telsor
Hall of Famer
Boooooooooooo!
Were they elite runners back then too?
The OP's question could easily be reframed to "Do you think if you really tried hard enough, you could make it to the AFL as an umpire?". For many people the answer is no based on the running requirements. They're probably fitter than 98% of the population.
Back when I was a teenager, I was a boundary ump in a fairly big suburban comp (SEAFL). One pre season, a bunch of clubs got together to have an athletics comp, and for a laugh they invited the umps along.
The comp was actually close enough that a couple of teams could have passed us in the final event. Trouble was, that was the 10K run. Our selection criteria was, basically whoever felt like it (and it was at the end of a fairly hot day) so the lineup wasn't exactly our best...8 competitors per team, and the slowest umpire came 9th (and we were pretty sure the guy who came 2nd was a ring in...I came 4th, but in my defense, I was only 16 at the time).
The following year they held it again...We weren't invited.
Summary...Umpires can RUN.