Referees' Fitness Test

Having climbed out of bed at 6:35am on Sunday, I showered to feel clean and fresh. I then had a light breakfast before heading off at 7:40am for my referees' fitness test.

I arrived at the Trafford Athletics Stadium at 8:15am, a good 45 minutes beforehand and was the first person to arrive apart from the event organisers.

Once the first 12 referees had arrived, at about 8:30am, the organisers decided that we could start earlier. So, after a 10 minute warm up in the already baking hot morning sun we all lined up at the start line. I was runner number 8.

I led from start to finish which is sometimes difficult as you end up being the pace maker for the group and have no target person to help maintain or improve your own pace.

My first lap was 1:22, and after two laps my time was 2:54. I ran the mile in a time of 6:16. My total recorded distance after the 12 minutes Cooper Test was 3,000 metres exactly.

Despite the very warm weather, I felt that I had ran within myself and was very comfortable all the way round. But like you say, it's only the training that makes it easier.

We then did the two 50 metre sprints within 7.5 seconds to complete the test. It was all over for the first 12 referees by 9:00am. In fact, I was back home by 9:35am!


Stats

Time: 12:00 Cooper Test Standard
Distance: 3000 metres (1.864 miles)
Average speed: 15.00kmh (9.32mph)
Average pace: 4:00 per km (6:26 per mile)
Heart rate: HRavg 173, HRmax 181, and 170kcals