Plebe Running

You will have some type of physical training almost every morning. If it is not a run, it will be some other type of cardiovascular workout. I think the letter they sent talks about 3-4 mile runs at a 7 minute a mile pace as the minimum.

Make sure you are in the best shape of your life. You have 63 and a butt days to get ready. Your level of physical fitness goes a long way into how the cadre and your peers will judge your abilities during beast as well as your time later in the Army/
 
Last year my son was somewhat disappointed that there was not as much running as he expected, and the runs they did have were shorter and at a slower pace than he hoped. I suspect that has more to do with your squad, company, and cadre though.

If you are in decent running shape I doubt you will have a big problem. My son thought the rucks were much more challenging. His first (and shortest) ruck was his hardest, because he hadn't learned to properly pack and arrange his pack. After that they were 100% easier.

Also take care of your feet. Blisters are a big issue with most. Proper fitting shoes and boots key there.

Good luck.
 
USMA 1994 said:
You will have some type of physical training almost every morning. If it is not a run, it will be some other type of cardiovascular workout. I think the letter they sent talks about 3-4 mile runs at a 7 minute a mile pace as the minimum.

Make sure you are in the best shape of your life. You have 63 and a butt days to get ready. Your level of physical fitness goes a long way into how the cadre and your peers will judge your abilities during beast as well as your time later in the Army/
Click to expand...
and so how does the Army football team get by with their recruits losing 30 pounds?
 
USMA 1994 said:
You will have some type of physical training almost every morning. If it is not a run, it will be some other type of cardiovascular workout. I think the letter they sent talks about 3-4 mile runs at a 7 minute a mile pace as the minimum.

Make sure you are in the best shape of your life. You have 63 and a butt days to get ready. Your level of physical fitness goes a long way into how the cadre and your peers will judge your abilities during beast as well as your time later in the Army/
Click to expand...

I think this would be a great goal for any CC to shoot for but don't stress over this. For our 2019 DD, there were not regular 3-4 mile runs and certainly not a 7:00 mile minimum pace during beast. Our DD would echo what Brovol said earlier that the rucking was a harder adjustment. Fill that pack up and do some hikes.

For running, I recall there being several run groups based on pace. DD was a swimmer and her distance running is average and she was never running a 7:00 pace and she never voiced any concerns that her pace was an issue.

I echo that the better running shape you are in, then that's just one less thing you need to worry about. You have two months to go - just work hard and do your best. Shoot for a good pace but don't lose any sleep if you are not clicking off 4 miles runs at a 7:00 pace.
 
One other consideration.....there are a lot of hills at WP. If you live in a flat part of the country, running hills is NOTHING like running on flat terrain. Same goes for rucking. I would mix in running some hills along with flat running.
 
brovol said:
Last year my son was somewhat disappointed that there was not as much running as he expected, and the runs they did have were shorter and at a slower pace than he hoped. I suspect that has more to do with your squad, company, and cadre though.

If you are in decent running shape I doubt you will have a big problem. My son thought the rucks were much more challenging. His first (and shortest) ruck was his hardest, because he hadn't learned to properly pack and arrange his pack. After that they were 100% easier.

Also take care of your feet. Blisters are a big issue with most. Proper fitting shoes and boots key there.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
How much did your son typically run a week in preparation to Beast? Also what was his mile pace time?
 
billyb said:
One other consideration.....there are a lot of hills at WP. If you live in a flat part of the country, running hills is NOTHING like running on flat terrain. Same goes for rucking. I would mix in running some hills along with flat running.
Click to expand...

Plus it's hot & humid in the summer at WP -- something else to consider for those arriving from low humidity states.
 
USMA 1994 said:
You will have some type of physical training almost every morning. If it is not a run, it will be some other type of cardiovascular workout. I think the letter they sent talks about 3-4 mile runs at a 7 minute a mile pace as the minimum.

Make sure you are in the best shape of your life. You have 63 and a butt days to get ready. Your level of physical fitness goes a long way into how the cadre and your peers will judge your abilities during beast as well as your time later in the Army/
Click to expand...


I am pretty sure that is a typo. Most active Army units set unit runs at a nine minute pace for four to five miles. Ranger School and RASP selection standards are five miles in 40 minutes (or 8 minute pace) so I am pretty sure that based on the initial conditioning model of PRT there is not an expectation of brand new cadets to exceed the standards of some of the most physically fit Soldiers in the Army.

On the flip side you are absolutely right as PT is an easy and early discriminator and one that is completely on the individual. Plenty of time to get oneself in shape and be ready to knock it out on that first APFT.
 
I have also been wondering... would it be good to run in the boots before beast or will there not be any actual running in them? I know they say to break them in but not sure about what to be prepared for.
 
USMAcand9821 said:
I have also been wondering... would it be good to run in the boots before beast or will there not be any actual running in them? I know they say to break them in but not sure about what to be prepared for.
Click to expand...

