Politician

JD Vance

50th Vice President of the United States, Marine veteran, author of Hillbilly Elegy

All evidence

3 records, newest first. Strength changes with age and weight class, so check the date and context before you compare.

1. 2007

   • 3-mile run (Marine Corps PFT)19:00

     Official testMarine Corps corporal, last PFT before leaving the Corps, age about 22

     Book, military.com2007

     Quote and details

     “On my last physical fitness test, I ran three of them in nineteen minutes.”

     J.D. Vance: What I Learned in the Marine Corps (Military.com, excerpt from Hillbilly Elegy, updated 2024-07-18)Last Marine Corps physical fitness test before discharge

2. 2004

   • Rope climb with one arm (30-foot rope)360 in

     Effort unknownMarine, first year of service, age about 19-20

     Book, military.com2004

     Quote and details

     “climbing the thirty- foot rope inspired terror; by the end of my first year, I could climb the rope using only one arm”

     J.D. Vance: What I Learned in the Marine Corps (Military.com, excerpt from Hillbilly Elegy, updated 2024-07-18)Marine Corps training, end of his first year

3. 2003

   • 3-mile run (Marine Corps boot camp)25:00

     Working setMarine Corps recruit in boot camp, age 18-19

     Book, military.com2003

     Quote and details

     “When I first ran three miles, mildly impressed with my mediocre twenty-five-minute time”

     J.D. Vance: What I Learned in the Marine Corps (Military.com, excerpt from Hillbilly Elegy, updated 2024-07-18)First 3-mile run in Marine Corps recruit training

Photo: Emily J. Higgins, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped.