Animal Run
A pacing game that teaches runners how to control and modulate pace
Instructions:
- Discuss and demonstrate various animals’ relative speeds. For example, go over the difference between sprinting like a cheetah, and running somewhat slower, but still quickly, like a horse.
- Call out the name of an animal and have your team begin moving at that animal’s relative speed.
- Call new animals periodically.
Performance Points:
- Include animals that represent four general speeds: walk (e.g. turtle), jog (e.g. pig), run (e.g. horse), and sprint (e.g. cheetah).
- Pick a handful of animals to call out repeatedly for consistency, but mix in some others to keep the runners on their toes.
- Call out a new animal every 10-30 seconds.
- Limit sprinting to 10-15 seconds at a time.
- Ask runners to pay close attention to how it feels to run like each of the animals.
- After the game, have them talk about their effort and level of fatigue, as well as any form adjustments they made when they ran at the different speeds.
Training Specifics:
When: Anytime; it’s a great way to work a lot of running into a session.
Benefits:
- Teaches kids how it feels to run at different speeds
- Teaches kids to control and modulate their pace
- Builds endurance
