Matt in TN

Where is Mark Ferrell when you need him?

Alright - we're less than two weeks out. And we have a few slots still left open. It's not too late to sign up! For those of you who have trained your whole lives for something like this, this match will be awesome! You will finally have a place you can put all of your skills together in a match that plays to your strengths, and you'll feel like a thoroughbred finally set free to run. For those of you who have NEVER attempted anything like this, are intimidated by all of the crazy workouts posted here, and are having severe second thoughts lately - it will be even better. Whatever you do, JUST DON'T QUIT. The satisfaction and self-image you will get from just finishing this course will stay with you forever, and is something no one can ever take away from you. Many people have found matches like these to be a turning point in their lives, and in a year or two you may not even recognize the person you have become. Just remember - for every person you see pass you, there is someone behind you wishing they could keep up with you. And before ANYONE judges anyone else as being "too slow, too fat, or too lazy" - bite your tongue and listen to their story first. Across the country at matches like these we've had people recovering from recent strokes, heart attacks, cancer, pregnancy, amputations, and any other issue you can think of; just because "F#$K CANCER", that's why! Give them an encouraging word when you pass them - it really makes a difference. Even better - if you pass someone really struggling on the course: finish your race, set down your gear, and run back out to find that person. You can run beside them and offer them all the words of support and encouragement that you can think of - you just can't physically help them in any way. I would love nothing better than to see the last and slowest competitor of the day, trudging their way up the last hill, accompanied by 40 of their newest friends. Help me make that happen. Let's do this.

