2019 Rockcastle Run N Gun 5k & 10k: March 16-17, Park City, KY

[Matt in TN]

I'm having a "Run N Gun Work Day" at Rockcastle on Sunday, February 10th. All are welcome to lend a hand and help, and in return you'll get to see and practice on these things. I'll even have a small kayak on-hand to be sure the shooting lanes work for the boat stage. If there's time you can even run the (unmarked) course if you'd like for practice.

 

You'll be digging post-holes to make a more sturdy barbed wire crawl at Doe Valley and a stepped balance beam at the Cave, assembling and setting the wall at the powerline cut, and clearing around the pond and testing for the boat stage. And depending on storm damage, possibly clearing some trees from the trail if needed. Or deciding to leave them as natural obstacles.

 

You can come for an hour or all day - anything will be appreciated! Just let me know so I'm not out in the woods for hours while you're waiting at the Lodge and looking for me.

[Matt in TN]

The Wall is built. I don't understand why Trump is having such a hard time with this - it only took me a couple hours. You think I can get some of that $20 million gofundme money???

 

Here's a few ways you might use to get over. Get creative, and you can totally do this!

 

Edited January 26, 2019 by Matt in TN

[Dan Sierpina]

This was an entertainment video, wasn't it? To me, the most efficient method would use something explosive to destroy the wall, then proceed through the space it existed.  Barring that, option 1 seems to be the best, even for an old fart such as myself.  I actually envision "the Bryan / Brian" just running over the damn thing. 

[Matt in TN]

3 hours ago, Dan Sierpina said:

This was an entertainment video, wasn't it? To me, the most efficient method would use something explosive to destroy the wall, then proceed through the space it existed.  Barring that, option 1 seems to be the best, even for an old fart such as myself.  I actually envision "the Bryan / Brian" just running over the damn thing. 

 

Several people have asked about using explosives.  I tell them "they can use anything that does not permanently alter the wall". You can't bring a drill and tree steps either!

Edited January 27, 2019 by Matt in TN

[Bryan 45]

Pretty sure I'm not flexible enough for the "leg up", and pretty sure I like my rifle too much for "rifle assist."  

 

So, run hard and jump it is!

 

[Matt in TN]

I've had a couple questions about scoring and rules. When in doubt, read the "Rules & Procedures" PDF available for download on the Practiscore Match Page. But here are the three big ones:

 

1. Your rifle must be UNLOADED when not actively shooting. If you are found with a round in your chamber or a magazine inserted in your rifle while running, you will be DQ'd and not allowed to finish the course. Bolts can remain closed to keep the dirt out, but you can NOT have a magazine inserted (even an empty magazine).

 

2. You CAN carry a loaded pistol in a secure holster, but if at any point in the course that loaded pistol comes out of the holster and hits the ground, you are DQ'd and cannot finish the course. This happens to some poor soul at almost every match, so be sure your holster is secure before you load up and go. If you carry your pistol unloaded and it falls - we'll just laugh at you and tell you to pick it up. YOU weigh the risks and rewards, and make your own decision on how to carry your pistol. You will NOT be given time to "load and make ready" before starting a shooting stage - you'll have to do that after the buzzer goes off. "Loaded" for the sake of this match means anything in the pistol - even a loaded magazine with an empty chamber.

 

3. Half of your score will be based on your net run time (overall run time minus any wait time you have), and half will be based on your shooting scores from all stages combined. So you must BOTH run fast and shoot well to score well.

 

RNG Veterans - have I forgotten anything?

RNG Newbies - do you have any questions or concerns?

[Matt in TN]

You guys can thank Bryan Ray for this: We're adding a rope climb as a "bonus" obstacle. Finish your race, take of your gear, and head over to the rope IF YOU SO CHOOSE. If you can climb the rope and ring the bell, we'll knock 10 minutes off your run time. This will be a 1.75" diameter poly rope 12' - 15' high. Climbing a rope is an important real-world skill, and I want to reward those who can do it!

 

Speaking of obstacles - I also want to give a great big THANK YOU to Bryan Ray and his son Thomas, Ben Wolf, Ashley Edgcombe, Matt Webb, and my dear wife Lisa for spending a cold rainy Sunday with me building obstacles. The wall, the barbed wire crawl, and the balance beam are all on-site and available for training if you want to head up there - just check in with the Lodge first before wandering the property.

 

I'm really happy with how the balance beam turned out. What started as a lame obstacle because I couldn't think of anything else that fit the geography there turned into something that I think is going to be really challenging for people. We'll see!

