Figure Eight Cone Run: A Complete Guide
Quick Intro
Figure Eight Cone Run is a curved running drill performed by setting up two cones several yards apart and running a continuous figure-eight pattern around both, weaving through the middle on every lap. It’s dosed by attempts through a set number of laps and, unlike the cone drills built around discrete, sharp cuts, is built around sustaining speed through a continuous curve rather than a series of separate direction changes.
Equipment Needed
Figure Eight Cone Run needs two Training Cones, set out several yards apart in a straight line.
Why Figure Eight Cone Run Matters
Leaning into a continuous curved turn calls on the outer hip (gluteus medius) and inner thigh (adductors) to hold the body’s line all the way through the turn, while the glutes (gluteus maximus) and front of the thigh (quadriceps, rectus femoris) sustain speed through the curve itself. The side of the waist (obliques) braces the trunk against the lean, and the back of the thigh (hamstrings, biceps femoris) helps control the shortened stride on each curve. The calf (gastrocnemius) manages the quick ground contacts throughout, and the hip flexors (iliopsoas) keep the legs cycling through the tighter turning radius. The shin (tibialis anterior) keeps the feet responsive as the stride shortens into each curve.
Agility is the main demand, the product of sustaining speed through a continuous curve. Speed itself is close behind.
When to Do It
This drill fits well once a basic curved cut already feels controlled, since it asks that control to sustain across a continuous, repeated figure-eight path. It also works well as a conditioning piece, given how directly repeated laps of curved sprinting tax cardiovascular endurance alongside the turning skill itself.
Anyone with a current ankle or knee issue should approach this carefully, since leaning into a continuous curve places sustained rotational load on both in a way a straight sprint or a series of discrete cuts doesn’t.
Getting Ready
A few minutes of easy jogging followed by a slow, controlled lap of the figure-eight pattern rehearses the curving line this drill depends on before pace is added. Shortening the stride deliberately through a couple of practice curves previews the specific technique the drill depends on.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. The setup. Stand at one cone, facing toward the second cone, ready to begin the loop.
2. The first curve. Run a curving loop around the first cone, leaning into the turn and shortening the stride through the curve itself.
3. The crossover. Cross through the middle point between the two cones toward the second cone.
4. The second curve. Run a curving loop around the second cone, mirroring the same lean and shortened stride.
5. The continuation. Repeat the figure-eight pattern for the planned number of laps, keeping the line smooth and continuous throughout.
How Many, How Often
Figure Eight Cone Run is dosed by attempts through a set number of laps, with full rest between attempts to keep every curve fast.
| Level | Where you’re at | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | New to sustaining speed through a continuous curve | Figure Eight — Wide Cones, 3 to 4 laps per attempt, resting fully between attempts. |
| Intermediate | The curve stays controlled at a moderate pace across multiple laps | 4 to 6 laps per attempt, with a full rest between attempts. |
| Advanced | The full pattern holds together at speed | 6 to 8 laps per attempt, or move toward Figure Eight — Tight Cones once the curve stays fast and controlled under pace. |
Leaning into the turns and shortening the stride on the curves matters more here than pushing straight-line speed between them, since that technique is what lets speed carry through the turn without stalling.
Modifications and Variations
Figure Eight Cone Run has three variations, one easier and two more demanding.
For an easier entry point, Figure Eight — Wide Cones increases the distance between the two cones, opening the curve into a wider, more gradual turn.
For more difficulty, Figure Eight — Tight Cones shrinks the distance between the two cones, tightening the curve and demanding a sharper lean and shorter stride to hold speed through it.
For a different kind of difficulty, Figure Eight — Backward runs the identical figure-eight pattern moving backward, adding a spatial-awareness demand on top of the existing curved turning.
Progression path: the curving technique gets learned with a wider, more forgiving turn first; tight cones then compress that same technique into a sharper curve, while the backward version adds a separate orientation challenge on top of the same figure-eight shape.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Cutting the curve into a sharp angle instead of a continuous lean. Treating the turn like a discrete cut, not a sustained curve, costs speed, since the drill is built around maintaining pace through a continuous line, not stopping and redirecting. Leaning into the turn smoothly, with the stride shortening and the body still moving, keeps the pattern continuous.
