How to Improve Your Sprint-Drag-Carry Time

Reviewed and updated October 6, 2026 · Current U.S. Army sources

Improve Your SDC Time header with an adult male trainee carrying two kettlebells from a rear view; his face is hidden.

To improve your sprint-drag-carry time, look at where you lose time across the five movements over 250 meters: sprint, drag, lateral, carry and sprint. A slow transition or incorrect turn can affect the result alongside your running speed and strength.

Our AFT calculator shows what your current time earns. For training, keep the course consistent and look at the movement breakdown, so your next practice session addresses a specific problem instead of simply repeating a tiring full attempt.

Improve Your Sprint-Drag-Carry Time on the Correct Course

The SDC uses a 25-meter lane, with five out-and-back shuttles of 50 meters each adding up to a total distance of 250 meters. If you’ve marked a 50-meter lane, you’ll cover twice the test distance and get a time that won’t compare with the official event.

The March 2026 ATP 7-22.01 specifies a nylon sled with pull straps, two 45-pound plates for the standard surface, and two 40-pound kettlebells. Authorized modified surfaces use different prescribed sled loading, so confirm the setup with your unit before comparing times.

Surface friction matters particularly during the drag. For example, a faster time after moving to a smoother surface may reflect the equipment and surface change. Those conditions belong alongside the recorded time when you’re comparing progress across practice sessions.

The 25-meter SDC lane has five 50-meter out-and-back shuttles: sprint, drag, lateral, carry, sprint; 250 meters total. Standard equipment uses two 45-pound plates and two 40-pound kettlebells.
Each shuttle goes 25 meters out and 25 meters back; the lane itself is 25 meters long.

Find the Segment That Costs You Time

During practice, a partner can note the end of each shuttle, including transitions, so you have a breakdown to compare alongside the total time. A recording can show equipment-handling problems. It is a training aid. Official event scoring comes from the trained graders’ direct observation.

For example, suppose your total improves from 2:35 to 2:31, while the carry and final sprint remain similar. If the drag segment becomes four seconds faster, you have a useful clue about where the improvement occurred. A total time alone wouldn’t show that.

Fatigue, surface conditions and timing differences can affect a session, so several comparable attempts give you a better basis for choosing what to practice.

Practice the Movements and Their Turns

The Army’s SDC event instructions describe different requirements for the turns and equipment. Practicing those requirements makes your training time more useful, because a missed line touch can require you to return and correct it during the test.

Opening Sprint

Your opening sprint starts from prone, takes you to the 25-meter line and requires a hand and foot touch before you return, so the turn belongs in your practice. A controlled turn helps you accelerate back toward the equipment.

Sled Drag

You pull backward using an authorized strap grip. The whole sled must cross the turn line and then the start line on your return. For instance, a quick first drag can still lose time if you struggle to turn the sled. Controlled handling practice lets you work on that particular movement before another hard attempt.

Lateral Shuttle

You face the same direction out and back, leading with opposite feet and touching the far line with a hand and foot, so both directions need practice. Your feet must not cross. For example, you can lead out with the right foot and back with the left.

Kettlebell Carry

The carry uses both kettlebells at your sides, with a closed grip and upright handles; you touch the far line with a foot before returning to set them down under control. And the transition matters here too. A rushed pickup can interrupt a smooth shuttle.

Final Sprint

The final sprint requires a hand and foot touch at the far line, with the clock stopping after you cross the start line on your final return.

Overhead photograph of practice sled equipment, two matching kettlebells and cones on turf, with no people.

Put Technique Practice Between Hard Attempts

An example approach is to use one session for controlled turns, sled handling and carry transitions, then a separate session for a timed attempt after adequate recovery. This is a practical starting point to discuss with your H2F team, rather than a fixed Army training program.

Practice volume depends on current conditioning and other training. Repeated full-effort attempts can leave you too tired for useful technique work. If your profile limits an activity, the plan needs to account for it. Pain that changes movement is also a reason to have the plan adjusted before adding hard attempts.

Choose a Target From Your Scoring Column

Our sprint-drag-carry calculator lets you compare your current time with a possible target, using the age and standard that determine your points rather than somebody else’s scoring column.

And a faster performance can show progress even when it stays within the same points band. The raw time and points belong together in a training record, showing whether you’ve improved the movement and reached a new scoring threshold.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does One Faster Second Always Add an AFT Point?

In the age 22–26 M/C column of the official scoring scales, 2:31 and 2:30 both earn 60 points, while the next point requires 2:26.

Do Older Soldiers Use a Shorter SDC Lane?

The lane remains 25 meters and the event totals 250 meters for older Soldiers too. Age changes your applicable scoring thresholds, rather than the course length.

Is the SDC the Combat Field Test?

The SDC is one event within the AFT, while the Combat Field Test is a separate assessment with its own events and requirements.