May 31, 2021
#12: Murph elevated my superficial appreciation into a yearly ritual of thanks.
For most of my life, Memorial Day Weekend acted as the gateway to summer. Once experienced, there’s a straight shot to the end of the school year and the calming scents of sea water and freshly cut grass. The weekend itself is usually spent at backyard barbeques with family. For me, the biggest challenge of the day is hamburger or hot dog. It was, for many years of my life, a time where I only showed my thanks in superficial ways.
Reader, your experience might be the same as mine. And if it is, know this: we are the lucky ones. You and I haven’t lost anyone who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
Memorial Day Weekend for families with members who’ve made that sacrifice is, I imagine, much more somber. While they may look similar on the surface, there is an empty chair somewhere in the backyard symbolizing a loss suffered.
There are many ways to honor those who have served. All weekend long towns will hold ceremonies for them, families will engage in conversation about them, and surviving individuals will silently reflect on them. One of the most interesting ways people honor them is with the “Murph” workout challenge done in honor of Lt. Michael P. Murphy each Memorial Day.
Never having heard of it before, “Murph” was always a workout alluded to when I first started CrossFit. It is as follows: a 1 mile run; followed by 100 pull ups, 200 push up, and 300 air squats; and concluded with another mile run. There are many ways to complete it; the most challenging being with a 20-pound vest. No matter how you slice it, the workout is brutal, and in my first year of CrossFit, I chickened out, being completely intimidated by it.
By the time it came around again the next year, I made it a priority to do it, and treat it as a benchmark for all the hard work I put in. That year, when I arrived at my CrossFit gym, I was expecting to test myself physically, but what I didn’t know was that my Memorial Day Weekend experience was about to change forever. I was about to find my own personal way of saying thank you to those who served, so I could enjoy the freedoms I enjoy daily.
Before the workout, the coaches at Island Park Fitness gathered everyone together to talk about what the day means and what Lt. Michael P. Murphy did. The coach asked for everyone to gather around him before the workout. He started, “Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, NY was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.”
As I looked around the circle of at my fellow athletes, all were staring off into the distance listening to the coach speak. He continued, “During Operation Red Wings, Michael and three of his teammates became comprised and fell under fire when they were behind enemy lines. After 45 minutes of extreme firefight and all four men sustaining injuries and/or gunshot wounds, they needed to radio for help.”
It was here where I found myself thinking less about the physical task at hand and more about Lt. Murphy’s experience. Coach continued, “Without hesitation and with complete disregard for his own life, Michael moved into the open, where he could gain a better position to transmit a call to get help for his men.”
Michael Murphy’s selfless actions that day ultimately led to one of his team members survival. Our coach ended the pre-workout sermon by saying this: “When you are in the thick of this workout and you feel like you can’t go on anymore, remember this story and push on. Honor those, like Lt. Murphy, that served.” And this is exactly what I did. If you have ever done the workout before, you know that somewhere in the middle thoughts of “just stop” can creep in, and I’ll be honest with you: my first year doing it, those thoughts did seep in there. However, Lt. Murphy’s story and sacrifice allowed me to push past.
Murph elevated my superficial appreciation into a yearly ritual of thanks. It has become my own personal way of saying it to those who served.
I am sure this weekend, you will see pictures on social media of people completing Murph, and you may even see people doing it as you drive to your Memorial Day destination. For me and for most, it’s not about how fast you can do it; it’s about honoring Lt. Murphy and those like him.
On this Memorial Day Weekend, however you say thank you (whether it’s with Murph or another way), I hope you say it.
Thanks for reading.