Running the same stride length through the curve as on the straights. Keeping a long, open stride through a tight turning radius makes the curve harder to control and slower overall. Shortening the stride specifically through each curve protects both control and speed.
Losing the crossover point at the middle of the figure eight. Drifting off the true crossing line between the two cones turns the pattern into two separate loops. Aiming deliberately for that middle crossing point on every lap keeps the shape a true figure eight.
After Your Set
The outer hip and trunk take on a sustained load through repeated curved turning, so a few minutes of easy movement is worth taking before stretching. A standing side-on hip stretch, crossing one leg behind the other and leaning the hips toward the wall, releases the outer hip (gluteus medius) that held the body’s line through every curve. A seated groin stretch, soles of the feet together and the knees eased down toward the floor, opens the inner thigh (adductors) that helped control each turn.
Going Deeper
Unlike Cone Slalom Sprint’s line of discrete side-to-side cuts, this drill’s defining skill is sustaining speed through one continuous curving line around just two cones. That distinction matters in practice: treating this drill’s turns like Cone Slalom’s cuts produces a choppier, slower pattern that misses what a figure eight is meant to train.
Progress here tends to stall on speed dropping through the curve itself, not on the straights between cones: an athlete can sprint well on the brief straight sections and lose pace the moment the curve tightens. Practicing isolated curves at a controlled pace, focusing purely on the lean and shortened stride, tends to build curved speed faster than running full laps at a pace the curve can’t yet hold.
Someone new to this drill generally needs several sessions before the curve holds speed without slowing into it, and continues extending lap count over the following weeks as that curved speed becomes reliable.
How to Know You’re Improving
- Speed carries smoothly through the curve
- The stride shortens naturally on the curves without the whole pattern losing its rhythm
- The crossover point at the middle of the figure eight stays consistent lap after lap
- Multiple consecutive laps hold together without the curve loosening under fatigue
Speed sustained through the curve itself, not raw straight-line pace, is what marks progress here.
Muscles Worked
- Gluteus Maximus (the largest glute muscle, holding pace through laps that never run straight)
- Rectus Femoris (a front thigh muscle that crosses both the hip and knee, carrying a leaning body around each loop)
- Gluteus Medius (a smaller glute muscle at the side of the hip, working one side then the other as the loop reverses)
- Gastrocnemius (a calf muscle, pushing off the outside foot through every bend)
- Biceps Femoris (a muscle at the back of the thigh, keeping the stride going on a curved path)
- Obliques (the muscles along the sides of the waist, rolling the trunk the other way at the crossover point)
- Adductors (the inner thigh muscles, holding the inside leg close as the body banks)
- Iliopsoas (the deep hip flexor, cycling the knees continuously with no stop in the pattern)
- Tibialis Anterior (a muscle along the front of the shin, keeping the foot set on a tilted ankle)
FAQ
How is this different from Cone Slalom Sprint? Cone Slalom Sprint weaves through a line of multiple cones with a discrete cut at each one, while this drill runs one continuous curving loop around just two cones, a sustained-turn skill rather than a series of separate cuts (see Going Deeper above).
Is this more of a speed drill or a conditioning drill? Both. Agility and speed lead, but a continuous curving pattern also spreads a moderate demand across cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, balance and power, without the sharp peaks of a drill built around separate cuts (see Why It Matters above).
Is wide spacing just an easier version, or does it change the movement itself? It’s easier without changing the underlying skill, since Figure Eight — Wide Cones keeps the identical curving action while simply opening the turn’s radius before tight spacing demands a sharper one.
Should I master the standard spacing before trying the backward version? A comfortable, controlled curve at standard spacing makes the backward version considerably easier to learn, since Figure Eight — Backward adds an orientation challenge on top of a curving pattern that’s already demanding to control moving forward.
Part of the cone drill family, alongside Box Drill, Arrowhead Drill, W-Drill and Zigzag Sprint Drill.