AFP reduces running distance in fitness test after deaths

After at least three deaths, the military has reduced the running distance for its officers and men taking up the semi-annual physical fitness test.

From 3.2 kilometers, the distance has been reduced to 2 kilometers, according to Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, public affairs office chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

At a press briefing Wednesday, Zagala said a military technical working group conducted a study following cases of officers collapsing and eventually dying after the running test.

“We have deaths in the past. They finished the 3.2-kilometer run only to go home and collapse. That's why this pushed for study,” he said.

In Camp Aguinaldo, the military's main headquarters, three officers had collapsed and died during or after the run since 2010, among them Marine Lt. Col. Leonard Vincent Teodoro and Air Force Col. Richard Parcon.

“When you reach two kilometers of any run, beyond that there will now come a point of exhaustion that may trigger illnesses to those taking the exam,” said Zagala.

The fitness test, conducted in major military camps, is “a requirement for senior officers to hold key positions,” said Zagala.

Aside from running, the test also involves push-ups and sit-ups.

The new distance was arrived at after the technical working group consulted sports medicine consultants and AFP medical professionals.
 
Zagala said the changes will be implemented during the second semester of the year. —KBK, GMA News