Only 2 weeks out! Hope the weather is like today. Got in a short run (I'm doing the 5k) and some shooting this afternoon. Think I've sorted out most of my equipment problems. I plan to take one AR mag with 77gr SMKs for whatever long distance shots there may be. Everything else is 55gr cheap stuff.

Sorry, long post ahead. Want to share my experience at the run & gun. Bottom line, would encourage everyone to get out and try this (or any competition).
Had a blast today at the RWR match today. First time for me at one of these and it's been way too long since I've shot a competition of any kind. I'll say I was pretty impressed with the organization of the match, logistics and ROs. All seemed to be great people. Also met a couple people from on here (BG hope the Achilles is ok) and ran into a West Pointer I first met in 2007. We had several other run-ins along the way but I hadn't seen him since 2015. Small world.

My prep for the match was really in 3 areas: equipment selection & setup, cardio, and shooting from non-standard positions. I should have put cardio first.

The run was mostly flat, but enough up and down to give a good workout. The final 200yds was uphill and I was pretty smoked. My biggest takeaway on cardio was that I should have done more runs where I'd stop (for up to 15 minutes) along the way. Waiting to shoot is nice for catching your breath, but my legs tend to get tight quickly so starting the next leg was harder than I expected. Most wait times were short, but one was long. I would not have been ready for the 10k.

Equipment wise I had most everything I needed except a chest rig and a new belt. My approach was to stay pretty light. 16" AR with 1-8x Eotech Vudu and Glock 19 with RMR. I carried 3 AR mags loaded with 55gr ammo and 1 loaded with 77gr. Planned to only take 4 Glock mags (20 rds ea), but threw one more in the gun before I started because I didn't know what to expect. I also carried a collapsible water bottle that I'd toss in my pocket while shooting. Just enough water for a cool day and 5k run. Initially, I didn't plan to take water, but I'm glad I did. I went through several holster setups leading up to the match. Took me a little to configure what worked for me and made a few returns too. Settled on the Safariland ALS, but I still really don't like it that much. It's a LOT of holster, but I like their active retention. Not knowing what obstacles there could be (or if I'd wipe out going down a hill), I went with more holster than less. Running in full kit as part of training was critical. I run with rifle slung on my back. Much easier to run IMO, but I had to make various adjustments to equipment. Definitely paid off today as everything felt good.

Shooting went better than I expected. I wasn't worried about pistol work, but rifle was much more of an unknown for me. Glad I got some practice at 300 & 400yds. Fortunately there was only one stage with targets that went out to 400ish.

Overall, this was great. Wish I videoed some, but didn't want the distraction as a first-timer. I'm going to jump on wait lists and hope I get another chance this year. If not, I'll be ready to sign up next year. I finished 3rd overall today and was pretty happy with that.

I really needed to do something like this. 20 years ago I was pretty focused on USPSA and loved every bit of it. Work/life changed priorities, but now I'm in a position where I can get back to competition (competition drives excellence!). I appreciate you guys highlighting these events and it motivates me to get off my butt and improve!

Good to meet you JRB.

Funny enough I barely touched my water, next time I'll likely ditch the camelback and just stick a small bottle in the pocket too, or just go without.

I had a double feed on stage 2 with my rifle, ended up with a DNF there and also on stage 3.

I was told later on in the day that the final target on Stage 3 was 580 yards, not 100% sure on that. I was completely unprepared for stage 3, I think I got too excited and for whatever reason didn't adjust for wind age and just kept pulling the trigger with just a vertical hold over. Rookie mistake I guess.

Fitness was ok, i finished 17th I think on the running side. Not bad for a fat guy. I took a tumble headed to stage 1, I think one of the logs jumped up and got me.

Gear wise I want to take everything out of my backpack and put it on a belt. I was ammo heavy, 6 AR mags and 9 pistol mags. I'll do inventory tomorrow and see what I had left. I did find that my castle nut was loose just before I started and didn't have the right tool, so just grabbed onto it best I could with a multi tool.

I'm sure I'll think of more later.

MRI was previously scheduled for the Achilles tomorrow morning. It's definitely a bit sore.