Interview with Gareth Griffin: World Record Holder for Rucking
Join us for a short interview with Gareth Griffin, the extraordinary athlete who holds two world records in rucking. Discover his journey and determination as he set records for the fastest 10km cross-country run carrying 60 lbs and the fastest mile carrying 60 lbs. Get inspired by Gareth's incredible achievements and dedication to pushing physical limits.
Introduction
I'm Gar Griffin, I'm 28 years old. I'm an XGB athlete and a double world record holder. I hold two world records: one for the fastest 10k cross country carrying 60 lbs and the other for the fastest mile carrying 60 lbs.
Background
I used to be an instructor, teaching civilians to become basic soldiers. I had a lot of young recruits who weren't very confident with Yomping and tabbing. It's quite a scary thought for a lot of people when they first join the military, as it's not a very common thing to do in civilian life.
The Challenge
I set out a challenge to instil a mindset and attitude that it doesn't matter your build or experience; as long as you have the correct mindset and drive to succeed, anybody can achieve their goals. I gave myself two months of training, the same as they did, and demonstrated that you can achieve within that timeline with proper preparation and determination.
Training Regimen
I did a lot of low-based cardio training and endurance training with low impact to keep the knees and hips healthy. Going through all this training, especially when you're carrying heavy kit, you take a lot of impact. A key element for the training was the intervals we did, which were quite challenging at the time. We did a lot of 1k efforts with the weight, gradually increasing the weight until we reached 60 lbs.
The Goal
The goal during the intervals wasn't to go as fast as possible but to always try to make the pace faster than what I needed on race day. This way, on the day of the race, if I was struggling, I would know from previous training that I could go faster and achieve my goal.
