Of course this is very difficult to get across to the average civvy who thinks that pushing themselves, is going for a five mile run!
When they could, of course, go try the infamous “5 miler of death” that’d allow them to go “toe to toe with the Paras and the Marines”…

Bet Scouse Taylor’s never lived that down…

Was that video not a pl55take???, it was Alan Partridgesque.

Emmm Marines last test is a 30 miler not 5 😛

What hat is this? I want one

Used to love the Para’s/Royal’s coming to “play” on the Reg selection course.
Used to love embarrassing most of them on it too 😛
Many forget that those airfields they Reg get taken the piss out of for standing round guarding weren’t ours to be guarded until whoever was there before were “asked to leave” – and it wasn’t by the Para’s/Royals…

Used to love embarrassing most of them on it too

this is the funniest thing ever posted on STW. Chapeau.

Wrecker – we used to run it daily so for us is was part of our standard phys.
Ok – we obviously knew it well and where the right lines were, the best grip on the obstacles, etc – but still they used to come in with the “do you know who we are Son?” attitude and we used to like throwing it in their faces.
Caused more than one ruck but some of those guys are friends to this day – Green or Red makes no odds.

Last man standing was a better programme.

The right person won, great series, enjoyed that. Wouldn’t have liked the interrogation part, my face is too expressive.

I don’t reckon he was a real Russian.

I know the winner of one of the SAS Tough Enough series and she is truly nails – I’m stronger and faster physically than her (in the way blokes are), and found myself thinking “I could do that” (10 years ago) watching a lot of that, but then I’d have probably failed sitting in the cold water on the first day. I do also know quite a few other people who did SAS Tough Enough and failed in situations I’d have expected them to cope with, so as always it’s not as easy as it looks on TV (as always, and from experience of programmes I’ve been in, the programme doesn’t necessarily show the full reality either).

What I thought was particularly interesting was how some people failed in situations they should have been really good – the chap who taught the lass about map reading on the way to the nav exercise and then got lost, and the chap last night who had been fastest in all the physical challenges, yet was slowest even after allowing for his time penalties.

Was it just me that misheard the SAS chap on last nights episode, but I’m sure he expected them to complete the 3 miles run in 8 minutes.

Surely thats unachievable pace?

I think 3 miles was for both the group march and the timed run. They were only timed over 1.5 miles.

1.5 mile speed march out then followed by timed 1.5 mile run back in 8 mins

B.A.Nana – Member

Thanks for that Clarkson St Nazire raid thing up. Its was good.

Ahh right, thanks for clarifying.

Still bloody hard I imagine, but far more realistic.

Caught up with it this am. I don’t think the TV got across to well how mentally challenge that last part was, especially god forbid having to get down to your underwear.

After a week or was it 10 days of hardly any sleep and that much exercise and challenges they must have been dead on their feet. Cold, hungry, mentally physically exhausted and trying to answer questions within strict rules would be tough.

so as always it’s not as easy as it looks on TV

Funnily I always found arduous courses not quite so bad from the inside looking out. The vids and horror stories always made it seem worse than it felt.
Gotta be fair 8 mins is pretty quick (course dependent) for 1.5 miles. I did 8.02 once (in denims and boots).

The 3 mile test is a standard one that is used to assess fitness, but it is done in boots, which slow you down.

I recall that 8 mins was a very good time, with the real quickies doing it around 7.45.

The average club runner would struggle to beat 8.30 in boots I’d suggest.

Edit: just saw wreckers post which was written at the same time.

Double Edit. My one and only half marathon was done in 1 hr 25mins but recall I never broke 8 mins on the airfield.

I’d be crap at the physical stuff, but the last day interrogation stuff was basically like a day in our office. I would have pissed that. Because nothing, and I mean nothing, riles up petty point scorers like keeping calm and po-faced whilst they try to worry/humiliate/stress you.

Now all I need to do is wind the clock back twenty years and have some willpower when it comes to booze and curries and I’d be a shoe-in for Spetznaz.