Pick-Up Pyramid Team Run

In teams of five, the first runner does a lap alone, picks up a teammate for the second lap, another for the third, until the whole team runs together; then they drop off one at a time. Students build aerobic endurance and learn to match pace with a group.

How to play

1. Mark a 165-yard loop with cones. Each team of five, in one pinny color, waits by its cone at the start, numbered 1 to 5 (3 min).
2. Build-up phase: runner 1 runs a lap alone; passing the start, runner 2 joins for the next lap; then runners 3, 4 and 5 join.
3. Drop-off phase: after the lap with all five, runner 1 stays at the start, then runner 2, and so on until runner 5 runs the last lap alone.
4. Anyone waiting at the start walks around their cone, no sitting. The team tries to finish the pyramid with nobody losing contact with the group (9 min).
5. Walk 2 minutes. A second, shorter pyramid of three laps up and down with a new order (4 min).
6. Discussion: who ran the most laps and how did the pace change when the group was big? (2 min).

Rules

• The group runs together: the slowest runner sets the pace each lap.
• Pass other teams on the outside and call out.
• Wait at the start walking, off the running line.
• Anyone who cannot keep up says so and the group slows down.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: in a wheelchair, the student joins on a parallel inside route and counts as part of the group.
• Visual impairment: runs with a sighted guide who joins at the same time.
• Lower fitness: takes spot 1 or 5, which run fewer laps in a row at the top.

Learning goals

• Sustain aerobic running for several laps.
• Match personal pace to the group.
• Work together so nobody gets dropped.

Equipment for a class of 25

• cones: 10
• pinnies: 25

Teacher tip

Spot 3 runs the most laps, so rotate the order for the second pyramid. If one team is much faster, have them run the full pyramid twice.

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