Some gear/preparation advice directly from 5th Group Personnel: Here are my thoughts on equipment load outs for a match like this. I will discuss my mindset on how I would go about organizing myself and my equipment for a situation like this. I will add pictures for examples of loadouts as soon as I get more than a second free. This might not be exactly what you thought it would be at first, but if you're patient I think you can gain from it. I hope this helps somebody out there at least.... It is my opinion, that the best way to start attacking a problem set like this is to first outline the problem, the knowns/unknowns, and the gaps in either your training or equipment. Only after you do this can you be truly confident that what you have setup is truly best for you and the situation. First: The problem This situation can be reminiscent of a combat scenario. You know your general goals, but are blind to the things most gamers deem mandatory such as a finite round-count, target ranges and sizes and locations. While some of this information may be presented to you at the stage brief it does you little to no good during match preparation. If faced with a problem-set like this we will attempt to define what we can, and outline the things we cannot that will affect our equipment loadout. This is an example of what I would define as the problem. Problem: Move 5 kilometers, on foot, carrying all necessary equipment throughout varying levels and types of terrain, stopping sporadically to engage targets of unknown type, size, distance and number. Second: Knowns/Unkowns Now we can begin to outline issues that we have with this that will drive our preparation. First I like to address the "knowns". Thinking on the things that we truly know helps us to orient ourselves productively right off the bat. Knowns: All targets will be engaged with a centerfire rifle and/or pistol Said rifle, pistol, equipment and ammunition must be carried throughout the entire course (safely!) Match is run rain or shine Location of the course Varying terrain both on stable and unstable ground Weapons must not be loaded until told to do so May not rearrange gear once arriving at stage Unknowns: Total number of targets Distance to individual targets Type or variance of obstacles on course These are just examples. I would keep record of them. As you continue planning, reference your knowns and unknowns. Its possible that some new data has emerged and you can now either fill a hole or verify a previous unknown. After defining what knowns and unknowns that we can, we will begin our initial planning process. For this situation it will mostly involve equipment selection. In order to do this it might be necessary to make assumptions. Assumptions are something that we will assume to be true in order to effectively plan for the event. You can use many things to make you assumptions, but they should be logical. Prior experience in the area, data gathered from research or commone sense are all ways of coming to assumptions. For example, as a competitor I noticed that Matt is involved in this match. I also know that Matt previously ran a match on the same property. Lets go back and review Matt's match with a thread located on this very forum. After reading I make a couple of assumptions. Assumptions: I will get very dirty I will engage targets with weapons that are not mine There are many other examples, but these two will drive my planning. My first assumption will lead me to plan for a way to keep my equipment from being affected by my environment. It would really suck to drag all that ammo across the course just to have it fail because you didn't have a way of keeping your rifle from getting totally destroyed. Our second assumption could possibly drive our trainup. Perhaps your current eyewear provide no issues when shooting through a reddot optic but are horrendous when trying to shoot from a.... let's just say iron-sight AK47...hypothetically. This might drive you to carry more/different equipment. After assumptions, knowns and unknowns are complete you should have a fairly solid list of all the equipment that you need to bring with you. Now that brings us to the part most people were waiting on.....How the hell do you carry all of it, without just stuffing it into a backpack? Once you have all of your necessary equipment decided on, if you can collect it into one space. The best way to do this is to physically evaluate what all you have. After that I like to separate my equipment into different tiers. For the purpose of this match it will be slightly different from how we would plan, but still very similar. Tier 1 - This will be stuff loaded directly onto my body sans stuff on a chest rig (if one is used). For my purposes this is all the equipment including my clothes, or equipment carried by my clothes and all the equipment on my belt, whether using some type of pistol belt or rigging everything up to a sturdy trouser belt. Based off of our knowns, unknowns and assumptions we can plan what needs to be at this tier of gear. This is all equipment that I need rapid access too. This is stuff that I will use first during the course of fire and then topped off out of my bag afterwards. If I were to run this match my loadout would look something like this: PLACE HOLDER FOR PICTURE Combat Pant (ie Crye, Patagonia, or cheap ass cargo pants) - Something that will dry quickly if I happen to get wet or super muddy. Plenty of pockets for storing dope cards, snacks,etc Short sleeve outdoor shirt - I prefer short sleeve if the weather allows and I think I might get wet. I don't see the need in this situation to go around wearing your long sleeve Crye combat top. Your friends really don't think its as cool as you do. If you deem it necessary, then by all means, CM. If not I like something with a couple of pockets up top, and something that will also dry fast. You know, IF I get wet. Volund Gear Inner Belt - Velcro lined inner belt. Same as standard competition inner belt but with a G-Hook instead of just velcro for retention Volund Gear Outter belt - This goes over the outter belt. Extremely more lo-profile than your standard "battle belt" as well as more rigid. Not as likely to get hung up on obstacle or move around. There are many systems like it, but this one is AWESOME! On this belt I would have my pistol holster, 1-2 rifle mag pouch with some form of active retention, 2 pistol mag pouches with some form of active retention and dump pouch. I also keep a multi-tool on my belt to the rear of holster as well as a med pouch. The multi-tool is a disaster mitigater, so I want it as fast as possible when there is a bad situation. The med pouch is just a good idea to train with but not necessary for this match. If you use one in your current career field, this is a good place to put it along with the others I'll mention later. I don't always wear a full-on pistol belt, but when I do...it looks a lot like this Eyepro - Better worn than carried. If the route takes you through the woods, taking a stick to the dome is a real possibility. I could see stowing your ear pro between stages, but I'd keep that eye pro on your head. Tier 2 - This is how you carry your immediate surplus. For most guys this is going to look like a chest rack, but there are other creative ways to address it. I would use a chest rack because its A) What I know B ) Reinforces my work loadout and C ) The only other creative way I can personally think of is stuffing #### in your pockets or carrying a second bag. I did think of just loading 90% of my stuff in a bag, and then topping my belt off between stages but I think the chest rack works best for me. Here is what my loadout would look like: PLACE HOLDER FOR PICTURE A relatively small rig is all that is really needed, especially without the requirement to carry a radio or first aid. The first mistake most people make in a chest rack is trying to bring a double basic load, along with a bunch of other unnecessary stuff. There are way better ways to carry all that stuff in your bag, where it carries on your body way better than up front on your chest. Keep it light. On the rack that I will post photos of I am carrying 3 mags, a radio pouch, a med pouch, and a GP pouch. One creative way that I found to carry my GP pouch is with the Haley Strategic Multi-Mission Hanger Pouch. The pouch uses velcro, found on most chest racks these days, and hangs down. It's actually pretty great on the comfort level and doesn't bounce around the family jewels as much as most would guess when looking at it. It can be removed easily when not needed, stays where its supposed to when you do, and can be pulled off if you need to work out of it when using it as a back up medical pouch or weapons repair kit pouch. If you don't have a need to carry a radio or med kit in your daily life, then you could absolutely carry everything you need to shoot this match effectively on what most would call a micro rig. Other brands I really like for the appropriate size of kit are the Haley Strategic D3CR, HSGI AO Small Chest rig, and really anything from Mayflower. All of these kits also integrate seamlessly into some great body armor setups with quick clips. If building your own kit, for mag pouches I would use something with a retaining band, especially for this match. We could debate the effectiveness of passive retention all night. When there are unknowns involved, active retention is often best. For a GP pouch, generally go smaller than you think you need. If you get a big one, you will just stuff it with everything you think you need. You don't. You really don't. What I would really get away from is anything with the words "thigh rig" in it. They are rarely the appropriate piece of kit for anyone, are often set up incorrectly, and hinder movement extremely. If its not on your belt ready to feed the gun, its in the chest rig waiting, or in the pack..... Tier 3 - Your non-immediate surplus equipment. This will be everything else you have left. This often does require some creativity in housing. If you throw it all in a pack, chances are whatever is on the bottom you will need first and rapidly. Also, just throwing everything into the bag doesn't carry very well. Heavy items will all eventually end up on the bottom and create an awful sensation that can lead to lower back pain as you run. The solution for this, unfortunately, often ends up being: buy the right piece of equipment for the job. Some good rules of thumb here are similar to the chest rack. Don't buy something huge. Look at your physical load out after gathering all your equipment. Set aside what is carried and worn on your person, belt or chest rig. Its possible all that is in your bag is backup batteries, spare ear pro, and your filled mags. In that case, pick the smallest surplus carrying system you can and go to work. I'll post pictures of bags that I have found helpful. Things I would consider: If you have this awesome bailout bag in your closet or truck that you have carefully pieced together and is the envy of all of your friends; Then bring it out and drag it through the mud. Use this opportunity to test your equipment, training or plans for either.

