The cooper test which was designed by Kenneth H. Cooper in 1968 for US military use is a physical fitness test.[1][2][3] In its original form, the point of the test is to run as far as possible within 12 minutes. Pacing is important, as the participant will not cover a maximal distance if they begin with a pace too close to an all out sprint. The outcome is based on the distance the test person ran, their age and their sex.
It is an easy test to perform in larger groups. For athletes, the length of the run is considered to be that of a long distance run, since everything above 3 km is rated "long distance"—which means the runner will primarily use their "red", slow oxidative muscle cells.
For comparison the 2 miles (3,218.7 meters) world best is 7:54.10 set by Jakob Ingebrigtsen and the 5000 meters outdoor world record of Joshua Cheptegei is 12:35.36. With the same average speed, this would give 4768 metres for the Cooper test. The 2 miles world best for women is held by Meseret Defar with 8:58.58 and Faith Kipyegon's world record time for the outdoor 5000 meters is 14:05.20.[4][5]