<p>When our oldest son was trying for the PAE (precursor to the CFA) he was having a hard time trying to improve his shuttle run. Back then, the test was 300 yards and the mean time was 59.6 seconds as compared to 9.1 seconds for the CFA version, which is shorter.</p>
<p>I had a hunch and so I laid out a 300 yard run for him to try. What was different was it had no turns, just a simple straight line. I had been telling him that I thought he was losing time in his turns, but he wasn’t listening to that advice. So I had him run the same distance all in a straight line. His time was cut in half. It was like a lightbulb came on in his head, “Oh, I’m losing all the time in the turns”. He immediately improved his scores upon the very next run. He went on to become a cadet at the USMA.</p>
<p>Fast forward to our third son. Same problem, same solution. We marked off a course that was 120’ straight. His time was reduced to around 4:00 seconds. Same distance, no turns. On his next attempt at the shuttle run his time dropped significantly after doing this once.</p>
<p>Try it for yourself to prove that you lose all of your time in your turns. You’ll amaze yourself at how much faster you run the course once you prove to yourself that it IS all in the turns. Don’t loiter!</p>
<p>As you come to the line you are to touch both a hand and a foot over the line before running back in the other direction. What typically will happen is the runner will slow down in approaching the line, reach down and touch, then turn around and run, wasting about one and a half to two seconds just making a change in direction. Make sure you don’t “hang around” while making your change in direction. Don’t stop to take in the view or to think “hey, I’m doing pretty well” or anything else that will take your mind off of the task of getting away from there as quickly as possible. Think “hot potato” or “monkey in the middle” or “Hey, that’s a hand grenade that’s getting ready to go off, I think I don’t want to wait around and see if it does”. If you slip, don’t quit or slow down, pick up the pace. And finally, as in any race, don’t stop at the finish line, run through it.</p>