Running for Time

Running for Time

For this activity each Elementary class will be competing against each other to see who can jog or speed walk the longest before needing to walk. I start each class by bringing the kids over the whiteboard where I have their previous top score (time). We then as a class decide what we want our goal time to be for the day, and this is the maximum amount of time I will let them go during that class period. Once the goal has been decided we begin walking counter clockwise around the gym and I remind them all to make sure their shoes are tied and double knotted. When the students are all ready I will begin my stopwatch and turn on the music to cue the kids to start jogging or speed walking. The time stops once 1-2 kids have begun to walk or once 3 or more kids stop to tie their shoes. In addition, if the students do make their goal (which they usually do) I will stop the music and time and bring them over to the whiteboard where I will write our new score. This part I usually draw out and make really dramatic to get the kids excited.

I run this competition once or twice a year for usually 4-5 weeks, and will have them "run for time" usually 1-2 times per week at the beginning of class. Each time they run I emphasize the importance of pacing. We talk about how this competition isn't a race and that if they sprint they will only be wasting energy. We also talk about how if they get tired of jogging they should alternate between speed walking and jogging, and I make sure to demonstrate often the difference between speed walking and regular walking.

I love this activity because it's a great warm up and really gets kids excited about running. It's also an excellent activity for teaching pacing and goal setting, and the kids really get into it each year.

I would like to give credit for this activity to Tom Dahl from Longfellow Elementary who showed me this during my student teaching.