By Martie Thompson
editor@floridanewsline.com
Next month, St. Johns residents will have a unique opportunity to experience a fun physical challenge while doing something good for homeless students in our community. On Saturday, Nov. 9, Longleaf Church and Training For Warriors – Julington Creek will host Ruck St. Johns to benefit St. Johns County’s in-transition and homeless students at the St. Johns County ASSIST Program. The Ruck St. Johns is traditionally held over Veterans Day weekend to honor and recognize our veterans.
Rucking is the action of walking with weight on one’s back. Walking with a weighted rucksack (or backpack) is a low-impact exercise based on military training workouts. Ruck St. Johns participants will warm up with Colin Woodmansee and Adam Woodmansee of Training For Warriors at 8:45 a.m. and then begin the ruck at RiverTown Amenity Center at 9 a.m. The ruck follows a 3.25 mile course through RiverTown.
Sarah Teixeira of Longleaf Church, whose committee is tasked with organizing Ruck St. Johns, said that each participant will carry his or her own weighted backpack and then at the end of the ruck, there will be refreshments and various physical fitness challenges overseen by the coaches from Training for Warriors.
This is the first Ruck St. Johns for Longleaf Church’s new pastor, Kevin Griffin, who plans to participate.
“I’m excited that we get to have so much fun meeting people in our community and joining them in supporting such a worthy cause,” Griffin said.
All proceeds are donated to ASSIST, which stands for “Aid and Support for Students in Sudden Transition.” The program offers supportive services and emergency assistance for homeless students in St. Johns County — and there are students receiving services from this program in every school in the county.
“I’ve lived in St. Johns County for seven years and taught in the school system here,” Griffin said. “That really opened my eyes to the needs of students locally, in our own neighborhood. With the ruck, I’m glad we get to do something about it.”
Teixeira said that sponsors and volunteers are still needed for this year’s event. Those interested should email missions@mumc.net.
“The ruck will be a fun event for the entire family,” Teixeira said. “We look forward to seeing new and familiar faces this year.”
Ruck St. Johns will be held on Saturday, Nov. 9. Visit https://longleafchurch.net/ruck-st-johns/ for more information and to register. Visit www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/homeless/ to learn more about the ASSIST program.
Photo courtesy Longleaf Church
Ruck St. Johns is traditionally held over Veterans Day weekend to honor and recognize our veterans.
