Two soldiers in the field sharing a coffee bag, the culture behind the Royal Marines fitness standards this guide explains

Royal Marines Fitness Requirements: Every Test From The PJFA To The 30 Miler

by Luke Dalton
Two soldiers in the field sharing a coffee bag, the culture behind the Royal Marines fitness standards this guide explains
The standards are published. The graft is yours. Every Royal Marines fitness requirement, in order.

By Luke Dalton, former Royal Marine. Updated 27 August 2026.

Royal Marines Fitness Requirements: Every Test From The PJFA To The 30 Miler

In 30 Seconds

Royal Marines fitness requirements come in stages, and the stages are often confused. The first step is the Pre Joining Fitness Assessment (PJFA), an event run with serving Marines from the InReach team. Then comes the Candidate Preparation Course (CPC) at CTCRM, where the Royal Navy states the pass minimum plainly: 30 press-ups, 40 sit-ups and 4 pull-ups, plus a swimming assessment. Thirty two weeks of training follow, and it all ends with the four commando tests: the Endurance Course, the 9 mile speed march, the Tarzan Assault Course and the 30 Miler.

This guide sets out every requirement in order with the official numbers where the Royal Navy publishes them, written by Luke Dalton, former Royal Marine and co founder of Contact Coffee Company. One warning before we start: a lot of what ranks online for this subject is out of date. Where this article and an old forum thread disagree, check the current Royal Navy pages linked throughout.

The Route, In Order

PJFA, then CPC, then the Recruit Orientation Phase (ROP), then 32 weeks of training, then the commando tests. Each stage has its own physical bar, and each bar assumes you cleared the last one with room to spare. The Corps is explicit that minimums are floors: the point of the PJFA is to find your weaknesses while there is still time to fix them.

Stage One: The Pre Joining Fitness Assessment

The PJFA is an assessment event, not a pass or fail exam. It is run with the Royal Marines InReach team, serving Marines at various stages of their careers who have been loaned to the careers service to mentor candidates, and the Royal Navy is clear you can attend as many PJFA events as you need while you prepare.

The assessment centres on the tests you will face for real at the CPC: the multi stage fitness test, better known as the bleep test, plus press-ups and sit-ups performed to a cadence rather than at your own pace, and pull-ups from a dead hang. In the Royal Marines preparation community, level 10.8 on the bleep test is the widely used benchmark, with the standing advice to treat every minimum as a floor and give maximum effort in each element.

One thing you will still find in old guides and forum threads is the retired Pre Joining Fitness Test of two 2.4km treadmill runs. That is not the current route in. The PJFA event replaced it, so build your training around the bleep test, cadence calisthenics and pull-ups instead of chasing treadmill splits from a decade old thread.

Stage Two: The Candidate Preparation Course Standards

The CPC is the five day selection course at CTCRM, and it is where the official minimums live. The Royal Navy states that to successfully pass the CPC you need to complete a minimum of 30 press-ups, 40 sit-ups and 4 pull-ups. Those three numbers are the clearest published fitness requirement in the entire Royal Marines pipeline, so build your training around beating them comfortably, to cadence, on tired arms.

The CPC also includes the swimming assessment, which runs across the CPC and the Recruit Orientation Phase: two laps of the pool, roughly 150 metres of breaststroke, without touching the sides or the floor, in swimming trunks or shorts with no equipment, and no goggles unless there is a medical reason. If your breaststroke is weak, fix it before Lympstone, not at Lympstone.

Stage Three: Fitness Inside Training

Pass the CPC and the Recruit Orientation Phase follows, which formally includes physical training alongside kit issue, drill and personal administration, and it ends with a field exercise and the Royal Marines Fitness Assessment. From there the 32 weeks build progressively: Individual Skills in weeks 1 to 10, Team and Section Skills in weeks 11 to 15, Troop and Urban Skills in weeks 16 to 23, and the Commando Phase in weeks 24 to 32. The physical bar rises with every phase, which is exactly why the entry standards are floors and not targets.

What you bring to CTCRM matters less than the condition you arrive in, but if you want the packing side squared away too, our Royal Marines kit list covers what to bring, what is issued and what to leave at home.

The Four Commando Tests

Everything converges on one week at the end of training. Four tests, roughly 24 hours apart, all carried out with kit and a rifle. The Royal Navy publishes the officer standards, and recruits face the same four tests with slightly different timings.

  • The Endurance Course. Roughly six miles: an obstacle stretch of tunnels, pipes and pools across Woodbury Common, then a four mile run back to CTCRM. Officer standard: under 71 minutes.
  • The 9 mile speed march. Nine miles as a formed squad, running and marching, in 90 minutes.
  • The Tarzan Assault Course. A high ropes and aerial obstacle course straight into the bottom field assault course. Officer standard: under 12 minutes; the recruit standard is 13.
  • The 30 Miler. Thirty miles across Dartmoor. The Royal Navy reports recruits carry 21lbs of equipment and a rifle and have eight hours; officers complete it in seven. Finish it and the green beret follows.

