Rucking and Running

[Pete]

I don't know were all you in training are hitting the trail in the Fayetteville area but a couple of ideas.

For running there is the Fayetteville River Trail running from Clark Park up to the Soccer Complex at Methodist College. The marked trail is 4 miles long with markers every 1/2 mile. It's a little over 4 miles from parking lot to parking lot.

Starting at the Soccer Complex the first mile drops down along the river and then runs three miles to Clark Park. That means the last mile coming back will kick your butt. The trail rolls through the woods and is Asphalt about 8' wide. A one foot drirt strip on each side if you want to try a ruck march. An extra mile or so can be added to the distance if you take the "Bear Trail" at Clark Park. That part is a woods and dirt trail.

Now that the weather is getting warmer the "view" is getting better. Best time for "viewing" is between 1000-1200.

The other is the All American Trail running along the southern edge of Ft Bragg. This is open to everybody on foot and bikes, nothing motorized, dawn to dusk. I got a look at the Vass road entry point and the trail appears to be similar to a firebreak road, two rut dirt. The map shows a plank road entry just east of the Plank and I think King (?) Roads intersection. I didn't notice where the eastern start point was.

The two points of the Ft Bragg Trail I mentioned are remote with limited traffic and I would not want to have my car there for an extended period of time. I'll check out the eastern point in the near future.

Pete

[Kyobanim]

This is a good idea. Here's a few from my area.

Central Florida Trails

I've biked both of these and they are pretty nice trails.

East Central area: Cady Way Trail - 3 1/2 miles. This is an asphalt trail that runs behind the old Navy base. Most of the trail can be walked on the side in the grass and dirt. There are lots of bikes and skaters on this one. Trail Runs from behind the Fashion Square Mall off of Harrington Ave and ends at Cady Way Park.

Watch out for horses and their 'droppings' on this one
West Orange County: West Orange Trail - 19 miles, again, asphalt but most can be traversted on the side in the grass. Runs from Hwy 441 and 435 to Hwy 50 and hwy 91.

There are several other trails in central florida that would suffice for training. A list can be found here More Trails

[The Reaper]

Easiest route to find and use for a 12 miler each way on Bragg is to go to the intersection of Chicken Road and Preacher Road just west of St. Mere Eglise Drop Zone. The paved portion of Chicken ends there. You can park your car across from St. Mere.

Face west and start walking on Chicken Road. The road alternates between deep sand and sticky clay. Take no turns. Stop when you can just see the next paved road, which will be King Road. The six-mile point for a water break and foot check is just east of Campbell's Crossroads. This route is a pretty good smoker at 2:30 total. 3:00 is not bad if you compare it to the normal hump on paved roads or shoulders. The sand and hills will give your calves a good work-out.

The route is actually easier to do in that direction. If you like a challenge, have someone drop you off at the King Road end of Chicken (unless it has been raining and the clay is muddy), the hills and deep sand as you get closer to the eastern end of the route will kick your ass hard, especially if you have been sandbagging for the first six miles at a 15:00 pace thinking you were doing fine. Nothing like keeping a 14:00 mile pace for the first 6 miles, taking a 10 minute break, and getting to the nine mile mark only to find that you are now averaging 15:30. If you can make the last three miles in that direction in 15 minutes each, you are a good rucker.

You could get a good smoking without needing a drop-off or pick-up by going on Chicken from Preacher Road to Campbell's Crossroads and back. That would actually be close to 13-14 miles, mostly sandy and hilly.

An alternate route is to enter the All-American trail where Pete indicated, just west of the Plank and King Road junction, behind the motorcycle graveyard and head east. To make twelve miles that way, you will have to cross Plank Road onto Mail Route Road headed northeast for the last few miles.

If you are going to be on any roads on Bragg, be aware of road closings in the impact areas, if you are on any roads other than firebreaks, be aware of vehicle traffic, wear a reflective belt, carry a flashlight just in case, and have a good link-up plan, especially if rucking alone. Bring your cell phone, plenty of water and ORS, and some food. If you are going to hump a ruck for 12 miles, it might as well contain something you can use. You can't eat the sandbags or iron plates. I would bring a walking stick or rubber duck and swing it hard to help stride out and dig in. Have a plan to meet at the pick-up point no later than a certain time, after that, they need to come looking for you and to call the MPs, if necessary. People have been killed while rucking in the remote areas of Bragg and Camp Mackall. Best to go with a buddy, if you have one who likes to walk, and is just a little faster than you are.

