Some of the highlights from the first day of the march. 33km is a looooong way!
Day one saw faculty, staff, and visiting teams set off on the 33 km march through the Bruce trail from Kinsmen Park in Beamsville, all the way to the Shorthills Provincial Park. This year we are delighted to welcome cadets from Massanutten Military Academy from Virginia, Oak Ridge Military Academy from North Carolina, members of the New Mexico National Guard, and cadets from the Royal Military College.
The route takes in the breathtaking scenery surrounding Balls Falls and the Rockway Falls before meandering through the Shorthills to the Wiley Road finish line. Waiting buses return participants to Robert Land Academy for a chance to get cleaned up before dinner. Tomorrow starts where today left off, back at the Shorthills, with a 22 km march along the Welland canal, finishing at Merritt Island.
First-timer Second Lieutenant Flagg hitting the trailsVisiting Alumni prove that they can still make the distance!Captain Servos keeping everyone hydratedAlpha company make it up to a check point at the Rockway Conservation AreaAntoni’s goal is to “help the new guys who haven’t done it before. I want to help them the way others helped me.” He also wants to help new students feel like they are part of a team and included the way he felt last year.“The exercise teaches invaluable life lessons that have stood the test of time, like the fact that hard work and persistence breeds success. Things that matter are earned, not given. When faced with adversity, what do you do?” says Kurtz. “All of our cadets stand a little taller and a little straighter after completing the exercise.” Teamwork, says Kurtz, is also an important part of the exercise and a lesson he wants his cadets to learn, such as helping others when they are struggling and the honor that comes from being associated with people who give one hundred percent.Major Simmons running his team into the Balls Falls checkpoint to stock up on water and bananas“Even if your body is telling you that you can’t do it, with the right mindset and keep telling yourself you can, eventually you do it,” says 11-year-old Antoni, who says you can do the same with academics, or sports or anything you might struggle with.“It feels like you just unlocked a whole new level of life.” That’s how Dante Antoni describes the feeling of completing Robert Land Academy’s Fall Exercise for the first time. “You feel very proud of yourself. It’s a big accomplishment.”
