Students caught a glimpse Wednesday of the weight that military men and women bear every day in service during the second annual Troy for Troops Ruck-a-thon at Troy University.

Approximately 80 participants registered to “ruck” around the track. Twelve teams of four to six participants took turns within their teams carrying a rucksack as they ran or walked around the track.

“They had to have one person on the track at all times with the rucksack,” said Erin Byers, president of the Student Veterans Association at Troy University. “They can trade it out with other team members as many times as they want.”

The sack is approximately 20 pounds, about half of what a typical ruck weighs.

Chris Wallace, a junior at Troy University represented the Sound of the South team for the Ruck-a-Thon, said that the event has made him have more respect for the military than he already had.

“I have a lot of respect for the military,” Wallace said. “It’s not as easy as it looks. Even though it’s just 20 pounds, it’s pretty rough.”

First, second and third place winners will be awarded a gift for the teams that run the longest distance during the four-hour event. While participants were not rucking around the track, there were activities for them.

“We have mini games set up,” Byers said. “Because there are participants that are sitting around while someone else from their team is on the track, they can have something to do.”

Games included grenade pong, a grenade toss, and a clearinghouse where participants used Nerf guns to “clear” a structure.

All the proceeds from the event benefit K9s for Warriors. Each participant paid a registration fee, with all funding going toward the organization. Monetary donations were also accepted at the event. Byers said that $800 had been counted before the event started.

“We set a goal for about $1,000, and we have some donations that haven’t been tallied into that yet,” Byers said. “We did a fundraiser at Santa Fe the other night, and we haven’t even counted that up yet.”

Byers said that Troy for Troops will present the check to K9s for Warriors next week, and donations are still welcome.

“If people still want to make a donation, they are more than welcome to make a donation directly to K9s for Warriors or bring it to the Troy for Troops center,” Byers said. “We can include it with the donation that we present next week.”