Category: Richmond, VA

  • GTE #59

    “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” – Sir Edmund Hillary

    Three PAX from F3RVA, NTB, Pad Thai, and L Woods, traveled to Cary, North Carolina for GTE 59, led by Cadres PowerClean and Uncle Rico.

    For NTB and Pad Thai, this was their second GrowRuck after Richmond’s event last year. For L Woods, it was a first—completely new territory. After Friday night’s rally, the group started off with the KingBuilder at Carpex AO Shaken Not Stirred in Bond Park.

    At 6:00 PM, the adventure began. L Woods was immediately thrown into the fire as Platoon Leader, learning how to form up, march two by two, and lead a unit on the move. After a few rough starts, the group found rhythm and launched into the darkness.

    The first stop was a gym, where the PAX rotated through stations: tire flips, sled pulls, box step-ups, air bike, medicine ball slams, and dead hangs.

    Stopping at an elementary school 5 hours into the event- we did the PT test. A minimum of 40 hand release merkins and 50 butterfly situps, along with a two mile run to boot.

    After rucking back to Bond Park, the Cadres had us link arms and crawl into one of the nastiest ponds in the area. Pad Thai took over as Platoon Leader and led a brutal overnight grind through downtown Cary, which included a three-man sandbag “snake,” a two-man 120-pound carry, and a mix of 60–80 pound bags that made everyone dig deep.

    At Cary High School, we dropped the sandbags—only to pick up something worse: a 500-600 pound log that had to travel a quarter mile. Every man took a turn. After it was finally cast into the woods, we picked the sandbags back up and moved on toward the Cary War Memorial.

    There, PowerClean gave a powerful talk before calling for a Laredo: two laps, 24 merkins, 24 squats, 24 lunges, repeated until it hurt.

    As the sun rose, we rucked back to Bond Park, rotating sand bags. The Cadres had one last test—two simulated casualties that had to be carried across the soccer fields. NTB took one of the larger PAX over his shoulder. Once we arrived at the evac point, the rest formed a protective circle on the ground.

  • OTB Field Trip

    YHC put out the call to the Sunday OTB crew to see if anyone was up for a field trip. 3 takers, so a different Starbucks was chosen for the launch and we met at River Road Shopping Center at 0600 for 8+ miles through UR, Westham, Huguenot Bridge and Riverside Drive. Hills, trails, fog, river and Rosie hitting the boosters up Hill Drive. Along the way, great mumblechatter as always and Don Draper may or may not have dropped a bid on a house with a view… Just another Sunday. A great end (or beginning) to the week.

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • Countdown is on….

    3 weeks till Spartan, this is now a new phase. I have not done an OCR with less weight wasI probably 240-250 at all the other races before. I am at a much lighter weight so this will be the first time I can truly see how the changes feel. Yet today, 11 willing souls came out for a morning workout(the air turned fall real quick, I am not used to that quick change).

    A good warm up to start(SSH, DMH, Ukrainian Soldiers, Copperhead Squats) then added full court runner’s lunge with a twist, waking lunges, side shuffles). After that mosey over to the lot closest to the dog park for a 4 corner feast (25 plank jacks, 50 toe taps, 76 American Hammers, 100 Raise the Roof). Next to the concession area for a TC(People’s chair, tricep dips, Sprint down and up). Quick mosey next door 11s(Mike Tyson’s and Lt. Dan’s). Staying in the lot, Sprint uphill using Deep Dish as a chaser(last round turn after the sprint for BERNIE’S). Down to hear the flag 50 Merkins, 100 Flutters spilt into 2 rounds each. Finally a run around the park at each speed bump burpees starting at 1 and ascending up. We ran out of time so cute it a little short back to the flag for names, announcements prayer led by YHC to close Saturday. Have a good one, see you next time

  • And then there were two.

    YHC pulled into a dark parking lot at Atlee High School on this perfect Saturday morning to find himself all alone. A minute late, Trail Mix joined him and off they went. This is what possibly occurred in this hot potato Q.