If you have a 4WD vehicle, you might carefully pre-run the route and clock the mileage points for your reference later when you are humping it.

Good luck.

TR

[stakk4]

You can use the route planner on the track and field site at USATF com to map a route just about anywhere with a map/satellite hybrid. It calculates the distances for you, and does show locations on post.

HTH, back to lurking.

S

[Pete]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

....Face west and start walking on Chicken Road....
TR

You forgot to mention the part (going either way) of coming to the top of a small rise and seeing a looonnggg three mile down slope and a longer three mile up slope. That view is not for the week at heart when doing the 12 miler for time.

That was the old 12 route for the Q course. We would run the students around to the King Road end and have them walk back to St M. DZ. Start walking time was around 0330- 0400 on Saturday in the summer time. Tried to have things wrapped up by 0800.

The end point was where Cpt Fox had Medevac Choppers stacked up like cord wood one fine summer day. A light rain during the march raised the humidity levels way high. Students made the time but started dropping like flies as they hit the rest area. We had everything with rotor blades coming our way that Saturday morning. Whoowee the medics got some needle time, IVs everywhere.

Side note to students - The water tables were out and manned but "To make time" the students bypassed them and drank their canteens dry. If the march was any longer most would not have made it. DRINK, DRINK and then DRINK some more.

Everybody was back to normal and in their MOS class come Monday morning.

Just another day in Training Group.

[OIFDan]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Easiest route to find and use for a 12 miler each way on Bragg is to go to the intersection of Chicken Road and Preacher Road just west of St. Mere Eglise Drop Zone. The paved portion of Chicken ends there. You can park your car across from St. Mere.

Face west and start walking on Chicken Road. The road alternates between deep sand and sticky clay.
TR

Just rucked it last night and this is a great route. Thanks TR and Pete for the heads up about the areas around FT Bragg. You were right about having a link up plan and time as well. There is patchy cell phone coverage in that area and mine died about 3/4 of the way through the route. Also not a single vehicle was out that way the entire time I was walking. ORS is a good idea. Thanks Again, Dan

[VAKEMP]

Originally Posted by stakk4

You can use the route planner on the track and field site at USATF com to map a route just about anywhere with a map/satellite hybrid. It calculates the distances for you, and does show locations on post.

HTH, back to lurking.

S

stakk4,
Thank you for that website. I'm already putting it to use. However, USATF.com didn't come up for me. The link that worked for me was: http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/

Here's an example of what you can do at this website: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=118163

Thanks again, stakk4!

[reaper223]

Originally Posted by VAKEMP

stakk4,
Thank you for that website. I'm already putting it to use. However, USATF.com didn't come up for me. The link that worked for me was: http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/

Here's an example of what you can do at this website: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=118163

Thanks again, stakk4!

Thanks for the site

[frostfire]

Originally Posted by VAKEMP

stakk4,
Thank you for that website. I'm already putting it to use. However, USATF.com didn't come up for me. The link that worked for me was: http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/

Here's an example of what you can do at this website: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=118163

Thanks again, stakk4!

Thank you so very much for the link. Apparently you can calculate distance or map route of just about anything. Running, swimming, rucking, shooting range, etc. The limit is one's imagination.

[Ghostiger7]

That's an awesome tool!
just used it to plan out my last mountain trek

for you Blackberry owners out there Crackberry Com has some cool apps you can put on your mobile device, such as, route planner, Klick counter , topo maps etc.
and GPS - live tracker to check your stats in real time (or forward to a friend if you don't come back).

[ck333]

Another great tool for mapping out ruck/run routes is to download Google Earth to your computer.

It has a "ruler" feature that can calculate miles, kilometers, yards, ets. One of the great features is that you can manipulate the screen in 360* and tilt the view of the earth to get a 3-D look at the terrain. It gives elevation an any point that the cursor is located.

This has been a great tool for my training. I have been able to map different routes at different mountainous elevations (7000-11,000 ft)

CK

[caveman]

I second the google earth comment. I use it to map running routes all the time. Great when you're TDY an unfamiliar with the lay of the land.

[airbornediver]

mapmyrun.com is another good tool. I use it for all my runs.

[Foot Drill]

x

[ONEofFOUR14]

I use mapmyrun.com very often as well. You can even use it over military instalations to map your ruck/run route by using the "satelite" view, as long as you know your way around the area. I have been able to find trails for miles around the area I live and on post. It has been very useful for getting me off of hard ball roads and on some good terrain.

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