Folks are pumped for the RCR 313. They’re hopping on the pre-sale list and sending us messages and talking to us at the gym about how awesome the whole deal sounds. They’ve said they never heard of, or seen, an event like this before. And we reply, “That’s right, friend-o, because there ain’t another that exists!”
Then comes a moment of pause, a quizzical look, and then a question. “Wait, how does it work again?”
Since we’ve been fielding the question, we decided to give you the exact skinny on how you’ll race during the RCR 313. I’ll cover the events, the course, and the location.
The Events: Run Carry Ruck
Yes, friend, RCR stands for Run, Carry, Ruck. The 313 marks the distances. You’ll run for three miles, then farmer carry for one mile, then yo’ ass gonna ruck for three more miles. The letters and the numbers coincide, you do the events in that exact order and for those exact distances.
Like the distances, the weights are also set. Women carry 20lbs per hand during the farmers carry, both of those 20-pound plates go into the ruck sack for 40 total pounds during the ruck.
Men carry 25lbs per hand and ruck with a total of 50lbs in their bag.
These weight designations work because they proportionately average out. The average male runner weighs around 150 pounds. The average female runner weighs about 120 pounds. Fifty pounds is 30% body weight for a 150 pound dude. And 40 pounds is 30% body weight for a chick.
Now, we are doing weight classes. Men that weigh more than 200 pounds compete against each other, and men that weigh less than 200 pounds will compete against each other. Women that weigh more than 150 pounds will compete against each other, and those that weigh less than 150 pounds will compete against each other.
You might be wondering why the weights carried don’t change based on weight class. That’s because each body type has its own advantages and they balance out. Bigger folks are better at rucking because they’re moving with a smaller percentage of their body weight. However, smaller folks have an advantage on the run because they don’t have to propel as much body weight with each step. So, it all (mostly) evens out in the end.
Okay, on to the race.
You’ll do your running with just your clothes, your shoes, and, well, whatever nick-nacks and snacks you’d like to take along with you. I like gummy bears. Maybe you do, too. The point is that the 3-mile run is unloaded — no weight. The running course will be an out and back or a slight loop. But you’ll finish where you started.
As soon as you finish the run, you grab your weight plates and start the carry. We’ll have them laid out for you just off to the side from where you’ll clock in for your run time. You’ll head back in the same direction that you ran, you just won’t go as far. These distances will be clearly marked for you. Once again, you’ll go out and back, finishing where you started.
Then, you’ll stuff your weight plates into your bag and head off on the ruck. Here’s something very important that you need to pay attention to right now. Imagine I’m speaking quietly so that you have to lean in to hear. You cannot have your bag pre-loaded with other plates. You must put the plates that you carried into your bag for the ruck. It’s a fight on sight if you cheat like that. I’m kidding (maybe). But you will be disqualified. The ruck course follows the run course — the same out and back or slight loop. Once you finish the ruck, you finish the race.
We will have a timing system set up that gets your splits after each event and tracks your total time. So you don’t have to count in your head or anything — or even look at your watch if you don’t want to.
Let’s cover some equipment details.
Bags and Plates — You Need ‘Em
Here’s the deal — you’ll bring your own bag and your own weight plates. UNLESS, you’re flying in to do the race. Then we’ll have some extra plates for you, but you’ll still need to bring your own bag. Now, if you just stamped your feet and said, “Well, why do I have to buy my own plates?” Then riddle me this, Sugar Plum, what in the heck are you gonna train with if you don’t have your own plates? That’s what I thought. Take it easy.
We recommend the Yes4All plates. You can order them on Amazon. They’re inexpensive, and the roughness of the plates makes for good grip during the farmers carry.
Now, bags. The Wild Gym rucking backpack seems to be the best thing going right now. It has an aluminum internal frame, making it lightweight but also offering support and comfort that other rucking bags on the market don’t. I know I just sounded like a Wild Gym salesman. I am not. And we get no kickbacks from them. We just like the bags. It also has features like a running vest, so it has easy access to pouches for snacks, water, etc.
Hey, Where the Party At? (Event Location)
Back in 2001, The Jagged Edge asked us, “Hey, where the party at?” with their song, “Where the party at?” I’m about to be real honest with you, I don’t think anyone ever told them. They just kept asking for nearly four minutes straight. I won’t do that to you.
The RCR 313 is going down on September 27, 2025 at Algonkian Regional Park in Sterling, Virginia. We’ll have pavilions rented and you’ll be able to set up on the grass to hang out. So, bring a cooler, bring an easy up, bring some friends to do the race with you and/or massage your traps and feed you snacks after you burn shoe leather for seven miles (four of which are carrying weight right on those old traps).
Chris also did a real nice job shooting a video for you about the event (and some other cool things we have cooking at Beyond Strength). Click below to watch. He shows you exactly where it’s all going down and gives you a detailed walkthrough of bags and plates.
URGENT NOTICE!
Before you head out, I’ll remind you that Algonkian is limiting us to 100 participants in the race. The best thing you can do to ensure that you get one of those spots when we open registration is to get your name and email on the pre-sale list. Do that by clicking the link below.
RCR 313 Pre-Sale
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