> A more practical question -- what's a reasonable criterion > > of fitness for survival? Do we use the various military > > benchmarks? How do we adjust for age? >

I can't see the point of military benchmarks.
The military aren't as fit as people think. The reason they train in ways no one else does; running in boots, walking with packs etc is partly because they don't want the troops to see what their actual times would be on a track. It's good to get the troops believing they are super fit, raises morale.

Walking is the main fitness for most emergencies and having feet that can take it is almost as important. I wear my boots all the time. No one in the office can see they aren't shoes unless I pull my trousers up. Try walking in a pair of dress shoes for long and you'll find it torture.

One important fitness test that is often forgotten is; can you get out of a pool without a ladder? That's like one military test; the assault course, that would be useful. Can you climb a wall, Jump a ditch, climb a rope etc.

qjs