The Murph Challenge

THIS EVENT WILL BE A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN UPPER VALLEY AQUATIC CENTER (UVAC) AND THE VA TO PROMOTE HEALTHY LIVING AND THE SPIRIT OF MURPH THIS MEMORIAL DAY. THIS WILL BE A COMBINED MURPH/SMURPH EVENT FOR ALL AGES AND ACTIVITY LEVELS. Your presence will honor our fallen heroes whether you perform the full Workout or a scaled down version.

The Murph Challenge 2025

This Memorial Day, May 26, push yourself in honor of LT. Michael P. Murphy and all who have sacrificed for our freedom. Join us at Upper Valley Aquatic Center for The Murph Challenge—one of the most legendary fitness challenges out there. Let’s come together as a community to remember, honor, and push our limits.

7:45 WARM-UP • 8:00 START  

Challenge includes: 1 MILE RUN, 300 Squats, 200 Pushups, 100 Pullups, 1 MILE RUN 

Modifications/scaling for everyone is available, the goal is to push yourself to your limits alongside others doing the same.

Options will be available to modify, if needed. Go at your own pace and  complete along side others willing to push their limits in honor of the sacrifices of our fallen heroes and fostering a sense of community. 

REGISTER AT THE Upper Valley Aquatic Center (UVAC) WELCOME DESK TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT OR CLICK HERE

Murph can seem daunting, but it's designed to be scalable to all fitness levels. Scaling or modifications that can be considered are the following (not limited to)

• Reduce the repetitions
• Modify the exercises
  • replace pull-ups with bent over rows or TRX rows
  • do push-ups on your knees or against an elevated surface
  • perform air squats or box squats
  • traditionally done with 20 pounds but weight can be reduced or eliminated
  • break it up: partition the workout into smaller sets (e.g. 20 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 squats is most common)
  • Shorten the runs: run shorter distances
  • ruck or walk instead of running

Trainer assistance and planning is available prior or at registration. Please reach out to Baron.Tang@va.gov if you would like to plan ahead or stop by the UVAC welcome desk to ask to speak with trainer to assist.