Toby and the Death March

I am so proud of Toby and think it is more than worthy of a blog in itself. Toby volunteered a month ago to do a commemorative Death March. It is to memorialize the soldiers that were taken captive and had to walk 26 miles with no food or water.

Toby trained all of two days, but his work schedule was crazy so he relied alot on how good of shape he is already in. He was a little worried because his group of 4 was planning on running the first part and he didn't know how good he would do.

Let me set the stage. He woke up at 3:30 am his time. He got on his full uniform and his boots. He makes sure his ruck is fully packed with everything and weighing 35 pds. He has a couple extra pairs of socks to change through the race. He tries to hydrate one last time and he is off.

His company(group) of four starts off at a good pace. They go around the track a couple times before leaving the compound. They are already seeing guys drop out like flies. It is not hot yet but they know they better hurry to beat the worst heat. They run and then walk with long strides. He is one of the few that went heavy, the rest did not pack a ruck or went in the light catagory.

This is obviously a recap from toby, so i will let you know if I change anything and when I add pictures. At mile 20 he wants to quit so bad. He is on his last set of socks and his feet are like hamburger. He is not sure he can run again, but is very competive and wants to win. They run a little and then walk. He said they had oranges that seemed to be pure energy to him. At 10 am..6 hours into the competition the heat hit about 105 and was almost unbearable. He only had a 5 miles to go, but under the circumstances he was wondering how much more he had to give. A couple more miles and someone lets them know they are close to the front. They start to run again!! His partner was not rucking but was running with the guide on and toby said he almost started to cry out of sheer pain. His legs were cramping in every muscle possible. The last 2 miles they go back into the compound, pass his barracks where his bed sounded so soft at that point and back into the track area. As he ran to the finish his Captain and First SGT were there waiting and taking pictures. They were so happy and proud of toby and his group. They came in third place for groups.

Toby however...came in FIRST for the ARMY over there in the heavy ruck catagory. He finished in 7 hours. Yes, 35pds, full uniform in horrible heat!! I am so proud of him!!

When he called a couple hours after the finish, he was headed to work for a 24 hour shift. He has to walk about a mile to work, so that really was not something he was looking forward to. He says he know now that he can physically do anything he wants. He is going to run the next one in White Sands, NM. Yes, he is crazy.

He really wants emily to get back in shape after the baby and see if they can get on the amazing race together.

Ok, I seriously think my husband is crazy but am so proud of him and look forward to all his future accomplishments!!

Love you honey!