In for Heavy - who is with me???

Mostly it is because when I said "2 hits to neutralize?" to the 5th group guys they looked at me like I was stupid and said "I'd NEVER shoot anything just twice!" "So how many hits do you want to require to neutralize a paper target?", I asked. They had a few back and forths amongst themselves and said "5 hits for the pistol, and 3 hits for the rifle". Anything worth shooting with a pistol is worth shooting 5 times to them - so the handgun ammo count very quickly goes up! Sidenote - they did agree that, in their experience in the field, 2 hits from a .223 was about equal to 1 hit from a .308. But we didn't want to overcomplicate the scoring by bringing in a Heavy Metal category just yet.

For those that don't know, I'm doing all the match admin stuff while my 5th Group counterparts give me direction on what they want to see and take care of the sponsorships and prize table stuff. I am amazed (but not surprised, given what these guys make happen on a regular basis) how much they've been able to accomplish in the three short weeks since we hatched this idea. Here's all the sponsors they have on board already: For anyone NOT coming - you will be sorry you didn't shoot this match when you see the video and pics. I wish I could share more ahead of time - but $50 match fee, all these sponsors, a great cause, awesome stages you won't see anywhere else - you've got nothing to lose! And don't even think of using your current fitness level as an excuse. ANYONE can finish this course, no matter your fitness level. And I promise you, you will never have so much fun working so hard in your life. We have only 16 slots left open for the 5k, and PLENTY still available for the shooting stages only ("2-Gun Match") on Sunday. Don't wait. Just do it.

Rule Change: 5th Group decided a pre-run weigh-in was too easy. You must be carrying 25%+ of your bodyweight when you FINISH the run to qualify for Combat Class. We'll weigh you before the run so you can know where you start out on the match scale - but the weight that counts is when you finish. If you're not at 25% or more, you'll be kicked down to Race Class and have carried all that weight for nothing. Sorry for the mix-up - I assumed we do this like we did before and never even asked them what they thought. You can kick me as you run by if you scan still lift your legs by then!

