What do you eat/drink during a 12 mile ruck or more?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 12:07:26 -0400

I was talking to this guy from regiment and he told me that when he does a 12 mile ruck, he usually brings baby food with him to help boost his glucose level, so I wanted to know what other tips are out there.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 16 at 2018 12:11 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 12:11:38 -0400

A Red bull 30 minutes prior and snickers marathon every 4 miles or so.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 16 at 2018 12:13 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 12:13:05 -0400

Water. I never ate on a 25 mile march. Why would I want to carry baby food!?

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 16 at 2018 12:33 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 12:33:14 -0400

Gummy bears!!

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jul 16 at 2018 12:50 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 12:50:07 -0400

Protein bars, and water.

Response by SGT Joseph Gunderson made Jul 16 at 2018 12:53 PM

SGT Joseph Gunderson — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 12:53:27 -0400

Water... That's it...

Response by CSM Eric Biggs made Jul 16 at 2018 3:24 PM

CSM Eric Biggs — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 15:24:26 -0400

Water, Copenhagen and your favorite hard candy.

Response by SGT Christopher Hayden made Jul 16 at 2018 6:33 PM

SGT Christopher Hayden — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 18:33:32 -0400

Its more about what you eat and drink before, that effects you far more.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 16 at 2018 6:57 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 18:57:50 -0400

I keep trail mix with chocolate, sometimes jerky.
If it's hot I'll bring ORS or else Gatorade.
12 miles isn't really far enough to warrant much more than some snacks.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 16 at 2018 7:56 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 19:56:25 -0400

Squeezable apple sauce.

Response by SPC Gary Welch made Jul 17 at 2018 12:33 AM

SPC Gary Welch — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 00:33:37 -0400

Eat a lot of carbs the night before

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 17 at 2018 3:51 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 03:51:06 -0400

drip drop/water and gummy bears

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 17 at 2018 9:44 AM

CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 09:44:55 -0400

pasta or other complex carbs the night before, augment electrolytes, hydrate

edit: lightly salted sunflower seeds for the calcium, but also something to snack on - maybe better for longer march, not too much salt though

Response by SGT Tony Clifford made Jul 17 at 2018 11:08 AM

SGT Tony Clifford — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 11:08:35 -0400

Water. 12 miles won't take you too long to finish. You can eat afterwards.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 17 at 2018 11:41 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 11:41:14 -0400

I think you got your answer already, but I'll insert my opinion.

I never brought anything but water and gum on a ruck.

I mean, if it's an all day affair, and you're rucking out to do STX lanes of some sort, then you're going to need to bring something (or they'll probably provide it).

Response by SGT Dave Tracy made Jul 17 at 2018 11:49 AM

SGT Dave Tracy — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 11:49:00 -0400

Have Dominoes deliver at the 5 or 6 mile mark and you're good to go.

Seriously though, load up on carbs (pasta perhaps?) the night before as others have written. Prior to the ruck, a protein bar, and on the ruck, I generally drank about 70% water and the rest Powerade so electrolytes weren't depleted by the end of it. Hydration is your friend.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Jul 17 at 2018 12:37 PM

SGM Bill Frazer — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 12:37:16 -0400

12 Mile, ok a short one- occasionally trail mix, most of the time tho, just water.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 17 at 2018 1:28 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 13:28:40 -0400

Trail mix and jerkey. For the Bataan Death March which is 26.2 miles they give out fruit every two miles which is very helpful and also pickle juice is good.

Response by SPC Todd Rhoades made Sep 27 at 2018 3:06 AM

SPC Todd Rhoades — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 03:06:56 -0400

Shouldn’t need anything but your canteens full of water, it only takes about 2:45 to cover 12.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 4 at 2019 8:28 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 20:28:09 -0400

Water, Copenhagen and gummy bears

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Sep 25 at 2020 4:23 PM

CSM Darieus ZaGara — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 16:23:03 -0400

I would not eat anything that was not readily available in combat, I believe that is the primary reason for ticking 12 miles. In any case, water, light snacks out of an MRE is what I used to do, and limited my Soldiers to. A twelve mile ruck should be able to be completed well within 4 hours, so a whole lot of food/snack should not be necessary. What do you eat on a ten/twelve mile jog?

Response by SSG Robert Perrotto made Sep 25 at 2020 5:45 PM

SSG Robert Perrotto — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 17:45:20 -0400

whenever I went on ruck marches, I took some nuts and squeezable apple sauce, along with plenty of water.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 25 at 2020 5:49 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 17:49:05 -0400

I used to carry Jolly Ranchers and put gatorade powder in my canteens (about 1/3 of what the directions say. Just enough to make water buffalo water palatable and a low dose of electrolytes. 12 miles isn't long enough I'd carry any food items.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2021 5:32 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 05:32:21 -0500

In all my years in the Army, I never saw anyone bring more than water on 12 mile forced road march or EIB march. I don't even think it was allowed. If it weren't issued, you didn't take it.

Response by Maj John Bell made Mar 1 at 2021 7:19 AM

Maj John Bell — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 07:19:45 -0500

For a 12 miler I just drink the water in my canteen. I might bring a pack of freeze dried apples but I probably wouldn't break it out for a 12 mile hump unless it there was a lot of cross compartment (hilly terrain) movement.

You should never put anything other than water in your canteen. Any sugary drinks in there and you'll eventually get a serious case of mold/fungus/muck that will ruin your entire day.

Response by SFC Jonathan Adams made Apr 29 at 2021 10:12 PM

SFC Jonathan Adams — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 22:12:16 -0400

Copenhagen and all your canteens full