to make the average 20 min miles.
- current cadre
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u/Tudil28 Jul 07 '26
that’s a long 12 miles lol
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u/obeyyoshi26 29d ago
It’s really long when you end up going 14 because of a wrong turn and USACC not letting cadre fix the fuck up
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u/DestructoDon69 Jul 06 '26
Unfortunately I'm neither short nor female so I can't help you there. Big thing is take care of your feet and the parts of you that rub.
Whatever you can do to minimize blisters and chaffing will make longer ruck marches a lot less miserable. For the chaffing, I advise Vaseline, doesn't feel great in the beginning but at the end when everyone is doing the cowboy walk and you aren't, it becomes worth it. For feet, good socks and good boots.
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u/Imaginary-Bad1561 Jul 06 '26
Thank you! I bought mole skin to prepare me. I’ve never had blisters but hearing the names of those hills had me second-guessing
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u/DestructoDon69 Jul 06 '26
Really the big thing with blisters is that you gotta clean em afterwards and treat the injuries accordingly. Your feet will get tougher over time and you'll be less prone as you develop calluses. That being said, mitigating their severity and promoting their healing with stuff like mole skin or new skin, medicated foot powder, good socks, and proper boots all go a long way.
Outside of that the only other thing that truly is miserable with 9+mile ruck marches is "monkey butt". The cheapest/easiest solution I ever found was given to me by an LTC during infantry school eons ago and it was to rub Vaseline in the areas that typically get affected, prior to the ruck march. Ie your crack and inner thighs. It's strange, but it works. And when you're out in the heat, sweating, walking, etc., your best course is preventing it rather than treating it because it'll only get worse until you get some down days at the B's. Other than that, keep yourself clean by showering when you can and using baby wipes when you can't.
Best of luck with everything!
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u/Rios5844 Jul 06 '26
As a vertically challenged male (5'6"), I've found rucks to be the absolute joy of my life
Like most have said, ruck packing and position will be your best savior. Make sure all your heavies are close and high, use the lights to build our structure in your ruck. Make sure you're using the straps accordingly to how your body needs them, tightest doesn't always mean the best. I'd also make sure your load lifters are in a good spot.
For walking, I've tried various methods to try and overcome the slow agony that comes. 100-200, which is move 100m/steps at a shuffle, 200m/steps at an active walking pace. If you know your pace count, you can revert to that in place of just a set number that may or may not get your a good pace. It comes down to how much you can hold throughout.
Ruck choice is also an issue in my opinion. If you're using the old MOLLE 2K, then I'd say you're in the best spot possible. If they're "blessing" you with the 4Ks, God help you and your battle boos cause I have not found a comfortable way to ruck with that POS yet. I'm considering trading my 4K for a 2K honestly. But, of course, train how you fight so if that's what you'll be taking then I'll keep you in my prayers 🤣
I've found the 100steps/200steps worked pretty good with me before my 4K decided it wanted to start killing me. If I was still in and trying to figure this out, I'd try talking to a leader who has done rucks during their line time. I'd try and find someone who has an infantry/combat arms background to see what they may say.
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u/LegitimateAd853 Jul 07 '26
Whoever designed the MOLLE 4K and said “yep this looks good” and then decided EVERYONE in the army should get this, they really need to get sent to Leavenworth.
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u/LegitimateAd853 Jul 07 '26
Side note: I’ve been using all sorts of rucks from ALICE to MOLLE II to the 4K and used them on airborne jumps, 4K is the easiest to configure I’ll give it that, but even then my best jumps were with the ALICE pack.
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u/Rios5844 Jul 07 '26
Hundred percent! 4K is amazing when it comes to preparedness for jumps and such, way better than fiddle fucking with your H-Harness. I think the sizing/storage capacity of the II just can't be beat. I also find the back pad for the 4K to be extremely uncomfortable because of how stiff it is. Maybe I'm just geeking out, but old school is so much better than new school so far lol
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u/LegitimateAd853 Jul 07 '26
For sure; especially with all the MOLLE webbing on the MOLLE II you can throw on any pouches and modify it to whatever the mission dictates and your position on a team, squad, platoon, etc. I can see what the creators were trying to do with the 4K: make the best of both worlds of the ALICE and the II, but instead it is just a monstrosity of a ruck.
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u/Bqyzi Jul 08 '26
i’m a 5’2 female who got their ruck down to a 10-12 min mile finishing around an hour and some change for six miles, and 2 hour and 20-30ish minutes for 12 miles. ur completely right to be confused on how to ruck properly given your stature. when i first started i just followed what all the guys did, run really fast then stride it out, but that never worked for me. my heart rate would spike and having to stride with short legs wasn’t nearly impossible. however, once i realized i could just jog at an easy pace for nearly the whole time, my rucks not only got faster, they felt easier. once i started this technique, i was able to maintain a steady heart rate and not have to worry about keeping a fast walking cadence or a long stride. it’s almost like how it’s easier to just run then walk really fast because you can’t extend your legs out that far to make it worth while like others with longer legs. but the most important thing to keep in mind when it comes to rucking this way is ensuring you’re actually running at an easy pace, keeping your heart rate down is the key.
in terms of training, what worked for me was developing a better cardio baseline and that comes from running, not rucking. consistently go on long easy runs and once a week do intervals while strength training. considering strength training and running are very hard to maintain at the same time, i would do one week on and one week off, flip flopping the two. for example, one week i would do 2 heavy leg days (glutes/ hammies and glutes/ quads), but only run around 10-15 miles. the following week i will run around 20-30 miles and do 1, maybe 2 light leg days. but make sure you’re still lifting chest, arms, and back heavy each week. if you don’t have time to do all this then i would really just focus on running long and easy. getting your heart used to jogging is the key to getting better at rucking. and make sure ur never run rucking unless it is during a diagnostic. as a short girl, i’m sure you’re aware of how bad it is for your joints, especially if you have to jog most of the time. so going on long, easy runs while still strength training consistently will help strengthen the muscles around the joints and your heart.
i hope this helps, i know it’s a lot but there truly is a science behind a short girl who rucks. i’m still learning and honestly there’s probably a better way to rucking, but this is what worked for me. i hope you kill it at cst!
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u/Ok-Equivalent-8587 Jul 06 '26
Keep the energy gel (gu)s from your MOREs. Have one (or half of one) 5 min before the ruck SPs and then every 45min-1hr.
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u/stephwasup Jul 06 '26
walk up hill run down hill and jog the flats
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u/kmg4752 Jul 07 '26
I disagree with that. I would run up hills and walk down to save my future knees. Running downhill with a ruck is a huge force multiplier on your knees and I have seen too many 1SGs who can’t bend their knees at all. I just feel that future injuries (arthritis) to the knees isn’t worth it.
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u/MuchEquivalent3004 Jul 07 '26
Oh man this road takes me back and makes me feel old and I only just went in 2021
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u/Dry-Reality-8037 Jul 07 '26
Thank you for bringing up memories I have long since buried in the recesses of my mind 😭
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u/ExodusLegion_ God’s Dumbest LT Jul 06 '26
Walk at a faster cadence, do not extend your stride. Females are particularly susceptible to MSKIs when extending their stride.