The Military’s Running Problem

Written By MOPs & MOEs .

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Running is the most failed event on the Army fitness test. It’s also blamed for more injuries than anything else in the epidemiology data. So what’s actually going on — and what can leaders do about it?

John is back, and we’re digging into the Instagram comments from a post Alex put up a few weeks ago on running injuries and PT test performance. The responses ranged from thoughtful to deeply unhinged, and we work through all of them.

We cover why 27% of recorded Army injuries being “running-related” is a lot less clear than it sounds (90% of injuries in that dataset had no cause recorded at all), what the research actually says about footwear and injury risk, and why the best predictor of future injury — previous injury — may stop predicting once rehab is actually complete.

We also get into the zone two debate, why “overuse injury” is the wrong frame, and what the National Guard’s recruit sustainment program can teach us about the real fix: it’s not too much too soon, it’s too little for too long.

Topics covered:

  • Why Army running injury data is messier than the headlines suggest

  • Footwear, heel striking, and what the research actually shows

  • Previous injury as a risk factor — and when it stops being one

  • The tissue tolerance and volume tolerance problem PT tests don’t measure

  • Zone two vs. intensity: what actually matters and when

  • Why “overuse injury” is a misnomer — underuse causes overuse

  • What the National Guard does differently in initial entry training

  • Practical tools: pogo hops, strides, and why jump rope is underrated

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