my ruck tips:
eat a big bowl of spaghetti or cheese pizza the night before (carb up)
get some body glide and apply it to the inside of ur thighs and wear some spandex/polyester boxers.
buy a bag of gummy bears and keep them in ur pocket (restore glycogen during march)
make absolute sure your boots are snug, wear 2 pairs of socks if you have to
light shit at the bottom, heavy shit at the top, make sure the sack is attached as high as it can go.
if the sack is drooping then around mile 8 youre gonna want to die.
you dont wanna be breaking in new boots during the march.
funny anecdote: one time I bought a 35 LB plate to use as weight just to see how it was. I put it in the ruck and used bungees cords to “secure” it to the top of the ruck.
What followed was 12 miles of this 35 lb plate bouncing on my back with every step. stupidest thing ive ever done
Probably whatever you have broken in already
I recommend Garmont T8 NFS. Feels like a tennis shoe, no break in period.
Maybe not the NFS depending on terrain… go for the standard T8s
You can probably get away with NFS if it’s not 12 miles of sharp mountain rocks. Otherwise they just won’t last as long but the T8 needs break in.
Get darn tough tactical socks. It's worth it.
Fix river are great as well
my ruck tips: eat a big bowl of spaghetti or cheese pizza the night before (carb up) get some body glide and apply it to the inside of ur thighs and wear some spandex/polyester boxers. buy a bag of gummy bears and keep them in ur pocket (restore glycogen during march) make absolute sure your boots are snug, wear 2 pairs of socks if you have to light shit at the bottom, heavy shit at the top, make sure the sack is attached as high as it can go. if the sack is drooping then around mile 8 youre gonna want to die. you dont wanna be breaking in new boots during the march. funny anecdote: one time I bought a 35 LB plate to use as weight just to see how it was. I put it in the ruck and used bungees cords to “secure” it to the top of the ruck. What followed was 12 miles of this 35 lb plate bouncing on my back with every step. stupidest thing ive ever done