During Naval Hospital Bremerton's 'Hospital Corpsmen Remembrance Run' recognizing those killed in action throughout the 117th years of the rate, most of those who signed up ran, raced, or rushed through the course.

But there was one determined individual who rucked.

Hospital Corpsmen 1st Class (Fleet Marine Force) Kyle Smith, Preventive Medicine Technician leading petty officer assigned to Naval Hospital Bremerton, decided to ruck instead of run to honor the memory of two fallen corpsmen, Hospital Corpsmen 3rd Class John T. Fralish and John D. House.

"I made a decision to ruck for three reasons. First and foremost, I personally feel that rucking is a better way to remember those of us who have spent our careers ground-pounding with the infantry than running. I was rucking in remembrance of HM3 House and HM3 Fralish, who were both 1st Battalion 3rd Marines Corpsmen killed," said Smith, who has deployed to Iraq three times and once to Afghanistan in his 12-plus years in the Navy. "I had never met neither but would look at a memorial to Doc Fralish every day at work with 1/3, and have many, many friends who knew Doc House on personal level as well. The fact that these men were good enough people and good enough corpsmen to be spoken of in such a positive regard many years after their passing is a true testament to their character and of FMF corpsmen."

House was 28 years old when he was killed in action on Jan 26, 2005 at Ritbah, Iraq. Fralish, age 30, was killed in action on Feb. 6, 2006 at Methar Lam, Laghman Province, Afghanistan.

Smith did approximately 10K (6.2 miles) that morning in one hour and 45 minutes, stopping every mile to do 22 pushups, squats or military press with a ruck sack weighing over 30 pounds on his back. He attests that the 22 reps were symbolic to also remember the 22 veterans on average a day who lose their battle with depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and take their own lives (note: figure attributed to Department of Veterans Affairs in their February 2013 report on veteran suicide rates in the United States).

"I strained my hamstring about four weeks ago and was still recovering and I felt like rucking would be easier on my recovery since I did not feel sitting it out was an option for me. Lastly, the run being on a Saturday conveniently fell into my regular training routine," Smith said.

Smith is one of a growing number that are taking up the sport of rucking. Rucking is walking - or in military parlance, marching - with a weighted backpack or rucksack as it's referred to in the armed forces. Such training can have service members logging upwards of a marathon or more a day carrying as much as they own body weight upon their back.

For the Corpsmen Remembrance Run, Smith had his rucksack, along with four bricks wrapped in duct tape, three liters of water, a windbreaker, body glide, and light snacks like salted nuts and cliff energy blocks to replenish after his midway point. The total weight was between 30 -35 pounds.

"I do two different types of workouts when I ruck. I do either straight rucking for speed and distance in which I walk at fast past at the Marine Corps standard of 3.5 mph and get in between 4.5 to 12 miles. Or I do a combination of rucking and calisthenics where I will stop at certain distance intervals and do some form of calisthenics or exercises with the ruck sack, usually pushups and a squat or lunge variation," explained Smith. "Those sessions are shorter in distance, usually less than five miles, because the focus is more on being able to physical train with a ruck sack on. My benchmark goal for rucking is to eventually be able to pass the '12 miles in 3 hours' standard of the U.S. Army Special Operations."

Smith cites several benefits to rucking such as advocating that it's not only a physical workout but also mental, as well as a great way to expend calories.

"One, it builds total body strength. If you throw on a ruck and walk a set distance and push yourself your body will be sore in places you didn't realize it could be sore. Two, it burns a much greater amount of calories than simply walking does. Three, I feel that it builds mental toughness. It's mentally hard to put extra weight on your body and step off and move. Four, I feel that it has a practical carryover to our jobs as corpsmen for obvious reasons," Smith said. "It's also just a good way to get out and be active. It's also easy to do and doesn't really require any special training. All you need is a backpack/ruck and something to weigh it down with. It's easy to incorporate as a family activity. Sometimes when my family and I go for walks I will throw on a ruck sack just to add to it."

Corpsmen who have served with the Marines know that there is plenty of physical activity involved. Wherever the Marines go, so do the corpsmen. Whatever the Marines carry, so does a corpsman, along with medical gear. Rucking combines the importance of cardiovascular exercise with building physical strength. And, stresses Smith, rucking "burns a ton of calories."

"Primarily there's lots of running but I think pure strength is something that many people leave out of their plan. It is important to be able to lift up and move heavy things. For example, an M2 .50 Cal (machine gun) receiver weighs 70 pounds, the barrels weigh 30 pounds, the tripod 45 pounds and ammo can is another 30 pounds. We would do forced march or "humps" as the Marines calls it - rucking is actually an Army term - where we would carry entire weapons systems sometimes as far 15 to 20 miles. It takes a strong core to be able to do that and doing heavy overhead movements is a great way to develop those core muscles. Additionally, at one point in my career my combat load could weigh well in access of 100 pounds with flak jacket, small arms protective insert plates, Kevlar helmet, ammunition, water, first aid kit and my medical kit, and you need strength to be able to efficiently move that much weight," shared Smith

As with starting any new fitness routine, Smith encourages anyone who wants to give rucking a chance. The gear that is required is minimal and the investment in time is predicated on what a person hopes to achieve.

"Conditioning is important and as you get stronger it gets easier and easier to add miles and weight onto your distance. Good footwear is absolutely essential and all though it's not needed, a nice ruck is great and will make the experience more comfortable. It can also be time consuming if you going for distance. It's not always practical if you have a busy life to take two to four hours to go for a long ruck but I feel if fitness is a priority in anyone's life it's worth it to work bit in. I would rather ruck then run for distance any day! I feel like it's harder and makes me want to push myself harder as a result," said Smith.

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