Yellowknife (Jan 19/07) - It's not easy to be an RCMP officer. Beyond the regular challenges of trying to keep people safe, every year they have to face something even worse - the Physical Ability Requirement Evaluation (PARE).

It's just a little test to make sure officers are in shape; a little test that is "entirely designed to make you as tired as possible," according to Const. Leigh Kukurudza.

Const. Kukurudza facilitates the PARE for officers in the NWT. It's a gruelling test of endurance, she said.

Last Friday, the equipment for the test was set up at the Multiplex gym - stairs, a vault, low hurdles, and a weight machine, amongst others.

"It looks like a child's obstacle course," said Const. Kukurudza, "but it's deceiving."

The course is designed to mimic a foot chase, with all the obstacles a police officer might encounter along the way.

Jumping over a floor mat is similar to jumping over a puddle, said Const. Kukurudza, and at one point officers have to fall to the ground to simulate a stumble.

There is a push-pull weight machine designed to mimic a struggle at the end of a foot chase, and a 100 pound carry bag to simulate carrying a small person out of a house.

"They're all aspects of our job," said Const. Kukurudza.

So to sum up, the PARE is a foot chase that involves dodging trees, leaping over puddles, carrying people, jumping over railings, running up and down stairs, falling down and getting up, and a struggle with an assailant.

All in four minutes and 45 seconds.

People applying for admission to the RCMP get an extra 30 seconds.

Gerald Tetlichi ran the course early last Friday, a requirement of his RCMP internship.

When he managed to catch his breath enough to speak, he said it had gone pretty well.

"The worst part," he said, "is the fifth and sixth laps."

That's the thing with the PARE; it's not just once around the course. It's six consecutive laps.

Once an officer, RCMP have to run the course at least once every two years.

Many officers run it every year to make sure they're keeping in good shape, said Supt. Rick Roy.

Tetlichi made it through the course in three minutes and 36 seconds. At 21, though, he has youth on his side.

"I didn't really train," he said. "I played soccer and hockey. That was my training."