The bricks were a hassle to obtain, hassle to prep, bulky, and hassle to dispose of (I don’t think you can take bricks on a plane). This extra support was a life saver! If I were to do it over again, I also wouldn’t have gone cheap on buying weights and purchased a ruck plate instead. I also should have purchased a head lamp, but wasn’t hassled for it. All I had laying around was a 15 year old Nike sport backpack that is falling apart, and my Niantic handbag/murse. If you don’t have the gear, be prepared to break the bank.

While Niantic is busy balancing and addressing some of these issues, perhaps it was time for me to try an alternative experience at the anomalies. I have always loved Ingress anomalies! The intense game play with everyone on the ground giving it their all is such a rush! I did not want to give this up this experience in trade for another, but I’ve been enjoying play during measurement periods less lately with slow servers, AXA’s that are too dang sticky, and spoofers/bots. One of these agents quit playing Ingress after the anomaly, and that scar remains to this day. An apology was given from GORUCK officials on the ground at PDX, but the damage was done and nothing would have been said unless we brought it up. Being in a leadership position at the time, I was involved in getting help from the officials. None of the ruckers stopped to help them up either. Two people were playing Ingress at the Persepolis anomaly and got pushed to the ground by GORUCKers in PDX. Though down to the core, I am a gamer, and gamers love achievements. Getting me from chair to walking was a big enough step, but this? I’m probably one of the biggest naysayers of them all.

If you would have asked me 4 years ago, “Do you see yourself playing a video game outside, and further more, carrying a weighted ruck and doing exercises for it… After buying a plane ticket to another state… In Oakland of all places…?” HELLL NO.

I’d like to share my initial hesitations, my experience doing the GORUCK, testimonials from other agents, and a short Q&A I had with John Hanke after the fact. John had mentioned he was doing the GORUCK in New Orleans, and then challenged me to do the one in Oakland! I don’t know about you guys, but when a CEO of a gaming company challenges you personally, you kind of have to do it, right? This was the final push I needed to take the plunge. After talking with Niantic CEO, John Hanke, over some details of a past Ingress Report, the topic of GORUCK came up. If you know me… I’m a bit of a Ingress medal collector (I’ll get you someday OLW!). I had been hesitant to do the GORUCK, even when they had one in my own state.

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