Endurance Nutrition for Veterans: Range Oars Row Ocean Challenge
RecPak is proud to support Range Oars Row, a veteran-led nonprofit taking on the World's Toughest Row Pacific challenge. This remarkable team of endurance athletes and former special operations veterans is rowing 2,700 nautical miles, not for glory, but to raise awareness for veteran mental health and suicide prevention.
A Mission Beyond the Horizon
This ocean rowing expedition demonstrates how endurance nutrition becomes critical when endurance athletes face extreme challenges while supporting veteran mental health causes.
"We thrive in that environment of doing hard shit for good causes," explains Roy Emerson, one of the original three team members of Range Oars Row. The team name, a play on the word "Rangers" combined with rowing terminology, represents their military backgrounds – three served in the 1st Ranger Battalion – and their current mission.
The sobering reality is that while "22 a day" has become the common statistic for veteran suicides, studies suggest the actual number could be double that – as many as 44 veterans lost daily. This urgent crisis demands bold action, which is exactly what Range Oars Row is undertaking.
More Than Just a Row
Getting to the starting line has been a monumental challenge. Most teams spend 2-3 years preparing for this race, but Range Oars Row has accomplished it in just over a year. Along the way, they've built powerful connections, secured vital sponsorships, and navigated countless administrative hurdles.
The race requirements are extensive. Each team member needed maritime safety training, survival at sea certification, first aid at sea, CPR, navigation and seamanship classes, and FCC marine radio licensing. The team must log at least 120 documented hours on their boat with all crew members present, including overnight sessions.
What's remarkable is that, unlike many UK teams who live near each other and can practice regularly, Range Oars Row's members are scattered across New Jersey, Tennessee, and Texas. This geographic challenge has meant consolidating training into intensive 10-day sessions in Florida each month, while managing boat maintenance, nonprofit administration, and fundraising remotely.
Fueling the Journey
RecPak is honored to provide endurance nutrition support for the team's 35-40 day journey. Each rower must arrive with 55 days of rowing nutrition at 6,000 calories per day which really showcases the ultra endurance nutrition demands of ocean rowing.
"What we really loved about RecPak is one, it's easy, it's compact, and it's really high calorie in one pack," notes Emerson. "It actually saved us money and reduced the amount of food we bought from other vendors."
The logistical aspects of packing sufficient nutrition while conserving limited space makes RecPak's lightweight, high-calorie meal packs an ideal solution. The team is focusing on creating variety throughout their expedition, with RecPak serving as a core nutritional component.
For endurance athletes facing such extreme conditions, endurance nutrition planning becomes as critical as the mission itself. RecPak's ultra endurance nutrition profile supports both the physical demands and the veteran mental health mission.
The Team and Their Cause
The Range Oars Row team, comprised of elite endurance athletes, is raising funds for veteran mental health foundations while demonstrating how proper endurance nutrition fuels extraordinary achievements.
The Range Oars Row team has evolved since its inception. The original three members; Roy Emerson, Jerry, and Michael were later joined by two members from another veteran team called Rangers Row in a collaborative effort after one of their original members was injured.
They're raising funds for four foundations close to their hearts: Brothers Keeper Veteran Foundation, Gary Sinise Foundation, Three Rangers Foundation, and HardRock Charlie Foundation. Each organization provides unique support systems for veterans struggling with mental health challenges.
What sets Brothers Keeper apart, as Roy explains, is their personalized approach: "If somebody reaches out, they'll determine in that phone call whether that person needs immediate assistance... He's got somebody on the way to your house right now. That's how he works."
The Final Countdown
Just days away from launching, these endurance athletes have completed endurance nutrition planning alongside boat maintenance and gear checks, ready to tackle this ultra endurance nutrition challenge for veteran mental health.
Once they launch, the mission becomes beautifully simple: "Eat, sleep, row, repeat," as Emerson puts it. Five souls on a tiny vessel with nothing but ocean surrounding them for over a month, pushing their physical and mental limits to raise awareness for an issue that has touched all their lives.
RecPak is proud to provide endurance nutrition support to these endurance athletes as they push physical limits for veteran mental health awareness.