The 7 Stages of GORUCK

You may be familiar with the 5 stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance). What you may not know is there are the 7 stages of GORUCK.

This framework is designed to help you, your family, and your friends better understand your experience as a GRT and, like the stages of grief, they are a tool to help you frame and identify what you may be feeling.

Stage 1 – Curiosity – At this stage you’re just cruising the internet, checking out a site that a “friend” recommended. Your friends and family will naively encourage you to “give it a try.”

Stage 2 – Regret – At this stage, you’re at the start of your first event and realize you have no idea what you signed up for. Your friends and family have no idea what you’re doing at “that race thing you’re doing.”

Stage 3 – Denial – At this stage, you’ve completed a GORUCK event and swear you’ll never do “that” again. Your friends and family try to understand what you did, but mostly they begin to think you’re crazy. But, they’re glad that was your first and last event.

Stage 4 – Amnesia – At this stage, you forget everything that sucked about your previous event and you sign up for another one. Your friends and family are like, “What the hell, bro? I thought you said it sucked and you’d never do it again.”

Stage 5 – Indulgence – At this stage you find yourself spending a lot (ok, all) of your time and money at GORUCK.com. Your friends and family can’t understand why you need TWO (3, 4, 5…) $300 backpacks.

Stage 6 – Obsession – At this stage, you take pictures of logs, call everything heavy a “coupon,” and get all your news from the Tough page. Your friends and family have no idea what you’re talking about or doing 90% of the time.

Stage 7 – Acceptance – At this stage, you accept that you’re a GRT. There is nothing you can do about it. Your friends and family have given up. You’re just insane.

Happy Wednesday, nerds.