…Badass Women: Kristi Devenyi …
Name: Kristi Devenyi
Age:39
Instagram Handle: kristidev981
Occupation: Personal trainer & homeschool mom
How many events have you done?
13 and a quarter of a heavy
First GORUCK Event:
9/11 Light in Shanksville
Events coming up:
Veteran’s Day Light in Pittsburgh, the Arnold custom Light in Columbus at the beginning of March and Operation Anaconda Light later that month in Pittsburgh. Once the weather warms up again, I will do some longer events!
Are you part of a ruck club?
If so, which one? I am – Steel City Ruck Club
What brought you to your first GORUCK Event?
Through my gym, I got to know a couple of the Pittsburgh GRTs and was so impressed by the bond of friendship they had and crazy tales of training they shared. I wanted that, but was reluctant to sign up for a while. After shadowing an event, I decided to just do it scared and had such an incredible experience in Shanksville. Honoring Flight 93 in a unique way far outweighed my fear of being the weak link.
Why do you keep coming back?
I keep coming back because every time it’s different, I love the friends I make during an event, and learning from some amazing Americans.
What is challenging about being a woman in the GORUCK community?
Often being too short to meaningfully contribute to a log carry.
Favorite training exercise /event gear/rituals…etc that you want to share?
My favorite training exercise is Kettlebell swings. Building up a strong posterior chain gives me more power to keep going further! As far as gear, my hot pink GR1. I will never worry about anyone else picking it up on accident and will always find myself in group shots.
Advice for other women?
Never be afraid to speak up and help out. We each have so much to contribute to make a team stronger
Any GRT women that you admire or love to be on a team with?
Ah geez, this could be an essay! In a nod to brevity, I will say Jen Jarvi. She has served as my PATHFINDER CA and we have done a few events together. She is encouraging, always helping the team to become cohesive, pushing hard, and making me laugh the whole time. Among my Pittsburgh crew, I know I can always count on Caitlin Eiben and Carrie Sofko. We train together a lot and can solve the world’s problems during a six mile ruck.