Each test comes after only around 24 hours of rest, a sequencing detail Forces News highlighted when it followed a troop through the week, and the Royal Navy’s own reporting from a 2024 30 Miler confirms the recruit load and the eight hour limit. The 30 Miler is also the one test recruits have never rehearsed in full, which is why it is regarded as the hardest of the four.

How Fit Before You Apply

Comfortably beyond the minimums, in the specific formats used. That means running several times a week with the bleep test in the mix, press-ups and sit-ups practised to a cadence because a beep decides your rep speed, strict pull-ups from a dead hang, and regular breaststroke. The pattern across every stage is the same: the Corps publishes floors and expects ceilings. Arrive with a surplus and training gets harder at the rate you can absorb. Arrive at the minimum and every week is a fight.

The Endurance Bit, From People Who Test It

Contact Coffee was founded by a former Royal Marine, and endurance is not a marketing theme here, it is the product test bed. In July 2026 Luke ran the GB Ultras Beacons Way 100, 103 miles across the Brecon Beacons, using Red On pouches as his caffeine source instead of gels; the full account of what held up is in the Beacons Way 100 race report. For training age adults, the Red On range and Red On caffeine pouches exist for exactly this kind of work, and are strictly for adults aged 18 and over. If you prefer your caffeine brewed, our natural pre workout guide covers coffee as a training tool honestly, doses included.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Royal Marines fitness requirements?

Royal Marines fitness requirements run in stages. You start with the Pre Joining Fitness Assessment (PJFA) event, then pass the Candidate Preparation Course, where the official minimum is 30 press-ups, 40 sit-ups and 4 pull-ups, plus a swim assessment. Training itself ends with the four commando tests: the Endurance Course, the 9 mile speed march, the Tarzan Assault Course and the 30 Miler.

What is the PJFA?

The Pre Joining Fitness Assessment is an event run with the Royal Marines InReach team, serving Marines loaned to the careers service to mentor candidates. It assesses your current fitness ahead of the Candidate Preparation Course, and you can attend as many PJFA events as you need while you prepare.

What do you need to pass the Candidate Preparation Course?

The Royal Navy states you need a minimum of 30 press-ups, 40 sit-ups and 4 pull-ups to pass the CPC. The five day course at CTCRM also includes the swimming assessment and gives you an introduction to life in the Royal Marines. Treat those numbers as a floor, not a target.

What is the Royal Marines swim test?

The swimming assessment runs across the Candidate Preparation Course and the Recruit Orientation Phase. It is two laps of the pool, roughly 150 metres of breaststroke, without touching the sides or the floor, in swimming trunks or shorts with no equipment and no goggles unless there is a medical reason.

What are the four commando tests?

The Endurance Course, a roughly six mile course of tunnels, pools and obstacles followed by a four mile run back to CTCRM; the 9 mile speed march, completed as a squad in 90 minutes; the Tarzan Assault Course, a high ropes and obstacle course against the clock; and the 30 Miler across Dartmoor. All are done carrying kit and a rifle, in the space of one week.

How long do you get for the 30 Miler?

Recruits get eight hours to cover 30 miles across Dartmoor carrying 21lbs of equipment and a rifle. Royal Marines officers complete the same test in seven hours. It is the final commando test, and the green beret follows it.

Do Royal Marines officers have different fitness standards?

The tests are the same but some timings are tighter. The Royal Navy publishes officer standards of under 71 minutes for the Endurance Course, under 90 minutes for the uphill 9 mile speed march, under 12 minutes for the Tarzan Assault Course and seven hours for the 30 Miler, against the recruits' eight.

What bleep test level do you need for the Royal Marines?

The bleep test is used at the PJFA to measure aerobic capacity, and level 10.8 is the widely used benchmark in the Royal Marines preparation community. The Corps' own guidance is to aim well beyond minimums in every element, because the Candidate Preparation Course and training demand far more.

Is the old treadmill PJFT still used for the Royal Marines?

No. Older guides describe a Pre Joining Fitness Test of two 2.4km treadmill runs, but the current first step is the Pre Joining Fitness Assessment event with the InReach team, followed by the Candidate Preparation Course. Follow current Royal Navy guidance, not stale forum posts.

How fit should I be before I apply?

Comfortably beyond the minimums. Build to running several times a week, practise press-ups and sit-ups to a cadence rather than at your own pace, get strict pull-ups from a dead hang, and swim breaststroke regularly. Everything in Royal Marines training is easier if you arrive with a surplus, not a scrape.

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References and Further Reading

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