Mogadishu Mile
4 Rounds for Time: Finished in 45:47
19 Kettlebell Ground-to-Overheads (53/35 lb)
19 Kettlebell Front Squats (53/35 lb)
19 Kettlebell Push-Ups (each hand)
400 meter Kettlebell Run
Use a single Kettlebell throughout. With a running clock perform 4 rounds of the prescribed work in the order written as fast as possible (“For Time”).
Your Kettlebell is your “Ranger Buddy.” You cannot lose physical contact with it at any time. You may rest it on your body, or set it on the ground with one hand touching it, but do not let it go completely. If you DO let your Kettlebell go, you forfeit the progress of that round, and you must start the round over.
For the Kettlebell Push-Ups, you must perform 19 Kettlebell Push-Ups (with one hand on top of the Kettlebell) for each arm. Each round requires a total of 38 Push-Ups.
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This was a tough but great workout. I alternated between kettlebell snatches and kettlebell clean and jerks for the Ground to Overhead. Snatches definitely felt easier to a degree. It was interesting to do single arm front rack squats - great for the core! The push-ups were tough! Although for some reason I got better at them as I went. I would do 10 on one side/then the other side and then 9/9. During the run I would hold the kettlebell on my shoulder.
I also took a little bit of time before I started the next round. If I didn't I may have finished about 5 minutes faster. Honored to do this one.
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Background: This hero workout is dedicated to the members of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and 1st SFOD-D (Delta Force), supported by pilots from the 160th Aviation Regiment (Nightstalkers) and other SF units, who went into the city of Mogadishu, Somalia to execute Operation ‘Gothic Serpent’, an attempt to apprehend key players in Mohammed Farrah Aidid’s dictatorship on October 3, 1993.
While the initial mission went smoothly, things took a turn for the worse when two aircraft were shot down, forever coining the phrase ‘Blackhawk Down’. Determined to not leave a man behind, and also facing the task of securing the crash sites, Rangers and Deltas, scattered at several locations throughout the city, under heavy fire, most of them wounded, and low on supplies, held their positions until the morning hours of October 4th.
As help from the 10th Mountain Division finally arrived, the armored vehicles could not accommodate all of the soldiers. At this point, some of them began their exit to a rallying point on foot, under heavy fire, dehydrated and sleep-deprived, all of them wounded in one way or another. This has become known as the “Mogadishu Mile.”
The oldest mention of this workout we can find is from CrossFit Assault (Stuttgart, Germany) via their website on October 3, 2014, but we’re not sure who originally created the workout. If you know please tell us.
The symbolism of the “Mogadishu Mile:”
– You cover a total distance of one mile. Even though the soldiers actually walked between 2.5 and 3 miles depending on their starting point, it has become known as a “mile”. You carry your Kettlebell during the run to symbolize the gear the soldiers carried. – 19 reps to one honoring each soldier of Task Force Ranger killed during the battle and the day after. – Ground-to-Overheads as the soldiers held up their rifles the entire time – Squats as they sought cover behind anything available – Push-Ups as they fell to the ground and had to get back up – Don’t let the Kettlebell go – symbolic for the dedication the soldiers showed towards their creed to “not leave a man behind.”