Don't run in boots! That's what I've heard from current cadets as well as enlisted soldiers. They aren't made for running, so just walk and tuck in them :)
 
efs said:
Don't run in boots! That's what I've heard from current cadets as well as enlisted soldiers. They aren't made for running, so just walk and tuck in them :)
Click to expand...

By tuck I meant ruck haha
 
classof2022 said:
How much did your son typically run a week in preparation to Beast? Also what was his mile pace time?
Click to expand...
He only ran probably two times a week max before he left for beast because he was still in varsity baseball state tournament right up to when we left (also ran a bit in baseball), but he was in very good shape. I can not recall what pace he ran, but in his CFA he was within about 15-20 seconds of maxing the mile, so at least then he could scoot pretty good (and he is a good size kid-- 6' and about 175 lbs).

I don't think you need to over think it, or worry, unless you are overweight or in poor condition. Just be smart. You know you will be doing a lot, and you won't be getting a ton of sleep. Go there in good shape, be in condition for runs, rucks, and a lot of other stuff. The best thing you will learn, according to my son, is to acclamate. You will deal with being hot and sweaty without caring that you are hot and sweaty. You will learn how to fall in line and take orders without complaint. You will learn to "embrace the suck" as they say.

Truely, just stay in shape, but enjoy your time between now and then. Do the things you enjoy most, with the folks you enjoy most. All will be well. You will do great.
 
No more than 10 miles/ week of running. During the first APFT two-mile, they use your time to separate you into groups of people, which are arranged by color. Color groups run faster paces. I was black group (fastest) because I was a runner in high school, but I was also in the Track and Field company, so I suffered a lot at the hands of their sub-6 minute pace, but if you're running 14 minutes on the two-mile you'll be running with a slower group that does around 7:00-7:30/ mile. The slowest group will be running 9:00ish minute pace.
 
jagger19 said:
No more than 10 miles/ week of running. During the first APFT two-mile, they use your time to separate you into groups of people, which are arranged by color. Color groups run faster paces. I was black group (fastest) because I was a runner in high school, but I was also in the Track and Field company, so I suffered a lot at the hands of their sub-6 minute pace, but if you're running 14 minutes on the two-mile you'll be running with a slower group that does around 7:00-7:30/ mile. The slowest group will be running 9:00ish minute pace.
Click to expand...
My DD discovered at SLE last summer that her two-line mile was substantially faster at West Point than at home due to the significant elevation change. Climate makes a huge difference so prepare one way or the other.
 
kathy baker said:
My DD discovered at SLE last summer that her two-line mile was substantially faster at West Point than at home due to the significant elevation change. Climate makes a huge difference so prepare one way or the other.
Click to expand...
That's two-minute mile...quit auto correcting!
 
we didn't run EVERY single day for PT but about every other day. the running workouts varied from sprints at Gillis to a three mile run. I can vouch that you won't run more than 4 miles at a time during beast. You run in ability run groups as well. Most of the running is running to the place you are going to workout at then running back. PT is in the morning from 0530 to the latest of 0700. They are on a strict time schedule, they don't have all day to do long runs. The runs are short but expect some long hills.
 
catlover2 said:
we didn't run EVERY single day for PT but about every other day. the running workouts varied from sprints at Gillis to a three mile run. I can vouch that you won't run more than 4 miles at a time during beast. You run in ability run groups as well. Most of the running is running to the place you are going to workout at then running back. PT is in the morning from 0530 to the latest of 0700. They are on a strict time schedule, they don't have all day to do long runs. The runs are short but expect some long hills.
Click to expand...

Do you happen to know a break down of the ability groups? Like what paces does each one run at?
 
CA_hopeful said:
Do you happen to know a break down of the ability groups? Like what paces does each one run at?
Click to expand...
There were four groups: black, green, grey, and brown. The black group is with all the track stars and really fast runners probably a 4-5 min mile pace, green was about 5-630min mile pace, grey was about 630 to late 7s and brown was 8 mins and above. These are roughly the times I remember, some might be slightly off. When you get with you group, which can be small or big depending on your time, you'll go off and run somewhere for like 30 mins down and back at a set mile pace! Hope this helps!
 
catlover2 said:
There were four groups: black, green, grey, and brown. The black group is with all the track stars and really fast runners probably a 4-5 min mile pace, green was about 5-630min mile pace, grey was about 630 to late 7s and brown was 8 mins and above. These are roughly the times I remember, some might be slightly off. When you get with you group, which can be small or big depending on your time, you'll go off and run somewhere for like 30 mins down and back at a set mile pace! Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for the response. It is my understanding that placement in pace groups depends on your 2 mile APFT time. If someone were to run a 14 min 2 mile (7 min pace) would they be put in the grey group then? Basically what I mean is are those paces above indicative of a 2 mile pace or the pace for longer runs? (i.e. would the 14 min time potentially be placed in the brown group because they will run slower on longer runs.) Hope that question makes sense.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top