ACFT Event: Two-Mile Run

The Two-Mile Run, or 2MR, event on the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) measures your aerobic endurance, just like it did on the APFT. The same theory is in play here: If you have higher aerobic endurance, you can recover more quickly from one task so you’re ready for the next one—and you can run when you need to. In practice, performing well on the 2MR shows the Army that you’ll do just fine during dismounted operations, rucking, and infiltration and extraction.

Your unit chooses where you complete your Two-Mile Run. It can be on an indoor or outdoor track or on an improved surface (like a road or sidewalk).

The ACFT has a pre-programmed 10-minute rest between the LTK and the 2MR, which starts when the last soldier in your group finishes the LTK.

Run times for the ACFT are a lot different from what they were on the APFT. If you only need to eke by with 60 points, you have 21 minutes to make your way through the entire course. If you need 65 points, aim for 19 minutes even, or score 70 points by running it in 18 minutes. You can max out 100 points on the 2MR by running the whole thing in 13:30.

Two-Mile Run instructions

The Army tests your cardiovascular endurance by turning you loose on a two-mile running course and telling you to cross the finish line as quickly as possible. The official instructions for the Two-Mile Run (2MR) say as much, too. Here they are:

Prior to starting the ACFT event, you will already know the 2-mile course including the start and finish points, turn around points, or number of laps. On the command “Go,” the clock will start and you will begin running at your own pace, completing the 2-mile distance without receiving any physical help. You may walk or pause, but you cannot be picked up, pulled, or pushed in any way. You may pace another soldier or be paced by another soldier. Verbal encouragement is permitted. Leaving the course at any time or at any point during the event will cause the event to be terminated. Your time will be recorded as you cross the finish line at the 2-mile point.

The course can be any flat, improved surface, so your unit may run the ACFT 2MR on a road or a track. If you’re on a road, you can expect to see NCOs stationed at waypoints or turn around points.

2MR tips and techniques

Like any Army run, walking is authorized but highly discouraged. You have to stay on the running course, and you have to complete the run with no physical help from anyone. If your unit isn’t already running on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for PT, or if running is your weak point, you’re going to have to mix running into your own fitness routine.

Trouble spots on the 2MR

Your grader counts your laps and monitors for no-gos like leaving the designated running course for any reason and receiving physical assistance from anyone.

Even if your grader doesn’t tell you to, keeping track of your own laps if you’re on a track is a good idea—just like any other time you’re running a track with your unit. You don’t want to mistakenly think you’ve completed the event and walk off with one lap to go.

It seems like you have plenty of time to complete the 2MR, especially if you’re comparing it to the APFT standards, but this run is your last of six events, and you’ve done a full-body workout—so don’t take passing it for granted.