Gloucester resident Matthew Reed is about to embark on several unique challenges designed to test his endurance.

Reed will compete in Washington, D.C., on July 4 in an 18-20 mile competition called the Goruck Challenge. He will also participate this fall in the Goruck Across America challenge, in which he will ruck march from Virginia Beach to Raleigh, N.C., as part of a nationwide effort to carry a rucksack from the East Coast to the West Coast of the United States.

Each challenge will push his limits in an effort to raise money for the Green Beret Foundation, an organization that helps facilitate the special needs of wounded, ill and injured members of U.S. Special Forces and their families.

Reed stumbled across Team Goruck while researching other adventure races. "My initial thought process was, ‘there is no way I can complete 20 miles wearing a rucksack weighted down with bricks,’" Reed said. "Then the Army vet side of me kicked in and it became m...