    Phonics’s Q

    Parking Lot Tracers

    COP – SSH, Helicopters, Arm Circles, Don Quixotes, One legged lunges, other leg, Merkins, Angled Knee Jumps, LBCs, Freddie Mercuries, Flutter Kicks

    Partner Up for 3 rounds in Tennis Courts

    • Round 1 – One partner runs to end of each court and back and does 5 Merkins at end for total of 15 merkins while other partner does The People’s Chair. Alternate
    • Round 2 – One partner runs to end of each court and back and does 5 jump squats for total of 15 while other partner holds 6 inches. Alternate
    • Round 3 – One partner runs to end of each court and back and does 3 burpees for total of 9 while other partner does APDs. Alternate

    Lat Hangs/Merkins

    Alternate 3 times for this exercise. Hold Pull-up for 10 seconds and then lower for 5. Then do Merkins In Cadence. Merkin Exercises were: Regular, Hand Releaded, Diamond, Wide Grip, Incline, Regular

    Trail Mix’s Q

    Mosey to bus loop.

    Run in opposite directions around inner bus loop. When meet up, alternate between 20 LBCs and 20 Flutter Kicks. Did 5 laps.

    Do Dips while timer runs to bus loop and back. Did 5 times.

    Mosey back to VSF

    COT – Numberarama, Name-O-Rama, Announcements, Trail Mix took us out.

    NMS

    Great to be out this morning working out with Trail Mix. It felt like we were in constant motion and got in a fair amount of steps. YHC headed home after the bootcamp but Trail Mix joined others including BAM! and Opus at The Local Cup for the 2nd F.

    Announcements:

    Sign up for Breaking Bread and The Bridge

    Gotta Run!

    Phonics

  • The false start burpee

    Despite their better judgement, 10 SOJers met at the cool and moist fields of Timberwolf for the final installment of IronPAX 2025, the Bert WOD. After some explanation to those who didn’t know the plan, and as Captain Kirk and Nancy Lopez joined us, we hit the ground running with:

    Background: The Bert WOD is dedicated to U.S. Marine Cpl. Albert Gettings, 27, of New Castle, Pennsylvania, who died on Jan. 5, 2006, while conducting counter-sniper operations in Fallujah, Iraq. Cpl. Gettings was serving as a team leader with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, at the time of his death.

    Every quarter, Cpl. Gettings’ fellow Marines in Fox Company complete a special CrossFit workout in his honor as part of the Cpl. Albert P. Gettings Award ceremony.

    He is survived by his wife, Stephanie Palimino; parents, David and Juliet; and sister, Cori.”

    Bert WOD

    • Format
      • For time workout
    • Equipment
      • Standard coupon
      • Timer
      • 100-yard field
      • Cones to mark 5 yards, 10 yards, 15 yards, and 20 yards

    The Thang

    START THE CLOCK

    • 50 burpees
    • 5-yard murder bunny, mosey 95 yards and back 95 yards to your block, reverse murder bunny for 5 yards back to start
    • 100 merkins
    • 10-yard murder bunny, mosey 90 yards and back to your block, reverse murder bunny for 10 yards back to start
    • 150 lunges (easy way)
    • 15-yard murder bunny, mosey 85 yards and back to your block, reverse murder bunny for 15 yards back to start
    • 200 air squats
    • 20-yard murder bunny, mosey 80 yards and back to your block, reverse murder bunny for 20 yards
    • 150 lunges (easy way)
    • 15-yard murder bunny, mosey 85 yards and back to your block, reverse murder bunny for 15 yards back to start
    • 100 merkins
    • 10-yard murder bunny, mosey 90 yards and back to your block, reverse murder bunny for 10 yards back to start
    • 50 burpees

    STOP YOUR CLOCK

    The title comes from what happens when YHC attempted to do start the second set of burpees and the ole legs rejected that idea. Had to count to one twice.

