Memorial Day isn’t just about the BBQ. It’s about honoring and remembering all those who have given their lives in defense of America and our freedom. It’s also an opportunity for some shared suffering on behalf of their sacrifice. 

To honor Memorial Day 2023, Fran Racioppi and Jessie Graff sat down with Dr. Josh Appel live from the finals at GORUCK Games to share the story of The Memorial Day Murph Challenge; one of the hardest Hero WODs in the CrossFit arsenal:

The Murph:

1 mile run

100 pull ups

200 push ups

300 squats

1 mile run

*body armor optional

Fran, Jessie and Josh share his emotional story of the rescue of Marcus Luttrell and the recovery of LT. Michael Murphy and GM2 Danny Dietz, as well as the loss of the rescue force in Operation Red Wings II. Josh was instrumental in solidifying Murph as the Memorial Day Hero WOD and explains how to scale it to any fitness level. 

Learn more about Memorial Day Murph and honor the fallen this Memorial Day at The Murph Challenge. 

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Highlights:

0:00 Welcome to the finals of GORUCK Games

3:30 Operation Red Wings rescue helicopter is shot down

6:58 The rescue of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell 

14:15 CrossFit’s Murph Hero WOD

18:02 The Michael Murphy Foundation

20:07 Scaling Murph for anybody

Quotes:

• “The helicopter that was shot down was part of a rescue force.” (5:10)
• “As we’re coming in we brown out.” (8:22)
• “We flew back in that night and recovered Mike Murphy and Danny Dietz.” (13:19)
• “I looked up the workout and was like, ‘that sounds horrible…let me do it.’” (14:34) 
• “It gave Memorial Day meaning to me.” (15:04)
• “Anybody can do a Murph. You don’t have to be a Navy SEAL.” (20:07)

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s, Compass Workforce Solutions and GORUCK.