In a discussion with some folks on Twitter, we were talking about personal goals for running 5km. I found these times that might be useful – the approximate military fitness requirements of various services.

ServiceDistanceTime5km Equivalent
Australian Navy & Air Force920 metres5 min 40 sec30 min 47 sec
Australian Army1,120 metres6 min 30 sec29 min
British Army2,000 metres11 min 15 sec28 min 8 sec
Irish Army (male)2,400 metres11 min 40 sec24 min 20 second

They’re not strictly comparable (the Australian military doesn’t just judge on overall time, but rather, is based on a series of 20 meter shuttle runs back and forth) but might be useful targets for people looking to improve their fitness.

Of course, in addition to the running requirements listed below, they also have different requirements for strength and other fitness measurements.