Renat Fatkulin competes in fifth Levy Challenge

The weight pulled down on his ruck sack, and he could feel each and every pound pull down on his already battered spine. He had felt the same pain for the past seven miles.

"I visualized the end, and I had it in sight," said Renat Fatkulin, a Norwich graduate of 2010. "I only had two more miles to go, and I knew, just knew, I wasn't going to stop. We picked up the pace by that point."

Fatkulin was competing in the 9-mile ruck march, the last event of the annual Semper Fidelis Society Levy Challenge. This would be Fatkulin's fifth, but possibly not his last, time competing.

Fatkulin, affectionately named "Russia" by his peers, of Connecticut, returns to Norwich to compete in the Levy Challenge for his fifth first place win this year. Fatkulin is originally from Siberia, Russia, and moved to America when he was 12 years old.

"I moved here from Russia when I was 12, with my mom. She took such good care of me," Fatkulin said. "When we came here, we originally lived in Miami, Fla. That's when I started American middle school."

Fatkulin describes his childhood in Russia as being tough: "When I was much younger, I grew up around the streets, with the wrong kind of kids. It was a tough life, but that's how I learned to be the man I am today; I learned from all those stupid little mistakes I made as a child."

When Fatkulin reached high school, he intended to become a U.S. Navy SEAL, a navy special warfare operative. He came to college beforehand to gain a higher education.

"My mom told me, Renat, you had better go to school, and you had better learn," Fatkulin said. "So, I did. I value my education very, very much. You need to be at your best mentally as well as physically. That's why I was on the swim team as well."

Fatkulin was a member of the swim team during his time at Norwich. He considers one of his past coaches, Coach Looke, to be one of his inspirations. He also credits his professors and mentors at Norwich as his greatest inspirations for his physical and mental toughness.

"I would go to these people, my teachers and mentors, and they would tell me to press on, and to keep going. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am. They always kept me on my game, especially academically, where I struggled many times," Fatkulin said.

English is a second language for Fatkulin.

"I had trouble speaking properly sometimes, and simply understanding the material given to me. But again, my professors always supported me, and brought me up," Fatkulin said. "I could rely on them. For that, I respect them greatly."

When Fatkulin came to Norwich, he didn't find it as challenging as he had initially hoped: "See, in Russian military, military training twice as hard. I expected the same from the American military," he said. "I didn't find that type of challenge at Norwich. While it was still hard for others, I found my challenges in other places, physically."

Fatkulin still credits Norwich as a challenge for his mind: "While physically, rookdom wasn't too demanding, the academics were. Academics at Norwich were hard for me, especially knowing Russian as a first language. But like I said, my professors helped me through all of it."

Fatkulin has participated in many physically challenging events, including, but not limited to: 5 to 10 kilometer races; half and full marathons; 30, 50, and even two 100 mile running races; a 100 mile snowshoe race, as well as a 24 "Hell Night" called SWONEC, run by retired U.S. Navy SEALs for prospective Navy SEAL candidates.

"I did everything I could, from the big, to the little," Fatkulin said. "I need to challenge myself as much as possible, in order to improve myself. I did the 24 hour Hell Night because I wanted a taste of what it could be like to be a Navy SEAL, and I always enjoyed trying those running races."

Fatkulin admits a time when he almost saw himself failing an event. He explains that while he felt "pushed to his limit," he still pressed on.

"It was during the 100 mile snowshoe race. I was told by a friend two weeks in advance, I didn't even have snowshoes!" Fatkulin said. "I finally bought a pair before the event, did a 5-mile practice, and then it was racetime. But during the whole event, I was in great pain, and feared I might stop."

However, Russia continued on, and finished the entire snowshoe race.

"You see, before any event, race, or exercise, I always try to visualize the end, and what I'm going to do to get there. I did the same thing for that snowshoe race, and I saw myself completing the entire thing. So, that's what I did. That's what I tell people, see yourself finishing. You can do so much more, than you give yourself credit for," Fatkulin said.

Fatkulin's team members of the Levy Challenge this year, credit him as an outstanding member of their team.

"He was our team captain, our motivator. We worked hard not to let him down. He even kept Chris [Hevey] alive, even after he was injured during the race," said Peter Bue, and 21-year-old senior studies in war and peace major, from Tyngsboro, Mass. "He did everything expected of an excellent captain."

They even describe Fatkulin as having a "reputation" of mental toughness.

"He's a breed of his own, one of the most mentally tough people I have ever met," said Dan Valdo, a 21-year-old senior criminal justice major from Long Valley, N.J. "He doesn't stop, and never quits. He has a reputation at this school for that."

Fatkulin came to Norwich, describing his major goal of leaving Norwich, having built a strong reputation.

"I never quit. I always finish. Ah, yeah, I may not win every time, even though that bugs me. But the important thing is, I never quit," Fatkulin said. "I came to America to finish something, and to have a good reputation. I left this school, and even returned, with that very thing."