 

[Matt in TN]

T-shirts will ONLY be available online from https://www.shredderlife.com/shop/2019-rockcastle-run-n-gun/

 

Only one run will be made, you must order by March 1st to get one, and they will be shipped directly to your house. Big thanks to Shredder Industries for making this so easy on Match Directors!

 

And there is the added bonus that $1 from each shirt sale goes to support Generation III Gun, a not for profit company founded to promote competitive shooting for Juniors (http://generation3gun.com/).

[Matt in TN]

Reminder:  tomorrow at midnight is the 30-day deadline to get a full refund if you withdraw. Here's the full cancellation policy, which is non-negotiable:

 

Full refunds will be given if you withdraw more than 30 days before the match.  Half your fee will be refunded if you withdraw between 14-29 days before the match.  NO REFUND will be given if you withdraw less than 14 days before the match.

[Matt in TN]

Prizes are continuing to roll in. Hornady sent over $600 worth of gear for the prize table, including their Lock-N-Load Iron Press!
 

Be sure to thank them for their support - most importantly as a note in your order when you buy some of their great gear. And post up here if you have some Hornady gear you like to tell everyone about it!
 

https://www.hornady.com/reloading/presses/lock-n-load-iron-press#!/
 

[Matt in TN]

Someone pointed out I forgot to include details in the Course of Fire about the obstacle at Stage 3. I've fixed that and uploaded updated COFs to the Practiscore site, so feel free to visit and download the latest copy. But if you just want to see that obstacle, here it is:

 

Stage 3 Obstacle: Drop your rifle (and pack if wearing one), and navigate the stepped balance beam down the hill to the cave entrance. If at any point you touch the ground, climb back to the top of the hill and start over.

[Matt in TN]

Today's prize table goodness comes courtesy of Nosler. They sent over $600 worth of reloading components, including 500 70gr RDF bullets, 500 85gr RDF bullets, and 500 pieces of .223 brass.
 

I've used their Custom Competition bullets for years in my FAL and AR-10 with great success, but have yet to try the new RDF bullets. Nosler makes good stuff!
 

https://www.nosler.com/rdf-bullet
 

[Matt in TN]

Reminder: If you want a t-shirt, you MUST have your order in by 5pm this Friday, March 1st. T-shirts are only being sold online and shipped to you directly. There will be NO t-shirts for sale at the event.
 

Direct link to buy the shirt is here:
 

https://www.shredderlife.com/shop/2019-rockcastle-run-n-gun/
 

[Matt in TN]

Today's prize pack comes from Vortex Optics. They generously sent FOUR Crossfire Red Dots for a total value of almost $900.00!
 

Be sure to thank them, and post up here if you run a Vortex product to tell everyone what you use and why you like it!
 

http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/crossfire-red-dots-2-moa
 

[Matt in TN]

Reminder: tomorrow at midnight is the last day to withdraw and receive a 50% refund. ANY WITHDRAWLS AFTER SATURDAY MARCH 2ND AT MIDNIGHT WILL RECEIVE NO REFUND.

 

Still please do withdraw through Practiscore after that if you can't make it though. We have a ton of people on the waitlist who would love to have your spot if you can't be there!

[Matt in TN]

I just found out our own Lacey Caroline is not only working her butt off all weekend to RO for you and running her own 10k race - but is bringing her guitar as well. Maybe if you guys are extra nice she will treat you to a mini-concert one night.
 

At the very least - like her FB page and check out her webpage. Even better, buy some stuff from her website!
 

https://www.facebook.com/LaceyCarolineOfficial/?__tn__=%2CdK-R-R&eid=ARDDsx--hJeOzYdC5uACHkISYfeZ9toZYOKdM2aqPQMxz0yXgAfwLF2lhP3V8GGcAU0W4bZln-uyTMmr&fref=mentions
 

https://www.laceycaroline.com/home

 

https://youtu.be/stV7lRE5CTA

 

Edited March 1, 2019 by Matt in TN

[Matt in TN]

So we’re a little over a week from match day.  I’m guessing several of you are second-guessing yourselves right now.  Maybe you didn’t get in as much training as you’d hoped.  Maybe you trained your a$$ off and didn’t see the results you wanted to.  Maybe you’ve seen all of these crazy hints and promises about what’s to come, and are intimidated as hell about trying to do all of this while a bunch of Run N Gun regulars stand by and watch you.

 

Don’t be.  If you signed up and just SHOW UP to start this race, you’re already better than 90% of the shooters out there who stayed home on the couch on match day.  If you FINISH, no matter how long it takes you, you’ve won.  Trust me – you’ll feel it just as soon as you cross that finish line – and for many days (months?) thereafter.