I can't give you the stage details, but I can show you the course map to give you an idea where you'll be going. I won't make you plot bearings and count steps, but navigating and following a simple map IS a part of this challenge. We'll have paint on the roads, signs with arrows at every turn, and caution tape marking the trail through the woods - but every year someone gets lost or confused. Study the map and know where you're going. Print it out and bring it along if you'd like to be sure. If you were here in March, you'll note that the course is VERY similar and the shooting locations are identical. Also note that the small dogleg off of Slave Cave Road is gone. We've moved all the obstacles to be just prior to the stage locations this time, so there was no reason for the bypass off the road. That has the added bonus of cutting back the mileage to a perfect 5k, and adding an extra hill!

People always have questions about scoring. I admit this can be confusing - especially since every Run N Gun is a little different. Scoring for THIS match reflects the priorities of the 5th Special Forces Group, so while it is pretty similar to what we did here in March there are a few differences. First, the similarities: Your total score is made up of 50% run time and 50% shoot time, so you have to both run fast and shoot well to score well overall. To break this down further - the fastest runner overall will get 500 points. Each runner below that will get a percentage of 500 points based on how much slower than that fastest runner they are. The fastest shooter at Stage 1 will get 100 points, and every shooter below that will get a percentage of those 100 points based on how much slower than the fastest shooter they are. And so on for all five stages. Since there are 5 stages, there are 500 possible points for shooting. So theoretically - if someone was the fastest runner and won each and every shooting stage they'd get 1,000 points and win the match. That has yet to EVER happen, so the actual match winner is always someone who balances shooting well with running fast - which is as it should be. Now, the differences (from March): For each target you Fail To Neutralize (FTN) as per the stage description, we will add 10 seconds to your shoot time for that stage. For each "No Shoot" you hit (once or multiple times), 10 seconds will be added to your shoot time for that stage. And since 5th Group never quits - neither can you. You have to keep shooting until you've either hit all the targets or your 3 minutes are up. You CANNOT just quit early and "take the penalty." The only exception to this is if you THINK you hit all the targets, but didn't. For example: you shoot 5 times at a paper pistol target, think you hit it all 5 times, and move on - but when it's scored they only find 4 hits. You'd have 10 seconds added to your shoot time as an FTN penalty for that stage. So even if you do not finish the shooting stage, you will still get some points based on how many targets you DID hit (unlilke in March). And two Match DQ penalties (you get a zero score for the match and get sent home early) that may be new to some: 1. If you get caught with a loaded rifle ANYWHERE but immediately after you are given the "fire" command or the start buzzer goes off 2. If you drop a loaded pistol ANYWHERE in the course Any questions?

If your total gear weight (rifle, pistol, ammo, water, etc.) is under 25% of your body weight you should sign up for Race Class. Everyone will be weighed at registration and just before they run just so we keep it all fair. Glad to have another newbie to this format, and feel free to ask if you have any other questions!

5th Group had a good week this week - picked up Spikes Tactical as a match sponsor and Trijicon as a stage sponsor. Just the first of many more to come, I'm sure!

Perfect location to practice!

I know that everyone this week is busy and thinking only of the Rockcastle Shooting Center Pro Am, but while you are chilling at the BYO Pool Party or shooting awesome stages encourage your friends to come shoot the Legion 9/11 Memorial Match! Things you'll experience that aren't at most matches: Incoming "artillery strikes" Machinegun fire WHILE you are trying to focus on shooting Calling in your own JDAM strike Shooting while under attack (I'll let this one be a surprise!) Experiencing the "fog of war" and trying to identify friend and foe Rescuing multiple casualties Carrying all your gear for 5k while shooting and overcoming obstacles And of course all of the outrageous things that are only "normal" to Rockcastle: Shooting in the complete darkness of a cave Shooting from/around a vehicle Shooting and reloading on the move and from behind cover There are still some slots open - register NOW at: https://practiscore.com/legion-9-11-memorial-5k-run-n-gun/register And if you have absolutely no interest in carrying 20-50lbs over a 5k running course, but still want to experience the awesomeness of the shooting stages and support the 5th Group Special Forces Association, come on out to the Sunday 2-gun match where you can do exactly that. Even better, shoot BOTH matches back to back. You know you'll want another shot at these stages after shooting them Saturday, so you might as well sign up for Sunday too so you can try them fresh again! Here's the link for the Sunday match: https://practiscore.com/legion-9-11-memorial-2-gun-match/register

I had to move some MOLLE around on my Run N Gun rig to make the change from FAL/G41 to AR10/G17 tonight, and I realized I have one less G18 mag than I thought I did. So I'll be ordering a G18 mag this week to finish this set out. A quick run around the farm and some rifle dry fire in various positions made a good basic gear test, but it needs more before I'm comfortable with it. How is everyone carrying the giant loads of ammo required for this match? I'm going with 4x25rd AR10 mags, 3x33rd G18 mags, and a 21rd G17 mag in the pistol for a total loadout of 100 rifle and 120 pistol.

