GORUCK has been hosting events in Normandy, France since 2013. We went big for the 75th Anniversary of D-Day and the 80th Anniversary feels, to us, like one final time to join those few from the Greatest Generation who still remain — to hear their stories and pay tribute to their friends and brothers who never left these shores. 

We’ll ruck the beaches of Normandy, through the hedgerows and alongside the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, retracing the footsteps of those who liberated the world from tyranny, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We honor them.

Our Events are open to all and we hope you’ll join us.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS TO HELP YOU PLAN YOUR TRIP

Our home base is the GORUCK TEAM HOUSE, on the beach, from May 26-June 5th, 2024:

35 Rue Gambetta, Grandcamp-Maisy Normandie 14450 France

All Events and a bunch of workouts either start or end here - and there’s plenty of parking close by. Families, participants, spectators and friends are all welcome.

RUCK NORMANDY SERIES —  The 80K takes you from one American Beach (Utah) to the next (Omaha), with hedgerows, churches, farm houses, and now monuments in between, and it concludes with what is in our opinion the greatest ruck on planet earth between Pointe du Hoc where the Rangers scaled the cliffs to Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery where the Americans took the heaviest casualties (portrayed in the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan). This, our favorite section of the route, is on every Normandy Ruck except the 5K.

How it works. Men carry 20# and women 10# (plus food and water) on their backs. The routes take you to the historic points, but it’s the time in between, and the time with the people you share this ruck with that will become your cherished memories of Normandy. Some folks join a team last minute, some teams combine for long stretches of the route, some folks decide to ruck it solo. There’s no wrong answer to any of this. To complete the 80K, we do recommend you up your mileage with a ruck on, starting now.

"We had this part of the beach...yeah, we had the short end of the stick, this was the toughest beach. That's why I tell all people when you go up to the cemetery, walk to the English Channel, take a look out. I hope you're there at low tide so you can see what these guys had to come across. The reason why both of us are here today is because someone took a hit for us. The 400,000 Americans who gave their lives for this...they are the reason that all of us - I don't care where you come from - are here and have the success and peace and freedom we have now. You have to give it to that Generation. I want you all to remember that because we're not going to be around for a long time and you have to protect this world. We did it once and it's your responsibility to keep going."

  — A 99 year old veteran of Omaha Beach at the 75th Anniversary of D-Day

These Normandy Challenge are both team events and guided history lessons by Special Forces Veterans on the spots where the D-Day landings happened 80 years ago. You’ll smell the ocean air and feel the waters that awaited our soldiers as they stormed out of their Higgins boats. You’ll see the fortifications, the spots where machine guns were dug in, that our soldiers charged. This is sacred ground — books and movies can never do it justice.