 

At some point in the course, you will ask yourself: “Why on earth am I here?  I’m not ready for this.  I don’t belong here.”  The dirty little secret I can promise you:  EVERYONE asks themselves that at some point.  You DO belong here.

 

The satisfaction and self-image you will get from just finishing this course will stay with you forever, and is something no one can ever take away from you. Many people have found matches like these to be a turning point in their lives, and in a year or two you may not even recognize the person you have become. Just remember - for every person you see pass you, there is someone behind you wishing they could keep up with you.  Look behind you every so often just to acknowledge how far you’ve come.

 

And before ANYONE judges anyone else as being "too slow, too fat, or too lazy" - bite your tongue and listen to their story first. Across the country at matches like these we've had people recovering from recent strokes, heart attacks, cancer, pregnancy, amputations, and any other issue you can think of; just because "F#$K CANCER", that's why! Give them an encouraging word when you pass them - it really makes a difference.

Even better - if you pass someone really struggling on the course: finish your race, set down your gear, and run back out to find that person. You can run beside them and offer them all the words of support and encouragement that you can think of - you just can't physically help them in any way.

 

Let's do this.

 

 

 

Edited March 5, 2019 by Matt in TN

[Matt in TN]

Samson Manufacturing donates so much to prize tables across the shooting sports, sometimes I wonder how they stay in business!  This match is no exception, with two SXS-LW handguards coming from them.

 

After seeing how well they did for Bryan Ray and Brian Vaught, I bought one for my daughter's M4gery a couple years ago.   It went from a 1.5 MOA rifle to a sub-MOA rifle, all while getting lighter and cooler-looking to boot! 

 

Who else is running Samson gear, and what do you like about it?

 

https://www.samson-mfg.com/

 

[Matt in TN]

Today's final prize pack comes from Magpul Industries Corp. - who sent almost $1,100.00 worth of 30 rd .223 mags, 25 rd .308 mags, and 21 rd Glock 9mm magazines.  I use Magpul exclusively in my AR10 and Glock, and as expected they are flawless!

 

This gives us a grand total of $5,600.00 in prizes for the match - which will be given away in a completely random draw method during the awards ceremony.  The prize really is the match itself, but everyone has an equal chance of taking home some great gear provided by our generous sponsors.  BE SURE to thank them and help promote their products in return - or they most definitely will not see the benefit of continuing to do this in the future.

 

[Matt in TN]

I just sent an email to all paid competitors with the final match details. Check your spam folders if you don't see it, and if you still can't find it let me know and I'll see what happened. Here's the most important part:
 

Registration is between 6:30am and 7:30am on the morning of the match. You will sign a waiver and randomly draw your start time. If you do not get registered before 7:30am, you will not be allowed to shoot. Be there.

[Matt in TN]

While we're waiting on picture processing, I figured I'd start sharing data:

 

We had 167 total competitors over the weekend: 87 for the 5k and 80 for the 10k. 61 of those were Military (31 5k and 30 10k), and 8 were ladies (3 5k and 5 10k).

90% of the 5k people ran Race Class and 10% ran Combat Class, while 85% of the 10k runners went Race Class and 15% went Combat Class.

 

We had people from 20 different states represented. The below map shows which states - the bigger the dot, the more people came from that state.

[Matt in TN]

More data:  Only 61% of 5k competitors and 66% of 10k competitors provided age data during registration, so this data is a little incomplete.  And I struggle a little with how best to show this while both keeping it anonymous and making it so you can see how you fared within your own age group.  Here's my best efforts - let me know if you have any better ideas!
 

[Matt in TN]

19 hardy souls decided to run BOTH the 5k and 10k - so just for fun I combine their overall scores to see how they all stacked up against each other in the "15k Challenge". Five of these folks (highlighted below) deserve special recognition because they did this as ROs - that means they run their 10k, have 15 minutes to reload and regear, and then immediately run their 5k. And then go out and work their stage for the rest of the day & weekend.
 

Impressive stuff! Here are the results -
 

[Matt in TN]

The photos my wife took are now up at https://www.flickr.com/photos/163548466@N06/albums/72157707498359015/with/32500620447/
 

As always, feel free to use these however you like, but PLEASE CREDIT LISA STENNETT AS THE PHOTOGRAPHER if you do. Especially if they get used for any commercial function.

There were a few other photographers out on the course, and I hope to have links to their photos here soon. Taking, editing, and posting this many pictures is LOT of work - so please show your appreciation to all of them!
 

[Matt in TN]

And the last piece of data: the equipment summary. I did collect rifle manufacturer data, but the list was just too long to put into a simple pie chart - it seems like there was pretty much one of everything!