DEFENDER 5k and 2.2 mile Ruck

🎖️ 4TH ANNUAL SGT. ANTHONY MUHLSTADT DEFENDER RUCK

For guaranteed event shirt, please note the following:

• Deadline: May 15th.
• Post-Deadline: T-shirts will be based on availability. Thank you!

Proceeds: to benefit local organizations committed to battling military suicide.

Ruck. Remember. Defend.

Anthony’s Defender Run/Ruck or Walk is more than a physical challenge—it is a mission of purpose, remembrance, and ACTION.

We ruck to honor Sgt. Anthony Patrick Muhlstadt, USMC, and every service member who has silently carried the weight of stress, trauma, and isolation while serving our country. Anthony’s life, service, and loss remind us that strength does not mean suffering alone—and that suicide prevention begins with connection, education, and courage.

This event exists because suicide is claiming the lives of our active-duty military and veterans at an alarming rate, and too often the warning signs are missed. Anthony’s Defender Ruck was created to bring those conversations out of the shadows and into the open—where real change happens.

🙌 WHAT YOU'RE DOING

When you participate, you are doing more than showing up:

• Defending Life: You are standing in defense of life.
• Raising Awareness: You are raising awareness for suicide prevention.
• Funding Resources: You are funding critical training and resources that equip people to recognize the signs, have hard conversations, and intervene when it matters most.
• Honoring: You are honoring the fallen and supporting the living.

Whether you ruck in person, participate virtually or sponsor, you become part of a community that refuses to stay silent and chooses to lead with action.

💪 OUR MISSION

We ruck to remember.

We ruck to protect those still serving.

We ruck so others know they are never alone.

Thank you for stepping up, shouldering the weight, and defending hope.

✨ NEW OPTIONS

This year we’ve added a couple fun new options:

• Create-a-Team: Ruck, run, or walk together!
• Referral Rewards: New swag rewards when you invite friends to register.
• Referral Bonus: Refer 5 people using your unique link for up to a $20.00 refund.
• Merchandise Reward: Refer 10 people and choose a Sgt. Anthony Patrick Muhlstadt Foundation t-shirt or a foundation tumbler.

🎉 CELEBRATION OF LIFE

The Defender 5K and Ruck Walk is also a celebration of life: the lives that were lived in honor of God, Community, and Country. Participants are welcome to join Anthony's family and friends for a special birthday celebration after completion of the Defender Ruck Walk. There will be music, vendors, giveaways, camaraderie, friendship, love, and, of course, birthday cake.

Participants are encouraged to use their own devices (smartwatches, etc.) to track their times.

For more information, please visit: DEFENDER 5K and Ruck Walk.