Team Run: The Last Runner Counts
Teams of five run a set distance, and the team's time is the time of its last finisher, so they must agree on a shared pace, draft and encourage each other. Students work on endurance, pacing and the teamwork found in running clubs.
How to play
- Mark a 550-yard loop and set up 5 mixed-ability teams of 5, each with one pinnie color.
- Each team gets 3 minutes to plan: who sets the pace, running order and a predicted time for 3 laps.
- Race 1 (about 8 min): everyone starts together; a team's clock stops when its last runner crosses.
- Scoring: 3 points to the fastest team, 2 to the team closest to its prediction and 1 if everyone finishes within 10 seconds of each other.
- Active rest (4 min) walking: each team reviews on the worksheet what went wrong and adjusts the plan.
- Race 2 of 3 laps with the new plan, then tally the points.
Rules
- You may cheer, run single file to draft and set the pace, but never push or pull anyone.
- No runner may be more than 20 yards ahead of the team's last runner.
- Pass on the outside and call it out.
- If someone feels sick, they stop, and the team finishes walking with them.
Variations
Easier
Run two laps per race and allow a teammate to walk alongside the last runner for one section.
Standard
Run three 550-yard laps with a time prediction and a bonus for finishing together.
Harder
Run four laps, and the team must run race 2 at least 5 percent faster.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the student races in a wheelchair or on a proportionally shorter course, compared with their own prediction.
- Visual impairment: the student runs with a guide partner using a short tether.
- Lower fitness: the team places the student right behind the pacer to draft.
Learning goals
- Match running pace to the slowest teammate.
- Plan and revise a group strategy using data.
- Value mutual support in group running.
Equipment for a class of 25
- cones: 10
- stopwatch: 1
- pinnies: 25
- worksheets: 5
Teacher tip
Balance teams by ability or the race is decided before it starts. Stress that the fastest runner gains nothing by breaking away; the point is bringing the group home.
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