The Ruck It Up event for mental health is returning for a third year to help the community stay resilient and healthy, and will gather ‘ruckers’ of every description at the Rotary Pavilion in Wakamow Valley on Saturday, May 27 at 9 a.m.
Registration for the event is easiest through the Ruck It Up Facebook page at facebook.com/MooseJawRuckItUp. Early registration is still open as of April 20 and early birders earn a free t-shirt for their support.
Tyler Simpson, Chris Robart, and Brett Hagan founded Ruck It Up three years ago because they believe that marching with a rucksack/backpack can help anyone to be healthier both mentally and physically.
“Chris was with the military, so he kind of came up with the idea,” explained Brett Hagan. “The benefits from rucking are outrageous, you use your entire body for it. So it’s a little bit of weightlifting and resistance training, but also the cardiovascular benefits of walking. It’s good for everybody.”
The name is a play on what Simpson, Robart, and Hagan note is a defining feature of toxic responses to people struggling with mental health — being told to “suck it up.” They want to help destigmatize that conversation.
“That mentality, just for years, being told to suck it up, deal with your issues in private, put it aside and not talk about it, that doesn’t work,” Hagan said. “We came up with the idea of ‘don’t suck it up, ruck it up,’ as a way to get that physical fitness, but also get the benefits of being outside, being in a social environment, talking to someone, nature, sunlight, hearing the sounds of birds, it’s just so good for you.”
The proceeds from the event are donated to Journey to Hope Moose Jaw, a non-profit that works for suicide awareness and prevention. The first two years of Ruck It Up raised $17,500 for Journey to Hope.
The event is a six-kilometre hike with rucksacks on. Participants can put any amount of weight in their packs. Participants also receive river rocks decorated by local Grade 1 and 2 classes. The rocks have encouraging, hopeful messages on them, and ruckers can carry the rock with them, take it home, or leave it somewhere for others to see and be uplifted.
A penny parade featuring donations from local business sponsors provides another fun way to raise money for a good cause.
Ruck It Up organizers are also trialing a youth-only march this year for local students.
“We know that the youth struggle with mental health, too,” Hagan said. “And if they’re walking to school with backpacks, they’re basically rucking already.
“We’re just starting out with about four or five classrooms at both (Holy Trinity Catholic School Division) and Prairie South, to try and get maybe 100 kids in total.”
The Youth Ruck takes place Thursday, May 25 at 1:30 p.m. It will be shorter than the main event on the 27th and will take around 45 minutes. Students will be accompanied by their teachers and will learn the benefits of rucking while enjoying some afternoon exercise.
Several classrooms in the city have already signed up, Hagan said, and if the idea is a success they look forward to expanding the youth-only side in the future.
As for the main episode on Saturday, Hagan hopes the community will come to support the cause once more and it’s a good day for everyone.
“And hopefully it isn’t snowing,” he added.
