Tommy Wersky

 

Where are you from?
I'm currently stationed with 3ABCT, 4ID out of Fort Carson, CO. I originated from Battle Ground, Washington. I joined the Army in 2011 at age 19 and have been in the Army for 15 years. I went to OSUT at Fort Knox to become a 19K Armor Crewman. I've been stationed at Fort Carson, CO, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, Fort Hood, TX, Fort Benning, GA, and Fort Bragg, NC.

 

How did you get into rucking?
I got into outdoor hiking during my first two duty assignments. I completed my first timed 12-mile ruck while attending Air Assault School at the Phantom Warrior School at Fort Hood Texas in 2017. It was that experience that really got me into ruck marching.

During my follow on assignment as an Instructor at the Armor Basic Officer Leader Course (ABOLC), every class of students had to complete a timed 12-mile ruck march. Trying to lead from the front, I'd do the rucks with the students every class, and with 9-10 classes a year for four years, I got really comfortable with doing 12-mile rucks.

 

Why do you ruck?
Around the time I promoted to Staff Sergeant, I started realizing that I wasn't as physically fit as I used to be. I started rucking because it's a great way to help stay in shape, but it is also a simple workout with all sorts of metrics I can track easily and use to try to beat on follow on workouts. Total time, average pace, weight of ruck, fastest mile, elevation gain, heart rate, etc. My goal during rucking originated with identifying my baseline, and to utilize certain ruck work outs to improve on certain ruck metrics.

 

Favorite ruck so far?

My favorite ruck so far was the 18.6 mile (30km) Norwegian Foot March I did at fort Bragg, NC in October of 2025. About 1/3 of my company attempted it, and I was just hitting mile 14 when I caught up to this Junior NCO (also from my company) who was in pain, thought they were behind pace, and contemplating quitting. I told him to stick it out and stay with me at my slow pace and that he would make it. We both finished with about 6 minuets to spare, and I will never forget how much a little bit of motivation kept him in the game.

The toughest Ruck I ever did was the Czech Extreme Death March (117km) and that one almost broke me.

 

What is the hardest lesson you've learned on a ruck?

Your legs/shins will always burn/be sore during the first two miles when walking really fast. Once you get through that, the pain goes away.

 

What is your go-to ruck setup?

I just use my standard issue Molly-4K

Make sure to get good socks, and Boots that fit snuggly, sometime Soldier get boots that are a half or full size to big for extra toe space, and you don't want any extra wiggle room in your boots (wiggle room = painful blisters). Also pack all your heavy gear in the top of your ruck.

 

What is your advice for new ruckers?

No matter how defeated you feel in the moment, just keep putting one boot in from of the other, and you will make it to your destination eventually.

It's not about the destination, it's about the Journey. The Journey has always been about you working on yourself (physically, mentally, and spiritually).

 

What is the next event you are training for?

Lithuanian Kestutenia March (June)

Manchu Mile: 25-26 mile ruck (June)

Czech Austerlitz March #4 (June)

Czech Military March #5 (July)

 

Fun fact about you outside of rucking:

I have a twin brother who is also in the Army as a combat medic who has also taking up an interest in ruck marching as of late.

 

TOMMY WERSKY- COLORADO, USA