Memorial Day Murph: An Origin Story

Dave Castro talks about the origin of Memorial Day Murph. CrossFit introduced Murph as an official Hero workout in 2005. But the phenomenon of Memorial Day Murph was born organically within the affiliate community. 

The original description of Murph read:

“In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan, June 28, 2005. This workout was one of Mike's favorites and he'd named it ‘Body Armor.’ From here on, it will be referred to as ‘Murph’ in honor of the focused warrior and great American who wanted nothing more in life than to serve this great country and the beautiful people who make it what it is.”

For time:
Run 1 mile
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 squats
Run 1 mile 

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. If you've got a 20-lb vest or body armor, wear it.

Every year, hundreds of CrossFit affiliates across the globe complete Murph on Memorial Day to honor his sacrifice.

“That the affiliates and the community came together on their own — independently together as all these micro gyms across the world to do this the same weekend is an expression of the power of this community globally to an awe-inspiring degree,” Castro said. “I mean, it's pretty impressive. This was not an organized thing. This was not our organized effort to make Murph a thing on Memorial Day weekend. This was something that the community said, ‘Hey, we are going to do (this) on our own as independent gyms,’ and it's now this massive collective."

—
CrossFit is the world’s leading platform for improving health and performance. In the 20 years since its founding, CrossFit has grown from a garage gym in Santa Cruz, California, into the world’s most effective program for improving health and performance through nutrition and exercise. CrossFit is the world’s leading provider of accredited performance-based training courses and certifications and has more than 125,000 credentialed coaches across the world. The program can be modified to welcome people of all ages and abilities and millions of people have already experienced CrossFit’s transformational benefits in more than 13,000 affiliated gyms across 158 countries. CrossFit also directs the CrossFit Games season, beginning with the annual CrossFit Open, through which athletes at every level compete worldwide, and culminating in the CrossFit Games, where top athletes compete for the title of Fittest on Earth®.

[SpoileralertGMA]

I love this community, we’ve got something good going!!

[jeffjeff]

Love the simplicity of this workout, the community, and as a way to honor Memorial Day.

[geoffl]

it was a wonderful experience to run the murph this weekend with others from my gym.

[taskaaaaax]

Ready with my belly integrated weight vest 😊

[Skippymcskippy]

God bless Navy Seal Murphy
Your sacrifice lives on!

From your brother in arms


A sergeant in the USAF

[jac]

So ready for Murph, just under 2 hours till my heat time! Let's GOOOO!!

[WannabeUltra]

Ready, tomorrow’s workout is for those who made all this possible

[guerrerofit]

FAMILIA!
#CROSSFIT gracias!
En memoria de quienes dejaron un legado...
#Dios les acompañe!

[Patstunez]

The sweat, pain, and satisfaction of pushing past your limits can't be captured in theory alone. But once you feel it, you'll never forget it. Let's do this.😊

[sourpotpie]

I also do it in memory of our fallen Gurkha soldiers.

[nandolivedesign]

I'll do Murphy for the first time this year.

[rosaperez]

Todo un reto.realizarlo en mi equipo lo hicieron todos... En honor y memoria a ese gran soldado..

[rampagedingo]

Been a while since you guys posted workout of the day with some athletes doing the workout.

[Runtime]

The Murph is an one of the most physically challenging events I have ever done, running a half marathon at PR pace is a breeze compared to this

[gianlucaragusa]

Dave Castro has to retake his place...kick Boz out of CrossFit Co.

[USBorderPatrol]

#borderpatrol at the NOBULL CrossFit Games! 💪🏋️‍♀️👟#shorts