There are still plenty of slots left open - talk your friends into joining you, and motivate each other to prepare. Don't put this off - sign up and start training TODAY!!!

I'll start: I've been stuck on hotel treadmills for the last two weeks "simulating hills". Tonight was my first run on a real road: 3.66 miles at a 9.1 min/mi avg pace (with no weight) on the hilliest route I could find close to my house. Goal #1 is no walking - check. Goal #2 is to average at LEAST 90% of my peak heart rate throughout. I hit 89% tonight, so I have some more work to do. The plan is 3 weightless runs a week and a weighted run on the weekends. Who is next???

If you've never been to Rockcastle before, you should know that it has some wicked hills! Below is an elevation map of the course. Post here how you're going to deal with those hills to help keep each other inspired/motivated. You have FOUR WEEKS to get ready - post up when you do something for training! If you run four times a week already and this is no big deal, just post a weekly update so people don't get overwhelmed by your awesomeness but can still see what's possible. Extra points if you've never done anything like this before and struggle just to walk a mile. Post something here every single time you walk that mile! Don't worry about it not being "long enough" or "fast enough". All that matters is that you got off the couch and did SOMETHING. If you did more than you did yesterday, you win. Celebrate it here!

I've had a few questions on how people can donate if they can't come to the match. You can donate to the SFA at anytime through their website, but that only goes to their general fund (still a great cause). If you want to donate to the Chapter that specifically takes care of 5th Group, it has to be done the old-fashioned way via snail mail. Here are the details: Check/Money Order TO: Special Forces Association, Chpt 38 NOTE: Legion 9/11 Memorial Match Mailing Address: Special Forces Association, Chpt 38 ATTN: CSM (RET) Frank McFadden PO Box 223 Ft. Campbell, KY 42223

Yes - Rockcastle will collect the fee the morning of the match during registration. The only thing you have to do before then is train hard. Run hills (there are LOTS of hills on this course), try running with weight at LEAST once before the match - ideally with your exact gear if possible without getting arrested, practice shooting fast and accurately from 0 - 320 yards, call in a missile strike, learn to deal with explosions and enemy fire, and, and, and...

I got some more humbling news today: Gold Star family members who were directly tied to some of the individuals the stages are based on will be at the event. Gold Star families are those who lost an immediate family member in combat. Help me honor these people by not only showing up in great numbers, but putting your best feet forward and showing them how much we appreciate and understand their sacrifice.

This match is not about beating other people, it’s about beating yourself. And your Self is the toughest opponent you will ever face. Start training. If you sign up, show up, and just START the match you’re ahead of every other “internet couch warrior” out there. If you FINISH the match, no matter how long it takes you, you win. One thing I can promise you – is that NO ONE will make fun of you for getting out there and trying. You will only hear words of encouragement and support*, pushing you to keep going and finish this thing. *Marines and Army Drill Instructors have their own special way of giving encouragement and support, and I have a few as RO’s. If they yell at you, know it’s because they love you. They are the only exemptions from this statement. If some lone douchebag tries to prove me wrong on this and makes fun of you for struggling, being too fat, too old, or too slow - give them a swift buttstroke to the side of the head with your rifle and just keep going. As you trample over their crying body, tell them "Matt says hi".

And it turns out I lied about the obstacles - there will be SEVERAL obstacles in addition to the shooting stages. You'll crawl, climb, slide, and carry heavy things. This is gonna be fun!

