Forge Ahead Family! It has been too long.

The mission of Forge Ahead has always been simple…to find strength and confidence in community and those around you to assist in overcoming obstacles and challenging times. 

With that mission in mind, in 2021 Forge Ahead busted through the gate and started building community. We met regularly through group events, social gatherings, and community service endeavors. However, once 2022 hit, the initial excitement broke and things felt a little flat to us. 2022 became a year of soul-searching for our organization. We needed to find a way to bring people together in a way that was meaningful but also fun and exciting. During that year, a lot of time was spent brainstorming and engaging with members. For me (Mike), I do some of my best thinking while getting outside and exercising. I found myself out walking …A LOT…sometimes by myself, sometimes with friends, sometimes with my kids and other times with my dog Remmi. I began to realize that the days I was out walking with others (pets included 😉) I was not only getting a great workout, but I was having very positive mental health days. 

Walking aside, I had been familiar with the concept of rucking in the fitness space for several years now (If you’re not familiar with this term, please see the resources HERE on our website for information, but it is basically walking with a weighted backpack) and started to realize that the notion of getting outside with others, walking (at a good pace) and carrying some weight on your back could be highly accessible for many.  Rucking provides a forum for others to connect and share with one another. It is a great physical workout and is tremendously valuable for mental health. 

While getting outside one day for one of my regular walks with friends, we decided to shift our walk to a ruck, and that’s when it hit…Forge Ahead has always been about bringing people together to form bonds through challenges. What better way to do this than by helping one another endure the physicality of a ruck. We realized that rucking can be a core activity for Forge Ahead and its members to showcase perseverance and commitment to community building. As a result, the Forge Ahead Rucking Club was born. 

Since building the Forge Ahead Rucking Club, our community has been growing quickly. We have been regularly gathering members to get out and ruck. We even recently applied through GORUCK (the preeminent powerhouse rucking company in the industry) to become an Official Ruck Club and our application was ACCEPTED! Check it out: List of GORUCK Official Ruck Clubs

If you’re local, join us for a ruck, if you’re not local, get out and ruck with friends and be sure to share your pictures on social media be sure to tag us - especially in the Forge Ahead Brigade group on Facebook. 

We look forward to seeing you thrive.

Rucking does not have to be intimidating. Start small. Get outside and walk with others. If you choose to carry weight in a backpack or some type of weight carrier, remember, that even 1 extra pound is more than you would normally be carrying. The most important part is to embrace community and to keep moving.

Much, much, more coming soon –

As always, thank you all for your continued support.

Mike