You may have heard of parkrun? These events are a fantastic, free, community 5k running event every Saturday morning at over 1000 locations nationwide.
People walk, jog and run, although from my experience of a few local events, most probably jog and get it done in around 30 mins. There is a really positive friendly vibe and there are loads of groups of friends, parents with kids and 90% of folks are just normal folks and far from elite runners.
Park walk?
The problem with parkrun is that it is really a runner’s event. You can walk, and a few do, but really, a 5k walk is not going to test you enough.
I go to parkrun every Saturday morning with my 11 year old son, Owen (my partner in crime at ruck-x) and another friend. Neither Owen or our other friend can run. My son will run with my wife, but not with me.
The solution to this so we can still enjoy parkrun? Park-Ruck!
We strap on our backpacks and we walk at as brisk a pace as we can collectively manage.
Why rucking is the perfect group exercise
There are varying ages and fitness levels in our little Saturday exercise group.
With running or jogging, that means that someone is either running below pace or you end up splitting up.
with Rucking, we can scale by weight, speed and distance.
On your own or with a similar fitness ruck buddy, you may want to go long and light. Heavy and short. Or somewhere in between.
In a group situation with an age range from 11 to 48 and a lot of fitness variance in the adults, we scale by weight and keep the pace and distance the same.
So we walk and talk, take part in the event and maximise the benefits.
Rucking like this, in a group is great for your mental and physical health.
As a 47-year-old who likes a drink on a Friday, but often regrets it, it also helps to keep me on the wagon on a Friday night so I can get up and really enjoy my weekend without a fuzzy head!
After all, look at these happy faces!
How to get started rucking
A great way to get started is to get a friend (or one of your kids) and meet in your local park, at the park run if they have one, or just meet up. Strap on a backpack and do a 5k walk.
You don’t need any special kit and can start with a simple backpack and some books (instructions here).
Then, when you get the bug, start to follow a more structured program like our beginner’s guide.
Any questions give us a shout on our socials or drop a comment below.
Ruck On!
