Eastside gym hosts 'The Murph Challenge' for Memorial Day

Every year for Memorial Day people across the country take part in The Murph Challenge , which is a workout done in honor of Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy and all who have lost their life while serving in the military.

Lt. Murphy was a Navy SEAL who lost his life in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. In 2007, the LT. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation was created in his honor. The Murph Challenge is an annual fundraiser for the foundation.

The challenge is at different locations all over the country. Rincon Fit Body Boot Camp is one of the hosts in Tucson and held the challenge on Saturday, May 25.

The eastside gym which is located at 9525 E. Old Spanish Trail has been a host of the challenge for the last six years.

The gym’s owner, Carol Carruth, is an Air Force veteran herself. She said, “I love our history, I love our country, I love working out and I think it’s a great way to be able to give back to a greater cause.”

The workout:

• one mile run
• 100 pullups
• 200 pushups
• 300 squats
• one mile run
• Wearing a 20 pound vest

This year over 100 people participated at Rincon Fit Body Boot Camp. While some did the full workout, others did modified variations of it, but it took a lot of preparation.

Omar Chavez is a coach at the gym and said, “A lot of people prepared for The Murph Challenge for months already. They’ve been doing their pushups, they’ve been doing their squats and their cardio so they can literally prepare themselves for this day.”

Since 2014, The Murph Challenge campaign has raised over $2 million for the scholarship foundation.

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Madison Thomas joined KGUN 9 in July of 2023 as a multimedia journalist . She graduated from Arizona State University in May of 2023 with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She has lived in Arizona her entire life and grew up in Douglas. Madison is thrilled to share the stories from the community she grew up in. Share your story ideas and important issues with Madison by emailing madison.thomas@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram , Twitter or Facebook .