    TCLAPS to everyone who posted at IronPAX this year! These workouts are no joke! Big shoutout to Crabgrass, Tzatziki , and Warby for posting every week of the challenge. Until next time. SYITG!!

  • Bon Air’s Newest Grand Prix… and a Tremendous Wall

    Date: 10/04/2025 AO (Area of Operations): Bon Air Elementary School QIC : Machismo PAX (Persons Attending): Last Call, Scram, Dookie, Snip, Sable, Punkie Brewster, Machismo (Q) Total PAX: 7

    Conditions: A perfect, crisp Saturday morning in the gloom, ideal for putting in work.

    Intro: Record Numbers for Bon Iron: Seven HIMs (High Impact Men) including the Baron of Bon Air bypassed the fartsack to get stronger together. The morning began with a mosey to the bus loop, where the PAX discovered a freshly painted, intricate children’s bike course. The gears started turning for a future Q’s diabolical plan, but for today, it served as a perfect spot to get warm.

    Warm-o-Rama:

    • Side Straddle Hops (SSH) x 20 IC
    • Imperial Squat Walkers (ISWs) x 15 IC
    • Ukrainian Soldiers (UKs) x 15 IC
    • Tempo Merkins x 10 IC
    • WWII Sit-ups x 15 IC
    • Don Quixotes (DQs) x 10 IC

    The Thang:

    Thang 1: Playground Grinder With the PAX sufficiently warmed, we moseyed to the playground for a four-station grinder. The format was simple: complete the exercises at a station, then run a full lap around the track before proceeding to the next.

    • Station 1: 5 Pull-ups & 10 Knee Raises, followed by a lap.
    • Station 2: 10 Dips & 10 Derkins, followed by a lap.
    • Station 3: 5 Burpees & 10 Squats, followed by a lap.
    • Station 4: 10 Pole Smokers & 10 Freddie Mercuries, followed by a lap.

    Thang 2: The Tremendous Wall After the playground, the PAX took a trip to what can only be described as a big, tremendous, beautiful wall for a Triple Check.

    • Timer: Run a lap around the parking lot.
    • Exercise 1: Donkey Kicks on the wall.
    • Exercise 2: Hoe Downs. PAX rotated through until all were gassed.

    Bonus Thang: Indigenous Curb Crawl We returned to the bus loop for an Indigenous People’s Curb Crawl. The man at the back of the line performed 5 Derkins, then sprinted to take the lead. This continued the length of the bus loop, keeping the PAX together and pushing the pace.

    Thang 3: Mini DORA To ensure no energy was left in the tank, we partnered up for a quick DORA finisher.

    • 50 Merkins (cumulative)
    • 100 Squats (cumulative)
    • 150 LBCs (cumulative)

    Mary: With the clock winding down, we circled up for a final 5 minutes of core work to finish the morning strong.

    Count-o-Rama / Name-o-Rama: 7 PAX

    Announcements:

    • Coffeteria next week. A great chance for 2nd F (Fellowship)!

    Prayers/Ball of Man (BOM):

    • Prayers for L. Woods, Pad Thai, and NTB as they endure the GrowRuck challenge tonight. T-Claps to these men for stepping up.
    • Prayers were lifted for our children. A powerful reminder to all of us to: “Love them well, coach them better.”

    It was an honor to lead this strong group of men this morning. You all pushed hard and made it easy on the Q.

    SYITG, Machismo

  • “Possum Kingdom”

    The feeling was bittersweet as 4 of us came to close out the Iron PAX Challenge of 2025 with the Week 4 Bert WOD this gloom. YHC had to redeem himself for the poor DJ mix from Week 0 and hope yalll were happy with this mornings mix, as Possum Kingdom by Toadies was very fitting once we were in the 2nd half of the WOD.