Registration opens at 10:00am sharp tomorrow morning. Below is the link for the 5k Run N Gun/Centerfire Biathlon on Saturday, September 9th. https://practiscore.com/legion-9-11-memorial-5k-run-n-gun/register Below is the link for the 2-Gun Match (the shooting stages only, with no running in between and no obstacles) on Sunday September 10th. https://practiscore.com/legion-9-11-memorial-2-gun-match/register And no, the registration doesn't work yet! Be SURE you register for the correct match, as there are two separate matches with similar names.

There will be 49 required rifle hits, and 60 required pistol hits. I highly recommend carrying AT LEAST twice that many rounds if you're running the 5k - there's no going back to your car for more if you run out. And the 5th Group Guys usually have no idea what they're about to walk into when they get sent out, so there will be no stage descriptions released before-hand. The first you'll hear about the stage is when you run up to shoot it. I will tell you the most difficult rifle shot will be a 10" steel plate at about 320 yards, and there will be everything from extremely close and fast to 320 yds. I will also tell you that the shooting stages are based on actual operations 5th Group personnel have been through in the past - some of which are public knowledge and some of which are not so public. You will learn the true story behind every stage at the match - but they may not all be made public beforehand. Some of the details are sensitive and we don't necessarily want them blabbed all over the internet. However - as a "for instance": Read through this actual description of a Silver Star award for a 5th Group hero, and try to imagine how you might try to reproduce that in a way civilians could do it in under 3 minutes. And be thankful we have people like Master Sgt. Anthony S. Pryor on our side... https://www.army.mil/article/1662/sf-soldier-gets-silver-star-for-heroism-in-afghanistan

I’m still short 3 RO’s for this match (both Saturday and Sunday – you can do either or both). So I'm putting out an open call for volunteers. The biggest benefit to being an RO is you can guarantee you get a slot in the match. The ONLY WAY I can promise you'll get to shoot this match, is if you agree to work for me. Please look at all the requirements and put some thought into this before you volunteer - this will be a hard match to work and a lot will be asked of you. First, the bad: RO's will shoot on Friday, so you need to be there early enough on Friday to shoot as well as run a stage or two for your fellow RO's. You will be stuck on a single stage ALL DAY LONG on Saturday. Bring anything else you might need to last the day in the field (chairs, food, binoculars to spot rifle hits, LOTS OF WATER, sunscreen, hat, jacket, etc.). There will be three RO's on each stage, so one of you can rotate off for a short period if you need a bathroom break or something - but keep it a SHORT break as the others will be depending on you. You will have to tell people "NO" and/or "Sorry, I can't help you" frequently. You will need to keep competitors doing NOTHING during their wait time but standing there waiting, exactly as they ran up - they cannot take off or rearrange gear, sit in the shade, drink water or eat, meditate, etc. You will have to keep a close eye on tired people, and may have to physically put hands on them if their muzzle is moving toward an unsafe direction. Verifying everyone's rifle is unloaded as they arrive and leave your stage is YOUR responsibility, and is of the utmost importance. You may have to DQ a competitor if they show up to your stage with a round in their chamber. If a competitor shows up to the stage AFTER yours with a round in their chamber - I'm going to DQ that competitor, and then immediately call YOU to find out how you let a shooter leave your stage with a loaded rifle. You'll need to read a short "script" to each competitor right before they shoot that gives a brief stage description. If they have questions you can stand there and talk as long as they want, but since the stage description will be part of their run time we need to keep it as short and CONSISTENT from shooter to shooter as much as possible. Now, the good: You will be guaranteed a slot at the match, and will not have to fight in the bloodbath that will occur the minute registration opens! Your registration fee is $0.00. You get to help out a great charity and a bunch of VERY deserving folks who have already sacrificed more than you can even fathom for you. This is your time to pay it back in a very small way. You don't need a special "RO Certification" to work this match, but since it will be a tough match to work I'll need folks who are extra squared-away. Preference will be given in the following order: 1. If I know you personally and know I can count on you 2. If you've RO'd a Run N Gun before 3. If you've RO'd at Rockcastle before (or have completed their RO course) 4. If you've RO'd any 3-gun or action pistol/rifle match before If you're interested, please send me an email at mstennett@twlakes.net and tell me a little about yourself and your experience. Sunday ROing will be much easier as you will be assigned a squad and you will shoot and move with them like a traditional 3-gun match. 5th Group will also be providing ROs too, so you’ll be working closely with them on both days.