Caught off

Irish Mirror’s Danny almost passes.. but fails dreaded ‘bleep’ test

I WAS invited down to the Garda College to try out the pre-entry fitness test along with other media outlets yesterday.

In 2023, it was in the headlines after Fianna Fail TD Jim O’callaghan said it was “too demanding”.

He said he believed the level required was too high and was becoming a roadblock to recruitment.

So when the opportunity presented itself, I was only too delighted to give it a go.

I had about two weeks’ notice to train so I dusted off my running shoes and got to work on the treadmill at the gym. The pre-entry fitness test is comprised of three stages – the dreaded “bleep” test, a muscular endurance test encompassing pushups and sit-ups, followed by an obstacle course that aims to simulate some real-life scenarios.

Yesterday was D-day. Apprehensively, I packed up my gym bag, filled the car with fuel and took off for Templemore.

The required results to pass the bleep test along with the push-up and sit-up challenges are based on the age and gender of each candidate.

I will turn 26 during the summer but that was no good to me yesterday because it meant I fell into the 18-25 year old age bracket which means I needed the highest results in each category to pass.

The first test of the day was the bleep test. Candidates are required to run between two cones 20 metres apart. They need to reach the other side before the next bleep.

Every minute, the level increases and the time between the bleeps gets shorter, meaning those participating need to pick up the pace until they can’t keep up anymore.

I needed an 8.8. This would involve a candidate running 1.4km in under nine minutes. After six minutes of running back and forth, I couldn’t keep up anymore. I knew my race had been run and I bowed out at level six.

Next up was the muscular endurance test. Candidates in my age bracket have to complete 35 sit-ups in one minute before doing 25 push-ups.

I finished the sit-ups with time to spare but I had to be corrected on my push-up form with a number of mine not actually counting.

After a short break, I had to face the obstacle course.

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