Well lets see. Back in the day I enlisted in the USMC I ran 2 mile in high school in 9:23 in May. Went in the Corp in June running like a madman and even with a little extra running in boot camp was much slower with the rigors of training and sleep deprivation. I constantly ran 16:20 in the Corp lifted like a madman and swam all the time. You have to be hardcore yes I was in Recon to maintain fitness not just in the USMC but in life. I can tell you it does not matter how good an athlete is , when sleep deprivation and life gets hard most elite athletes fail out of recon training because they do not have a do it no matter what attitude. Its not about glory its about the mission and yes it is bigger than any person. How many xc runners can go all day all night till the edge of death and still go on . Not many I will always rely on my USMC brothers they may not run under 20 minutes but they will be there when the time comes. I can still out work almost everyone at 53 because I believe life is about being your best. All you USMC haters join up and show us how easy it is when you are deep in the muck.