Route Bet: Predict Your Time, Then Test It

On four legs with two clearly different routes, each trio predicts how long each route will take and then tests it by running both at once. It calibrates route-choice instincts: what really costs time—distance, stairs, doors, or turns.

How to play

1. Introduce the four legs, each with start and finish cones; the map shows the two possible routes for each (3 min).
2. The bet: each trio estimates the time for each route and writes which one they'd pick and why (6 min).
3. Test: on each leg, two members run at the same time, one per route, while the third times them at the finish; rotate so everyone runs (12 min).
4. Prediction error: each trio calculates the gap between their bet and the real time on each leg (5 min).
5. Rules of thumb: the class draws conclusions about which map features slow you down most and writes them up as route-choice tips (9 min).

Rules

• The two routes on a leg can't cross each other, to avoid collisions.
• Walk down stairs even if it costs time.
• Run both routes at a similar effort so the comparison is fair.
• Nobody cuts through out-of-bounds areas to win the bet.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: compares two accessible routes (long ramp vs. a direct path with a gentle slope), and the trio adjusts the legs.
• Visual impairment: runs with a guide, and the trio always compares the same pair of runners.
• Injury: serves as the trio's timer and data analyst.

Learning goals

• Estimate route times from the map.
• Test instincts against real data.
• Develop personal route-choice criteria.

Equipment for a class of 25

• school maps: 30
• stopwatches: 10
• prediction sheets: 10
• pencils: 10
• cones: 8

Teacher tip

Pick legs where one route is shorter but has stairs or doors and the other is longer and clear: that's where they misjudge most. The typical problem is the runner on the 'losing' route easing off; ask for equal effort on both.

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