Rucking may initially sound unfamiliar, but it’s an activity with many different names; you may know it as power hiking, fastpacking or even tabbing if you’re in the military. All of them have one thing in common: you carry weight in a pack on your back to add a fitness punch to your walk or hike.
Rucking can provide a welcome, and refreshing, break from the intensity of a running training plan. Think of it as a hidden strength session, where you get to enjoy being outside, taking a slower path, with more time to focus on your personal wellbeing.
Katy Parrott is a #TeamMontane athlete who specialises in fast and light adventures, be it trail running, ultrarunning, fastpacking or rucking. She has a military background as an Army Reservist, and this, she says, has helped her build her physical and mental resilience needed to take on and conquer some truly breathtaking challenges and adventures over the years.
“Carrying weight is part of the job of an Army Reservist,” she says. “It’s important for me to incorporate rucking into my training programme so that I can pass all my annual fitness tests and be able to operate efficiently in my role. Although I’m a trail runner, I really enjoy mixing up my training and I find that training with weight in the hills helps improve my overall strength and fitness.
“While running, we can get caught up in our pace, meaning we don’t always get the time to appreciate the trails we are exploring. Fastpacking allows me to get out in the mountains and be self-sufficient for days, and keeping kit to the minimal essentials means I can cover more ground at a swifter pace than I can when hiking.”
Last summer, Parrott fastpacked nearly 200K along the GR20 of Corsica over the course of eight days. “The majority of the trails were very technical and not suitable or safe for running, but fastpacking was the perfect mix of endurance and speed and provided the chance for me to enjoy some of the most exhilarating trails in Europe. If you love a challenge, getting back to basics in nature and enjoying breathtaking landscapes – the GR20 is an adventure of a lifetime.”
Rucking sounds like something to do with rugby, but it’s actually a simple way to exercise by walking with added weight
© GORUCK
Rucking is flexible as you can choose the terrain, distance and the amount of load you carry in your backpack
Getting kitted out
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