Pass the Combat Field Test with time to spare, and keep the second mile from falling apart.
The CFT is seven events on one continuous clock: a mile run, 30 dead stop push ups, a 100 meter sprint, 16 sandbag lifts, a 50 meter water can carry, a 50 meter high crawl and rush, and a second mile. Thirty minutes to pass, one standard for everyone. It is an aerobic test with strength interruptions, and the soldiers who fail are the ones whose second mile falls apart. This plan is built to fix exactly that.
Written by a retired Army Infantry Major, Ranger School graduate and former instructor, Best Ranger competitor, and UESCA Certified Running Coach who has taken every Army PT test since 2013. Eight weeks, three test days, two hard days a week, and every pace and every set written as a percentage of your own numbers so the plan repeats with a new baseline every cycle.
What you get:
A full diagnostic CFT in Week 1 that sets your mile paces, push up set sizes, and sandbag, carry and crawl progressions. A mock CFT in Week 5 that resets them. A record test in Week 8. CFT specific running: mile pairs (a hard mile, four minutes of work, a hard mile), 100 meter sprints from a prone start, plus tempo, threshold and mile repeats on heart rate. Three strength sessions a week paired with the hard days: hex bar deadlift and core, a sandbag and carry circuit that rehearses the middle five events in pieces, then pairs, then a full lane at test speed, and dead stop push up and core. A recovery week in Week 4. Dual prescription on every run: heart rate percentage AND RPE. Fully structured workouts that sync to Garmin, Wahoo, Coros, and Apple Watch. A Read This First guide on Day 1 with the test day protocol and progression rules, and a CFT Scorecard attached to it for all seven splits across all three tests.
Who this is for:
Soldiers in the 24 combat specialties who must pass the CFT, and anyone who can currently run two miles continuously and has lifted before. Pairs with AFT Two Mile: Run Strong; alternate the two plans through the year and both tests keep improving.
Equipment needed:
A 40 lb sandbag and a 65 inch platform (stacked boxes work), two 40 lb water cans or kettlebells, a hex bar and plates, dumbbells, a measured mile, a 100 meter straight and a 25 meter grass lane. Boots and ACUs on the three test days only. Heart rate monitor recommended, not required.
Communication: self guided plan. Questions are welcome through TrainingPeaks messaging, and one on one coaching with Pacheco Endurance is available if you want the plan built around your unit calendar and your numbers.
The structure works. The work is up to you.
UESCA Certified Running Coach and retired Army Infantry Major. Ranger School graduate, former Ranger instructor, Best Ranger competitor. Medically retired in 2024 and told in the hospital I might not run again. Rebuilt through running: two marathons, a half marathon, 15 laps at a Backyard Ultra, and the Pikes Peak Ultra 50 miler. Author of the Run Strong plans on TrainingPeaks: half marathon, AFT two mile, CFT, and mountain 50K and 50 miler. Your body adapts to what you ask of it. Ask more.