RanchFIT Ruck
Easton, KS
- 20K, 10K, 5K, Kids Run
- Trail (Unpaved)
- Official race website
Stress and burden can weigh us down and separate us from who we are called to be. Reframing our perspective and how we see problems frees us from worry and allows us to view challenges as opportunities. RanchFIT aims to bring together like-minded individuals who foster encouragement and support to … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Dec 12):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 37 | 34 | 43 | 44 | 56 |
| L (°F) | 25 | 19 | 31 | 37 | 31 |
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Great ruck/trail for all
It's interesting to think about how the Ranchfit 10k 2024 was my first trail and ruck race ever, and now I challenged myself to do the 20k. I consider RanchFit … MORE
It’s interesting to think about how the Ranchfit 10k 2024 was my first trail and ruck race ever, and now I challenged myself to do the 20k. I consider RanchFit to be the last real race of the year (See Tutu Trot review as to why it’s a bit different.). Given all the challenges I’ve accepted this year, it is definitely fitting of such a title.
The crowd is small, enough for a single portajohn and no line. I think it was maybe 40 participants for the 5k, 10k or 20k. Regardless of what others (cough, cough..jkelling), rucking is optional. However, everyone rucks, even the owner’s 7-yr-old son put weight in his backpack.
The course itself is the same as last year and John (owner) reminds all participants that it is a working cattle farm so watch out for cow surprises. It’s a farm, so the course itself is a mix of dirt, hay, tall grass, and occasional creeks. Yes, I slipped into a muddy creek. No, I did not completely yell like a little girl this time. Jkelling stuck with me and I cost him a faster time, but I really am grateful. I am still painfully slow on trail runs. I literally would have stayed out there until the cows came home if not for jkelling. (Wait, the cows were already home….so maybe until it was time for bedtime. )
Ranchfit is low frills. Everyone got a bib and a patch, but only 1st, 2nd and 3rd placers received a medal. Timing is done my hand and everyone needs to carry their own water. I ‘complained’ about receiving a sticker on another trail run, but I’m not complaining here. Why? Because the sense of accomplishment this time around is different. Since I was taking so long, John came out to make sure we were still okay. I appreciated the small touch. Plus, the other race was a much more physically challenging race.
I was fortunate enough to get a medal – 3rd place in the 20k Ruck, (thanks jkelling for letting me take the last step first). The medal itself is pretty generic, but it’s probably one of the medals I am most proud of for the year. A year ago, I did half the distance and carried a ruckbag for the first time. My progress is slow, but I haven’t given up (and don’t plan to). I will never be the fastest, and that is okay. I would rather come in last (or second to last) than not at all. I am grateful for Ranchfit making me feel welcomed rather than an outsider. I’d thank jkelling again, but he’d interpret it as “oh! Let’s make it a 30k!”. No, let’s NOT make it a 30k.
Cheers to a great 2025! I’ll be back in 2026…for the 5k 😉
With nice weather, a welcome change
This is my third time on the course, so see my prior reviews. The medals are still on the weak side, and only for the top three, but this year … MORE
This is my third time on the course, so see my prior reviews. The medals are still on the weak side, and only for the top three, but this year they’ve added patches!
I’m rating the course easier this year, not just because I’m familiar with it, but because the markings were exponentially better, but because we had far better weather. No frozen ground, no bone chilling rain, I actually had my sleeves rolled up as I helped my race partner hit a brand-new ruck distance 25% further than her prior record (go ccruiz03!). The cows didn’t join us this year, being off in another area enjoying some of the farm’s wonderful scenery. The stream crossings, were muddier but still pretty passable compared to some of the other trail runs here. All in all this would be a high beginner or low intermediate trail run with some wide-open pastures thrown in for some catch up speed time. As the last major race of the year, this was a great way to say goodbye to 2025 and a great way to get in touch with nature and have time to reflect. With hot coffee and a firepit at the start, those who finish at different times will have somewhere warm to wait on their friends to finish. Those who want to strap on some weight and go for a walk have 5, 10 and 20k options available. The Race Director is amazing and genuinely cares for the participants. When we were severely flagging from last year’s pace he drove out to check on us and make sure everything was okay. This is an experience that can pull you out of your comfort zone, while making you comfortable at the same time. I can’t recommend it enough, and hope to see you out on the course next year as well.
Repeat runner but new distance.
I did this ruck as a 10k last year. Now they've added a longer 20k from an expanded track and I'm in love with it. Of note up front, they … MORE
I did this ruck as a 10k last year. Now they’ve added a longer 20k from an expanded track and I’m in love with it. Of note up front, they also allow non-ruckers on the course, you just can’t place, but honestly, I think everyone I saw had a vest or ruck on. With a newly designed course and a new longer length option, the revamp consists of a 10km loop now as opposed to a 5km one. All the good stuff was maintained, and more good stuff was added. Truly this course is a good mix of up and downhill, some flat, and some all-terrain to keep things mixed up. There’re 4 small stream crossings. This is not a PR course. This is a course you do when you want a true feeling of accomplishment afterwards. While the course markings were numerous, I still managed to get lost while cresting a big hill and went back to the missed loop twice on the second loop of my 20km. So much for splits. The RD was on scene to get feedback on how, precisely I screwed that up (as well as show me where it was that I missed the loop) which speaks volumes as to how much they want you to succeed here. This is not a chip timed race, so while that may bother some people who wanted to PR, you’re not going to do that here anyway unless you’ve never done this length. The morning started out in the teens but there was a firepit to keep everybody warm, and we know how important that can be. This was the third running of this event, and I was honored to be at the second as well. I will absolutely be there for the fourth. The scenery is excellent and being a working ranch you have plenty of hills (I’m not going to call them bucolic like every RD out there’s press release) My only real complaint is the swag. There’s no shirt, and the medal, while acceptable for the 10k in its inaugural or second year, this race is getting big, and the medal should be less generic. Medals are our passport stamps after all, and this is such a big achievement of a race it deserves a medal that can stand front and center on your rack. A little rumor may or may not have been heard that the medals will be redesigned for next year to customize them to the race and distance.
Despite the obvious markdown I have to give for SWAG (or lack thereof), I feel like a 4-shoe overall rating is too low for this race and all it does manage to bring to the table in its early years, just manage expectations if you’re into huge events with lots of crowd support. This is neither. What it is though, is exceptionally good. With a worthy medal it will be extraordinary.
Cows on the course!
This was a great 2-lap course. Normally those words would never come out of my mouth, but it surprisingly worked here. With a nice downhill start it was easy to … MORE
This was a great 2-lap course. Normally those words would never come out of my mouth, but it surprisingly worked here. With a nice downhill start it was easy to get the pace quickly up on this cold and windy morning. This was a small intimate race but the RD cared about feedback like he was running an outfit 30 time this size. The course itself I can’t speak of highly enough. After the downhill start there were 4 creek crossings (small ones, but still nice change from the norm), a couple of long hills in the middle of the course (and passing a great pond early in the lap) and the final maybe half a mile was a windy flat stretch to the finish, which incidentally was not blocked by the topography so you could see the finish line nearing from a ways out as extra push. While I do technically have a race tomorrow so it was not my last of the season, I think this would be a great race to close out the year on. I will certainly be back next year. Note, this course is on a working farm/ranch. It is not a road race or a typical trail race. Soil conditions were frozen nicely for the first lap but thawed to mud. I keep extra bags in my car for just such an occasion but keep that in mind when you’re deciding how you’re driving home with 3lbs of mud caked on there otherwise.