GOMR Ruck | Get Outside Mountain Relay (GOMR)

Divisions

Gomr

Ruck

We are super excited to have GORUCK as an official sponsor and offer an official Rucking division for GOMR starting in 2019. We’re calling it the GOMRR (Get Outside Mountain Relay Ruck). Say it like a pirate, with an extra “Arrr” on the end.

What is rucking? It is basically hiking/walking with a weighted pack, not including your water, gels, food, etc. Running is not recommended, but you should walk as fast or as slow as you are able. The GORUCK official website has a great amount of information on rucking, how to ruck, training tips, and offers their awesome Made in USA rucksacks for sale.

How GOMRR Works

Teams

We will be offering teams of 6 or 9 to relay the 1/2 GOMR distance (104 miles). Teams of 6 or 9 will take turns rucking 18 sections of one GOMR loop. 6 on a team rucking one loop of GOMR is the same as 12 rucking both loops, so don’t think you’re getting off easy. But in this format, it will take about half the time (26 or more hours). Average total distance is about 17 miles per rucker (though one set of Legs will only be 11 miles). 9 on a team will ruck twice with an average distance of 12 miles (one set of legs will only be 8 miles). If you have a team of 12, just split it into two teams of 6 and you will always have a buddy rucking with you. Teams can be all male, all female, or mixed.

Depending on the number of teams that register, we may ask teams to ruck at relatively the same speed and pace, so we can maintain the shuttle system we’ve designed for this. Rucking has the social component that running doesn’t usually have, and it will look pretty awesome with a long line of Ruckers on the course, some carrying American flags. However, if a large number of teams register, we have that shuttle design as well and we’ll be freer to let teams go at their desired speed and “race”.

The GOMRR Format

It's like a wheel

The Hub is GOMR Village where teams camp and live for the weekend. The Spokes are the shuttle routes our volunteers take ruckers out to their starting points and back to GOMR Village when they’re done with their leg. And the Tire is the 18 section, 104-mile loop route around Alleghany County, NC that ruckers will relay.

GOMR Village

GOMR Village is the central Hub of GOMRR. Located on the campus of Blue Ridge Christian School, GOMR Village will open May 30, 2019 at 11:00am for teams to begin checking in and setting up camp. There are no camping or parking fees. Teams will rest, relax, play games, eat, and spend time with friends between rucks. All are welcome to drive up, but most personal vehicles will be parked at off-site facilities. Teams will be allowed one personal team vehicle to remain on campus for support and/or driving into Sparta for supplies.

Transportation

Rucking teams don’t have to rent vans for GOMR. Your registration also covers your transportation for the weekend. Once the event starts and the first Ruckers head out, our volunteers will begin shuttling fresh Ruckers out to the Exchanges and bringing tired Ruckers back to GOMR Village. Volunteers have a great time interacting with all the different teams. If you have people that would like to volunteer, please let us know.

Rucks and Weights

We provide transportation during GOMR and the camping and hang out area of GOMR Village. We do not provide rucksacks or weights. You must bring your own. GOMR is in the mountains and it is a challenging and beautiful course. And we want you to have a great experience where you test your limits without breaking your spirit. We ask that you ruck with either 10 or 20 pounds.

Running App

We ask that you run with your phone because we have partnered with a great running app that you can use even if you don’t have cell phone signal.

Note: AT&T doesn’t work at all up here, and other carriers are pretty spotty.

The RunGo App (available on Apple and Android) lets you download your GOMR routes to your phone. Then, when you’re ready to run, hit Start and it will have the map and give you vocal cues along the way for turns, and may even tell you how much further you have to go on a particular climb. I have used it up here and at other races, where I had no phone signal, and it worked awesome. It’s why we decided to partner with them. We’ve created the Get Outside Mountain Relay group inside the app with all the routes.

Download the app and complete the instructions below before GOMR and where you have good cell service or Wi-Fi.

Download the RunGo app from your app store.
On the bottom of the screen, tap Groups.
Type in Get Outside Mountain Relay.
Find and open the Legs you plan to run (1, 7, 13 or 3, 9 ,15, etc.) and press the in the upper right corner. This saves them to your phone.
When you’re ready to run, open the app, click Find Route, and select My Routes, open the route, click Start, and take off.
Don’t forget to hit Stop when you pass the baton (slap bracelet) so it records your time.

Next Steps

Think of a really cool name for your team. It can be a little on the “blue” side, but GOMR is a family event so don’t get raunchy.
Get Registered. Registration for GOMR is simple. The team Captain registers the team and only pays for himself/herself. Then team members come on and register under the team name and pay for themselves. If you have a discount code, be sure to put it in at the bottom of the registration page.
Train. GOMR is in the mountains of North Carolina and there is a total elevation change of over 22,300 feet over the 104-mile loop. Running between 3 and 8 miles up and down hills at around 3000′ of altitude is no joke. Get some hill work in!
Plan. Get with your team and figure out who’s bringing tents, chairs, lanterns, headlamps, safety vests, blinking lights, etc. Grills can be brought and set up in a designated area for cooking. We also have non-profit groups that have food for sale at GOMR Village during the weekend and we ask that you support them.

Ready for the Challenge?

If you have any questions, contact Head Gomer Donny McCall at donny@getoutsideevents.com.