Murph 2014

On Sunday, May 25th CrossFitters descended upon CrossFit CDI to take on the Memorial Day Murph fitness challenge, CDI’s second annual running of the event. It was a beautiful May day to honor our countries bravest by completing a signature CrossFit hero workout named in the honor of Lt. Michael P. Murphy.

Lt. Michael Patrick Murphy was a Navy SEAL who was killed in June 2005 in Afghanistan during operation Red Wing. As his unit came under fire and lost radio capabilities, he deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire during an attempt to gain a clear signal so that he could communicate with headquarters. Despite his many wounds, Murphy returned to his unit’s location after making contact with headquarters and continued to fight until he died. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States military’s highest decoration, for his actions.

Murphy developed what he called a “body armor” workout that featured a 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats then another 1-mile run – all while wearing a 20-pound weighted vest. It was a way for him to stay fit while deployed overseas and now has undoubtedly become a heralded CrossFit fitness challenge.

CrossFitter turn out was excellent at the CDI box with well over forty people pushing themselves to the physical limit to finish the grueling workout. Three heats (pictured below) ran, pulled, pushed, squatted and then ran again in memory of those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

The CDI box raised almost $1000 for the Gold Star Family Fund, which helps families who have lost a service member. A large thank you to the trainers, participants and the supporting cast of people that made this event a smash success. We’ll see you all next year for our third annual Murph challenge!

Heat #1

Heat #2

Heat #3