Marine Scout Snipers run Sunriver half-marathon with rucksacks

As if running a half-marathon isn’t hard enough, an elite group upped the ante at this weekend’s Pacific Crest Sports Festival race in Sunriver.

Thirteen Marine Corps Scout Snipers not only ran the 13.1 miles — they did so carrying 50-pound rucksacks on their backs.

“The rucksack symbolizes all of the pain and suffering that we go through in our training to become Marine Corps Scout Snipers,” USMC Scout Sniper Caylen Wojcik said Saturday.

The men said they ran for two reasons.

First, Wojcik said, “We wanted to do this with rucksacks to symbolize our dedication to the brotherhood that can’t be here.”

They also wanted to raise awareness for their organization, the U.S. Marine Corps Scout Sniper Association. The nonprofit assists members with outreach programs and scholarship funds.

“The scout sniper association really is an organization that has the goal of caring for my brothers — Marines that are or were scout snipers,” member Jason Burkleo said.

Participants in the half-marathon said the race was tough, but familiar.

“We’re kind of born through pain, suffering, hardship and extremely strenuous situations, and we form a bond that comes through that,” Wojcik said. “And that’s a bond that really nobody understands, unless you’ve been there and done that.”

Burkleo said going from serving to civilian life makes many in the military yearn for the camaraderie that comes from suffering together.

“In a very real way, running this half-marathon with 50 pounds on our backs lets us do that again,” he said. “It might not be the same, but for a brief moment we’re able to endure a hardship together, and then remember the bond that we have with each other.”

The race raised about $15,000, and the men said the pain they experienced was well worth it.

“Yeah, it’ll be a couple of days worth of recovery,” Wojcik said. “But it’s a very, very, very small price to pay to give back to the people and the brotherhood that we need to give back to and support.”

To donate or find more information, visit https://scoutsniper.org/.