No Pain No Gain
Andrew Hubbard
Physical fitness plays a huge role in my daily life and in the way I socially connect with people. Two great attributes which enhance my self-pride and confidence is challenging myself physically while honoring something or someone in a patriotic way. Every year on Memorial Day I meet up with my local gym and participate in a workout called the MURPH. The workout has significance though a man named Michael Murphy who served as a US Navy SEAL from July 2002 through June 2005. He died on June 28th, 2005 when his team was surrounded by Taliban foresees near a village called Arababad Afghanistan. He received the silver Star, Purple Hart, and Medal of Honor. He was the commander of a four man recommence team at the time in hunt of a lethal insurgent. His brave actions on the battlefield along with his strongly connected relationships with his peers made him highly recognized and remembered as an honorable leader, father, and friend. In remembrance, Murphy did an intense physical workout every morning during the time of his deployment; he would challenge his friends and compete as he repeated this workout routine. This workout known as the MURPH consist of a mile run, one hundred pull ups, two hundred pushups, three hundred sit ups, then another mile run to finish.
The MURPH workout is known nationwide for its impact on communities. In Roswell, the CrossFit gym I attend is called Crash City CrossFit. Last year when I participated in this event, a few major factors made the workout much more interesting. One being the meaning and significance of the workout. The gym had invited first responders, veterans, and service members to come and participate. Kelly, the owner of the gym, gave an amazing speech before the workout with a thanks for the participation, historical context and a moving speech expressing her emotions of the nation. Because of the amount of people, the workout was broken up into two separate heats.
The weather that day was fair, just slightly humid. Although unexpectedly a large storm cloud was approaching right after the first wave of participates started. I was getting ready to start with the second heat. The second heat was composed of much younger participates with active service members, coaches, police officers and people in their youth like myself. It began to poor. Slight hail, wind, and rain hit the ground hard, and the first heat was on their last mile stretch. Nothing seemed to phase my group as we prepared to run. When the timer started, we all ran out the door. To see fellow Americans and friends running back from their last mile caught my attention. It seemed like we were reliving those who were finishing their workout in replace of young American pride. The exhaustion and determination of the others running towards me made me feel honored. I felt a strong sense of pride; it must have come from the chill wind and cold water; the shouts and screams of others around me, I couldn’t even tell where they were coming from; and the adrenaline and power that came off the wave of men I was with seemed unnatural and overwhelming. I remember the splashing of the puddles and the lighting behind me which added an effect of fear. But not the type of fear people run away from. Instead, it felt like a true challenge was played out in front of me but with confidence and trust of the others around me I pushed harder than ever before. It was an extremely emotional moment as we all ran by each other though this storm, remembering a man we all never knew or met until his sacrifice. But really, we were all honoring so much more.
The MURPH workout is known nationwide for its impact on communities. In Roswell, the CrossFit gym I attend is called Crash City CrossFit. Last year when I participated in this event, a few major factors made the workout much more interesting. One being the meaning and significance of the workout. The gym had invited first responders, veterans, and service members to come and participate. Kelly, the owner of the gym, gave an amazing speech before the workout with a thanks for the participation, historical context and a moving speech expressing her emotions of the nation. Because of the amount of people, the workout was broken up into two separate heats.
The weather that day was fair, just slightly humid. Although unexpectedly a large storm cloud was approaching right after the first wave of participates started. I was getting ready to start with the second heat. The second heat was composed of much younger participates with active service members, coaches, police officers and people in their youth like myself. It began to poor. Slight hail, wind, and rain hit the ground hard, and the first heat was on their last mile stretch. Nothing seemed to phase my group as we prepared to run. When the timer started, we all ran out the door. To see fellow Americans and friends running back from their last mile caught my attention. It seemed like we were reliving those who were finishing their workout in replace of young American pride. The exhaustion and determination of the others running towards me made me feel honored. I felt a strong sense of pride; it must have come from the chill wind and cold water; the shouts and screams of others around me, I couldn’t even tell where they were coming from; and the adrenaline and power that came off the wave of men I was with seemed unnatural and overwhelming. I remember the splashing of the puddles and the lighting behind me which added an effect of fear. But not the type of fear people run away from. Instead, it felt like a true challenge was played out in front of me but with confidence and trust of the others around me I pushed harder than ever before. It was an extremely emotional moment as we all ran by each other though this storm, remembering a man we all never knew or met until his sacrifice. But really, we were all honoring so much more.
Andrew Hubbard is a STEM major in mechanical engineering and will pursue a degree from New Mexico Tech after graduating from NMMI.