Above: A banner on ARHS property promotes that a school club is again partnering with a Northborough business to be the official local host of a national annual fundraiser in honor of “Fallen Heroes” over Memorial Day weekend. (image cropped from Instagram)
This Memorial Day weekend the Algonquin student group ARHS Operation Enduring Freedom is again an official host for special workout fundraiser.
The grueling “Murph Challenge” honors fallen heroes and raises funds for the LT. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation.
The event will take place at 8:00 am this Saturday, May 23rd at Forcefield Athletics, 94 Main Street, Northborough. (It is one of four official host sites in the state, and hundreds across the country.)
The ARHS student group has been supporting the annual fundraiser since at least 2019 (back when the group was named Operation Tomahawk). Forcefield Athletics began partnering with them to support the event in 2022.
Last year ARHS’ OEF group provided specific details on Instagram about how the challenge works:
Join OEF to honor our Fallen Heroes by sacrificing 1 hour for those who gave everything. This event focuses on remembrance, honoring, and community.
That Instagram post listed the workout components with scaled down based on abilities. But even the beginner level is a major athletic challenge. (See image right.)
To register, click here.
The fundraiser is named after Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Navy Seal who was Killed in Action in Afghanistan in 2005 and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions. The annual workouts raise money for a foundation in Murphy’s name. That foundation awards scholarships and supported construction of the Navy SEAL Museum named in Murphy’s honor.
But the Murph Challenge website describes the annual event as being about more than raising funds:
The Murph Challenge is not just a physical test, but also a mental and emotional one. Participants are pushed to their limits and are encouraged to keep pushing through the pain and exhaustion, just as Lieutenant Murphy did during his final moments. The event is held annually on Memorial Day, and people from all over the world come together to honor Lieutenant Murphy and all those who have given their lives in service to our country. The Murph Challenge is a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made by our military and a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit.
Once you register, you will not only be pledging to participate in the Hero WOD ‘MURPH’, joining a unique group of participants who pay tribute to LT. Michael P. Murphy, but you will also be contributing to a prestigious organization founded by the Murphy family.
After completing The Murph Challenge, each registrant will be asked to return to TheMurphChallenge.com and submit their ‘MURPH’ time to compare their achievement with other participants worldwide. All times submitted will be displayed on the Official Worldwide Leaderboard found at TheMurphChallenge.com. From that board, the top 5 Men and top 5 Women will be recognized for their efforts.
We invite YOU to join countless other participants worldwide to #TakeTheChallenge.
As for the ARHS/OEF group’s pitch, they previously promoted:
How many times will you say, “ maybe next year”. A week from now you can say, “ I did that, and I’ll be back next year”
Last year, following the challenge, the club posted on Instagram about the accomplishment:
View this post on Instagram
Two months ago, the club began encouraging Instagram followers to train and register for this Saturday’s challenge.
Again, to register, click here.
