Memorial Bataan Death March
In March of 2019 I participated in the 30th Bataan Memorial Death March. As a part of the Fighting Illini Battalion Ruck Club, we had trained up for two and a half months leading up to the event. Arriving at the event, we were extremely nervous about the temperature. In years prior other Cadets had told me how the event could be brutal in the extreme heat. Luckily the weather that year was perfect for the ruck. Arriving early in the morning it was still extremely dark, but you could see the silhouette of the mountains in the surrounding landscape. I had a lot of adrenaline pumping at the start of the race. The crowd of people there to commemorate the true Bataan Death march and the setting with the mountains and huge American flag really got every pumped up and ready to go.
As the race started, some of my friends and I began at an extremely average pace. Carrying 35 pounds, I thought if I just stick to a steady walk, I would get it done no problem. This mindset was pretty consistent throughout the march until around mile 20. That's when I realized I was wrong, any way you try and pace 26 miles it's still going to suck. Right around mile 20 is where time started to feel like it was dragging. I could've sworn the last 6 miles took just as long as the first 20 in my head. After, after finishing the race the first thing I thought of was how impressive all of the finishers who had crazy quick times in the 4 to 6 hour range where. I had finished just under 8 and I felt like my legs were never going to work right again.
In thinking about the faster finishers, I began to remember, the true perils of the Bataan Death march. The thousands that died on a 65-mile march while being beaten and starved as POWs. It's always humbling when you complete a milestone in your life to think about how unimpressive it is to what others have done or gone through. This serves as great motivation to keep pushing yourself even when you don't think you can go any further. I for one am proud to have completed this memorial ruck march, but I don't forget how unimpressive it is compared to the trial's others have been through. It is for them that we must keep challenging ourselves to go farther than we ever thought we could.
