From First Steps to IRON PEAK—How 2023 Set My Direction

When I stepped into the world of endurance events in 2023, I didn’t have a plan. No long-term goals. No PRs to chase. I just knew I needed something hard—something real—to reset the direction of my life. After a personal and professional collapse, I was carrying weight I couldn’t shake. So I started showing up to events that promised discomfort, grit, and growth.

What I didn’t know then was that those early miles, events, and people would lay the foundation for everything that followed. Each event taught me something different, revealed something I needed, and slowly shaped the path I’d come to follow.

Here’s a look at the four endurance events that marked the beginning of my journey—and how one of them gave me exactly what I was searching for, even when I didn’t know it yet.

1. GORUCK Star Wars Triple Light – Seattle

This was the spark. My first endurance event ever. I signed up for the GORUCK Star Wars Triple Light in Seattle not fully understanding what I was walking into—three back-to-back GORUCK Light (now Basic) events over a single weekend. It was themed, fun, community-driven… and harder than I expected.

I showed up with a ruck, some bricks, and more internal baggage than gear. I was looking for punishment, for a reset button. And GORUCK gave me a little of both. What surprised me wasn’t the physical strain—it was the camaraderie. Complete strangers working together, carrying weight as one, cracking jokes between push-ups. That weekend helped me realize I could do more than I thought. It also introduced me to the community that lives for shared suffering.

It was my first patch, my first finish, and the first time I felt like I’d earned something again.

2. Dirty Turtle 25K Ruck – Washington

Next up was the Dirty Turtle 25K Ruck—a trail race through the hills of Green Mountain on the Olympic Peninsula. This was my first real introduction to distance under load in nature. No city sidewalks, no PT smoke sessions—just dirt, elevation, sweat, and silence.

I went into it thinking, “It’s just a hike, right?” I was wrong. The terrain was unforgiving, the climbs constant, and the pace faster than expected. I was carrying a full ruck and feeling every ounce of it by mile 10. But the scenery, the solitude, and the sense of effort kept me going.

This was the event that hooked me on trail rucking. I wasn’t chasing a clock. I wasn’t trying to keep up with anyone. I was just moving forward, under weight, through the woods—and something about that felt right. It scratched the itch in a different way than GORUCK did. It wasn’t about proving something. It was about feeling something.

3. GORUCK 12-Mile Star Course – Tacoma

With a few events under my belt, I signed up for the GORUCK 12-Mile Star Course in Tacoma. This was part endurance, part navigation challenge. You’re given waypoints across the city, and your team has to hit each one, on foot, within a time limit—ruck on, of course.

What I liked about this event was the strategic aspect. It wasn’t just go-go-go—it was plan, adapt, and move smart. The urban setting brought a different kind of challenge: navigating traffic, staying focused, dealing with weird looks from pedestrians, and pushing through fatigue with no obvious “end” in sight.

The Star Course reminded me that endurance isn’t just about strength—it’s about decisions. It’s about choosing to keep moving when your feet hurt, your pack rubs raw, and your team is tired. It taught me to pace myself, lead quietly, and keep going when it’s easier to stop.

But something still felt incomplete. I wanted more wilderness. More isolation. Less structure. More edge.

4. Green Beret Fitness – OPERATION IRON PEAK

OPERATION IRON PEAK changed everything.

Hosted by Green Beret Fitness, this event was remote, rugged, and stripped of all the pageantry. No costumes. No medals. No hand-holding. Just mountains, miles, weight, and a mission.

I didn’t know it at the time, but this was exactly what I had been looking for.

IRON PEAK pushed me in every way I wanted to be pushed. Physically, I was under a heavy load in serious terrain. Mentally, there were no spectators, no crowd support—just the mountain, the map, and whatever grit I brought with me. Emotionally, it tested my resolve. I had moments where I questioned why I signed up. But I also had moments of clarity I hadn’t found anywhere else.

This wasn’t a race. It was a mission. And that mindset shift was huge for me.

There was no external hype. No playlist. No “go team” attitude. Just accountability. And the knowledge that no one was coming to rescue me if I quit. That’s what I needed. That’s what I’d been chasing across the earlier events without even realizing it.

When I reached the end of IRON PEAK, something clicked. This—this—was the direction I wanted to go. Long miles. Quiet suffering. Real effort. Big terrain. Heavy packs. Minimal noise. Maximum presence.

What These Events Taught Me

GORUCK gave me community and structure.
Dirty Turtle introduced me to the power of the trail.
The Star Course sharpened my strategy and pacing.
IRON PEAK gave me clarity.

Each event played a part. They tested me, built me up, and stripped away what didn’t matter. And together, they helped shape the direction I’ve been following since: trail rucking with purpose. No fluff. Just movement, mission, and meaning.

It took failure to get me into this world. It took a few different types of suffering to find my way. But IRON PEAK showed me the version of this life that feels the most like home. The one I didn’t even know I was looking for—until I was halfway up the mountain, pack digging into my shoulders, and smiling anyway.

I’ll keep trying new things. But I’ve found the core of what I want this to be. Not sport. Not performance. Just real effort in wild places, with weight on my back and something worth carrying.

– Clint
Carrving Trails