Physical Efficiency Test: Qualifying Run, Pacing and Race-Day Routine
The PET is a qualifying long-distance run: male candidates cover 4.8 km within 24 minutes; female candidates cover 2.4 km within 14 minutes. It adds no merit marks, but failing it ends the candidature however high the written score.
The pace arithmetic
- Male: 4.8 km in 24 minutes = 5 minutes per km, which is 12 km/h. This is a controlled pace, not a sprint.
- Female: 2.4 km in 14 minutes = about 5 minutes 50 seconds per km.
- Going out 30 seconds per km faster than target creates oxygen debt that forces walking in the last kilometre.
Training logic (8–10 weeks)
Three sessions a week: one easy 3–5 km run, one interval session of 400 m repeats, one longer continuous run. Add two weekly sessions of bodyweight strength (squats, lunges, core) for the final surge. Practise on a flat 400 m track in the shoes you will wear.
Worked example
A male candidate runs the first kilometre in 4:30 and then slows badly. Reasoning: 4:30 is 30 seconds faster than the required average. Splitting 5:00 per km gives 20 minutes for 4 km and leaves 4 minutes for the last 800 m. Answer: targeted even splits qualify; an all-out first kilometre costs the run.
Traps
- Sprinting the first lap in front of the crowd.
- Attempting the distance for the first time on exam day, with no trial run.
- Heavy food or poor hydration close to the run.
- Reporting late or without the admit card - late reporting is treated as absence.
Finish inside the timing zone, keep the chest number visible, and walk 200 m to cool down instead of stopping dead.