Registration OpenEst. 2018 · Milwaukee501(c)(3) · I Am Local

They ran
toward it.
Every badge.
Every helmet.
Now we run
for them.

Hero WOD MKE is Milwaukee’s annual CrossFit-style tribute to the police officers and firefighters of southeast Wisconsin — and the families left behind when the call doesn’t come home.

Date
Sunday, Aug 30
Where
Milwaukee Co. Park
First Heat
07:00 CDT
All fitness levels · Individuals + competitive teams
01 / The Story

Honor lives in the work.

Hero WOD MKE was founded in 2018 at Bay View Park — hundreds of CrossFit athletes, $18,000 raised, two families supported. It’s the same idea as “Murph,” brought home to Milwaukee and dedicated to the men and women who pull on a uniform here.
Milwaukee Police Department
Milwaukee Fire Department
Milwaukee Police Dept · Milwaukee Fire Dept
Why We Show Up

In southeast Wisconsin, the people who run toward fire and gunfire are our neighbors. They coach little league. They sit two pews back at St. Sebastian’s. When one of them is killed or seriously injured in the line of duty, the bills don’t stop and the kids don’t stop being kids.

Hero WOD MKE is the community’s way of stepping into the gap — with sweat, with money, and with the understanding that the uniform doesn’t make them tougher than the rest of us. It makes them ours.

TMJ4 coverage of the 2018 Hero WOD MKE at Bay View ParkTMJ4 News

TMJ4 Milwaukee covered the 2018 Hero WOD at Bay View Park. Hundreds of athletes showed up. $18,000 raised for two families.

2005

Murph Is Born

“Murph” enters the CrossFit hero workout canon — a one-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, and another one-mile run, in honor of Lt. Michael Murphy. Hero WODs become the way the CrossFit community pays its respects.

2018

First Hero WOD MKE

Bay View Park, Milwaukee. Hundreds of CrossFit athletes attended. $18,000 raised for the families of Officers Charles Irvine Jr. and Michael Michalski, both killed in the line of duty that year. Covered by FOX6 and TMJ4 news.

2023

Year Two — Growing

Milwaukee-area gyms rally again. Proceeds support the Jerving family. The event deepens its roots in the southeast Wisconsin CrossFit community.

2024

Year Three — Expanding

Athletes from dozens of southeast Wisconsin boxes. A growing competition division. Proceeds support the Duda family.

2026

Hero WOD MKE Returns

August 30. Milwaukee County Park. The competition division expands to teams of four. A new beneficiary family announced closer to the event. Opening ceremony by Milwaukee Police and Fire Honor Guard. (Pending confirmation)

02 / The Workout

A hero WOD for our heroes.

A hero WOD is a CrossFit workout named for a fallen service member or first responder. The reps are hard on purpose. The point isn’t the time on the board — it’s the name above it.
Reference WOD · “Murph”

Murph

  • 1 miRun
  • 100Pull-ups
  • 200Push-ups
  • 300Air Squats
  • 1 miRun
For Time · 20 lb vest, Rx
2026 WOD — Coming August 1
Workout reveal · 30 days out
How It Works
  • Rx
    The full workout, as written. The version your gym’s competitive crew will do.
  • Scaled
    Same workout, lighter loads and modified movements. Built so a first-timer can finish standing.
  • Teams of 4
    2 men + 2 women. Split the reps however you want — one moving at a time. The format for the competition division.

▲ Bring a friend who’s never set foot in a CrossFit gym. We mean it.

03 / Two Tracks

Show up to honor. Or to compete.

Both tracks do the same workout, on the same field, for the same reason. One is timed and scored. The other isn’t. Both are equally welcome — and equally the point.
Community Division

The Open Heat

$25per athlete
  • Workout scaled to your level — first-timers welcome
  • Individual entry, no team required
  • Event tee, post-WOD breakfast, beer ticket
  • No score, no clock pressure — just finish strong
Competition Division

Teams of Four

$120per team
  • Rx workout, judged and scored on the clock
  • Mixed teams of 4 — exactly 2 men, 2 women
  • Prize purse for podium teams · $2,500 to top team
  • Includes everything in the Open Heat for each athlete

Grand prize sponsored by · [sponsor placeholder]

04 / Sponsors

The businesses standing with us.

From the gym down the block to the contractor who’s been fixing Milwaukee since before the freeway. Every logo here is a check written to a family that needs it.
Become a Sponsor
05 / Who It’s For

Every dollar. One family.

100% of net proceeds from Hero WOD MKE 2026 will go to the family of a southeast Wisconsin officer or firefighter affected by a line-of-duty incident this year.
Family
photograph
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4 : 5
2026 Beneficiary

[Family name forthcoming]

Milwaukee-area department · TBD

The 2026 beneficiary family will be announced at the workout reveal on August 1. Funds raised at Hero WOD MKE flow through I Am Local, a Wisconsin 501(c)(3), directly to the family — no overhead, no middleman, no fine print.

Previous beneficiaries · 2024 the Duda family · 2023 the Jerving family.

Two ways in · pick one · do both
Athlete

Register & lace up.

$25 individual · $120 team of four (2M / 2W). Includes shirt, post-WOD breakfast, and a beer ticket from a Milwaukee brewery TBD. All fitness levels — scaling is built in, not bolted on.

  • Workout (Rx or scaled)
  • Event tee + drawstring bag
  • Post-WOD breakfast
  • One drink ticket (21+)