A former US navy officer and a former Commonwealth boxing champion will be pushing their bodies to the limits this weekend when they march with a weighted vest from Sliema to Mellieħa in the sweltering summer heat.

John Spartan and Scott Dixon are on a mission to “embrace the suck” by marching 48 kilometers for over 10 hours with a 23kg ruck on their back.

“I have always maintained a decent level of fitness and body mass index, but sometimes life pushes you to want more from your training; a test of strength, or a race of endurance,” Spartan said on his Facebook announcement post.

“I was having a chat with Scott Dixon about doing a ruck march and we both agreed it would be a great way to face the pain, and work on the mental side of things.”

For the former Commonwealth champion, the ruck march comes just six days after he went ten rounds with rival Christian “Ċoqqos” Schembri.

Unlike the army, Dixon and Spartan aren’t obliged to undergo these incredible feats of endurance, nor do they have any real inclination to do so but their sheer determination to break new physical and mental boundaries.

“When you wear a rucksack and you go walking you find out more about yourself. You figure out a bit more,” said Spartan.

“It’s a bit of meditation for me. I’ve hit a plateau and this is going to either break me or I’m going to break to the next level.”

The march will start at the Sliema LOVE sign at 7am and will end at The Red Tower in Mellieħa.

And for those of you who think you can hang with the best, Spartan is challenging you to come along.

“If you want to get involved with this ruck march send a direct message. You will learn more about yourself in those 11+ hours than you have in most of your lives. I can promise you that,” he said.

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