    The Thang

    START THE CLOCK

    • 50 burpees
    • 5-yard murder bunny, mosey 95 yards and back 95 yards to your block, reverse murder bunny for 5 yards back to start
    • 100 merkins
    • 10-yard murder bunny, mosey 90 yards and back to your block, reverse murder bunny for 10 yards back to start
    • 150 lunges (easy way)
    • 15-yard murder bunny, mosey 85 yards and back to your block, reverse murder bunny for 15 yards back to start
    • 200 air squats
    • 20-yard murder bunny, mosey 80 yards and back to your block, reverse murder bunny for 20 yards
    • 150 lunges (easy way)
    • 15-yard murder bunny, mosey 85 yards and back to your block, reverse murder bunny for 15 yards back to start
    • 100 merkins
    • 10-yard murder bunny, mosey 90 yards and back to your block, reverse murder bunny for 10 yards back to start
    • 50 burpees

    STOP YOUR CLOCK

    CoT – short and sweet, we were beat, and folks had to get.

    For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

    Matthew 7:8

  • Going through a transition…?

    9 of us gathered at Grid Iron to celebrate a cool morning and the transitioning from summer to fall. But it was more about Roger Roger transitioning. No, no…he’s transitioning back to becoming an active pilot. Good luck brother. Meanwhile we had a boot camp this morning including:

    SMITH 5 Corners (Because 4 wasn’t enough)- 25 Squats, 25 Merkins, 25 Incline Merkins, 25 Taps (Shoulder), 25 Heals to Heaven. And add 5 Burpees at mid field between each corner exercise.

    7’s (Because 11’s would be just too much Abs)- Get Up’s and Irish Hammers

    Colonnade and the Poles- Slow march down the colonnade with 10 Burpees every other pole, followed by Squats every other pole until we reached our landing spot for a Triple Check of: Chicken Peckers, American Hammers, and a Run. Slow march back down the colonnade with 10 exercises at every pole. 9 of us got to choose 2 exercises each so that’s 180 of a mixture from: Chuck Norris, WW IIs, Sumo Squats, Imperial Walkers, Bear Crawls, Pole Smokers, Ranger Merkins, Crunchy Frogs, Hitchhikers, and more.

    Finished with some stretching and 50 ab related exercises.

  • Odd or Even

    On a perfect fall morning, 7 HIMs showed up to Satan’s Hill thankful the IPC has come to an end. Kudos to all that participated and made themselves that much stronger and better. The PAX was welcomed today with a wooden block dice that would control our destiny, and man was there a lot of luck on our side; unlike the luck of Nancy Lopez’s Guardians and YHC’s Red Sox whose dreams of a World Series came to an end. Here is how it went down:

    Warm up: Mosey to the end of the parking lot and back to the start to circle up for various IC exercises/stretches.

    COP 1: Each PAX member grabbed a coupon and circled up in the parking lot. A roll of the dice decided if we would run down Satan’s Hill (Odd numbers) or up Satan’s Hill (Even numbers). The number shown decided the quantity of Mike Tyson Merkins (at the bottom of Satan’s Hill) or Monkey Humpers (at the top of Satan’s Hill) we would complete. Odd numbers were rolled at a statistically much higher rate than expected as 6/7 times we ran down the hill. Prior to the run each time we completed 2 different exercises x 50 reps. Exercises included Curls, Overhead Press, Skull Crushers, Leg Lifts over the Block, Chest Press, American Hammers, Preacher Curls, Rainbow Overhead Presses, Bus Drivers and a few others I can’t remember.

    COP 2: Carry coupon to the bottom of the hill. Goal is to make it to the top of the hill via 3 different modes of transportation (use any number of them needed, but once you change to a new MOT, you can’t go back to the old one. MOTs included Farmers Carry, Rifle Carry or Lunges.

    Returned to the parking lot for names, numbers, announcements (Great work on donations of shoes and money for Kenya. F3 is 100% made up of some damn good dudes!) Prayers (Hermey’s wife for medical concerns)

    Appreciate you fellas coming out this morning after a tough day at Timberwolf for the final IPC day. Great way to start a Friday! Have a blessed day!

  • Old men running fast

    At least that’s what it felt like… until we arrived back at the flag with fewer miles than expected.
    Next time we’ll be faster.