In January 2026, I participated in Yom Sayarot, the tryout day for Israel’s special forces units. Like everyone approaching this experience, I had endless questions and felt as though I was stepping into the unknown. While there are resources available that outline what the day entails, I’ve come to believe that personal experience is the most valuable guide of all. With that in mind, I want to share my experience in the hope that it helps lift some of the blindfold we all begin the drafting process with.
We arrived at Yavne West train station at 7:30 a.m., where intake stations handed out energy bars. From there, we were loaded onto buses and driven to Palmachim Beach.
Pro tip: if you live far from the station, try to arrange a place to sleep nearby so you can reliably get a full night’s rest.
At around 8:30 a.m., we reached the beach and received a general safety briefing, followed by fairly quick medical checks. Afterward, everyone who had registered properly was given a number, and we were sent to warm up for the kilometer run.
Due to technical issues, the run was delayed by several hours and only took place at 1:00 p.m., right at the peak heat of the day and after many hours without food. We ran in groups of forty, according to our consecutive assigned numbers (for example, 360–400). This meant an even longer wait for those with higher numbers, which proved especially challenging given the heat and hunger.
After the run, we were seated on a dune and given bread and jam to eat before continuing. Once we finished, the evaluators read out the numbers of those who had been eliminated in the run, and they were sent home. Although it is not officially confirmed, the commonly accepted benchmark for passing the run is around three minutes and forty seconds.
At 2:30 p.m., we were divided among different dunes, seemingly at random. Some dunes were relatively small, while others were extremely steep, though the lap distances varied accordingly. I was assigned to a very steep dune, but with a relatively short lap.
The evaluators kept their distance throughout the day. Instructions were not repeated, questions were rarely answered, and communication was minimal. For anyone with weak Hebrew, this can be extremely challenging; high proficiency in Hebrew is essential by the time you reach your Yom Sayerot date.
We began with the sandbag run-and-crawl exercise. The task involved crawling a set distance, picking up a sandbag, running it up the dune, placing it back on the marked line, and then crawling back to the start. There were eleven standard rounds. When the first person completed all eleven (which happened to be me), the evaluator stopped the exercise and gave us an eight-minute break, which we had to time ourselves without a watch.
Next came the sociometric stretcher carry. Everyone sprinted, and the first finishers took the stretcher and continued running with it, while the rest completed another sprint carrying either a jerrycan, a sandbag, or nothing at all. We completed twelve segments. During the second round, after the stretcher and two jerrycans had already been picked up, everyone ran a full lap instead of a half lap, except for the stretcher team, which still ran only half.
After a six-minute break, we moved on to digging. Using shovels, we dug holes for about 15–20 minutes. During this time, one of the evaluators approached me and asked a few personal questions: where I’m from, my name, and similar details. The sand was very soft, and many of the holes collapsed repeatedly as we worked.
With barely a two-minute break, we began the “tsukon”, an exercise where you repeatedly run up the dune with a sandbag on your back for as many repetitions as possible within a fixed time. Because it’s time-based rather than lap-based, the key is maintaining a steady, sustainable pace and consistently overtaking others. Each time you pass the instructor, you must call out your name and the number of repetitions you’ve completed, so keeping track is crucial.
After seven minutes, we transitioned into the group dynamics exercise. My group was assigned a minefield scenario. Each time we failed, the evaluator selected a new leader. He eventually stopped us before we managed to transfer the stretcher and equipment through the minefield.
Following that, each of us was called individually for a short personal interview. The questions were brief and straightforward: my first name, the outcome I hoped for, how I prepared for Yom Sayerot, what I felt went less well that day, what I studied in high school, and my current status (student, pre-military program, etc.).
At around 5:00 p.m., a naval officer addressed the entire group, giving a short lecture about the naval officers’ course and submarine service. Shortly after, the day concluded, and we boarded buses back.
In hindsight, the aspect that bothered me most was the elimination run. Running on an empty stomach in extreme heat significantly affected me, even though I ultimately passed. We were explicitly told not to bring food from home, which made that part of the day particularly difficult.
Tzevet Mikey - צוות מייקי 