The dreaded gym day that everyone fears. The announcement that makes students begin to sweat, to turn to their friends with terror in their eyes…
The mile day.
If you’re lucky enough to be in lifestyle fitness, or have already graduated, you may be unfamiliar with or detached from this nightmare of a gym period. Eastern students, and presumably gym students all over the country, are subjected to run a mile outside in an allotted time period. At Eastern, junior and senior gym classes are given 10 minutes to run one mile, equivalent to four laps around the track. This is counted for a grade, and for every thirty seconds past the 10 minute mark, 5 points are deducted.
The consensus around the mile is generally negative, for a multitude of reasons.
Firstly, some kids simply don’t want to be sweaty for their next class. Eastern locker rooms don’t offer showers (not that kids would ever step foot in a locker room shower), and there is not much time given for students to cool down before next period.
Secondly, running a mile in 10 minutes is not accessible to all students. Whether it be conditions such as asthma, obesity, or general unathleticism, running a 10 minute mile, especially in front of your peers, can be unattainable and, let’s face it, embarrassing. Even students that can make the time are huffing and puffing with red faces: a look not many kids want their fellow students to see.
Mr. Bogus, one of the HPE teachers has kindly answered some questions concerning the mile test.
Q: How long have you taught P.E.?
A: This is my 19th year teaching PE.
Q: Approximately how many years have you done the mile test?
A: I have given the mile test all 19 years.
Q: What are the benefits of conducting the mile test in gym class?
A: The mile is to test a student’s cardiovascular conditioning as well as to use muscular endurance. It is recommended through the heart association that we average 30 minutes of exercise a day. With our warm ups, mile run and cool down laps we try to reach this goal for each student.
Q: Not every student can finish the mile test in the allotted time. Do you think there should be an alternative fitness examination due to this, or do you think that all students should be required to run the ten minute mile? If you could go into more detail for this question, that would be great.
A: The mile time was always 8 minutes in the past. We have increased this time. Yes I feel all 14-19 year old students should be able to run a mile. This is not very hard and if they can’t do it as a teen there is no way they will be able to do it as an adult. Lifelong fitness is important as we only have one body in this life. Learning how to exercise and eat properly is important to live a long healthy life. Certain students do get excused because of medical reasons.
Q: Why is the time set at ten minutes (if you know why), as opposed to an easier time of 15 minutes, for example?
A: The time of 10 minutes is to challenge all to make it realistic. If the time was 15 minutes a student would only have to average 4 mph. The average human walks 3-4 mphs. We set a time to allow for success but also to elevate a student’s heart rate as this is important for a healthy life.
As a PE teacher, Mr. Bogus without a doubt has much experience in the field. Running is a valuable skill to have, whether it be for pleasure or, god forbid, an emergency.
That being said however, is being able to run a mile an accurate account of someone’s fitness? Physical activity can be done in countless ways, through walking, playing a sport, yoga, weight lifting, or cycling, to name a few, and not every way requires the athlete to run a mile. So, is it truly necessary to be able to run a mile in ten minutes in order to be considered “fit”?
Now, this article is not here to villainize exercise or high school gym; in fact, there is great importance in striving to live a healthy life. Yet, a healthy and fit life does not have to include running a 10 minute mile, and certainly not having to do so for a grade.
