Practical
For practical use, precise monitoring presents a challenge. Not all military bases have a running track, and tracking soldiers' laps and positions after 12 minutes is difficult. Testing is easier to administer when the distance is fixed and the finishing time measured. In his original book Dr. Cooper also provided an alternate version of the test, based on the time to complete a 1.5 mile run.
Most armies of the world use a fixed distance. This is not exactly a Cooper test but a reasonable practical compromise. For example, the British Army uses 1.5 miles, the Australian Army uses 2.4 kilometers, the US Army uses 2 miles and the US Marine Corps 3 miles. For each base the course is measured and local corrections (elevation, conditions, etc.) applied. Soldiers/marines are sent off in waves, and timed over the finish line by some PTIs with a stopwatch.
The US Army's two-mile distance is sufficiently far that most soldiers will take more than 12 minutes to complete it.
Read more about this topic: Cooper Test
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