"Team Marathon" by Tom Winiecki

Getting kids to run can sometimes be a tricky thing to do. As professionals, we don’t want to force our students to do something to the point that they get "turned off" by the activity. As a result, they don’t want to do it when they are on their own. The world is littered with people that have been turned off by exercise. The last thing we need to do is to add to this total.

Here is an idea that you may want to try. It motivates the kids to run, teaches them pacing, gives them a definite goal to reach and fosters teamwork. It’s called a "Team Marathon."

I do this every year in March with our third and fourth graders. (We are in a K-4 building) This can certainly be done with fifth and sixth graders also.

The class divides itself into teams of 4-5. They then come up with a name for their team. They have to OK this with me. I’ll let just about anything go here. They come up with some pretty good ones: "Monkey Slippers," "Rampaging Racing Rhinos," "Fast Four"… Once in a while I have to veto a name. One year a group wanted to be called the "Winners." When they questioned me about why they had to change it, I asked them, "If you are the winners, what does that make everyone else?" They immediately understood and came up with a new name. All of the teams are posted on a giant chart in the gym. We keep track of everyone’s progress here.

To begin, I set up a "jogging course" in the gym: one cone in each corner and a fifth one just below the middle of the gym. This makes a "M" shaped course.

I measured this out so six laps equals _ of a mile. Each child is responsible for counting their own laps. I stand at the beginning (where they entered the gym) and count the leaders laps. I won’t tell them who the leader was, or how many laps they got. This way I know what the maximum number of laps can be. I can now tell if someone is trying to "pull a fast one" with an inflated lap total.

The first week we run, I give them 4:00. This time increases 1:00 each week. They are allowed to run, or walk. Both count toward their lap total. At the end of the allowed time, everyone walks one "cool-down" lap, before they all get together with their teammates to add up their laps.

During this "cool-down" lap, I give one student a hand held pulse monitor. We do a lot with target heart rate during all of our activities. If that person’s heart rate is within the target range that we have posted in the gym, they earn a free 24 laps (1 mile) for each team in their class!

There is always someone that will insist on being the first runner and getting the most laps. I tell them all right from the beginning, that they may run really fast and get 3-4 extra laps for their team, but they will miss the chance to get 24 free laps for everyone’s team. I’m constantly telling them: "easy does it," "steady pace wins the race," "steady as she goes"… This helps to a point.

What really works wonders with the kids is to explain to them what the "Talk Test" is. This is where if you can run/jog and carry on a conversation at the same time, you are running the right pace for you. I just embellish the story a bit! I tell them that every teacher, at some point will always tell them to be quiet, or to stop talking. Every teacher will insist that it be quiet in his or her classroom. I, though will be the only teacher that will INSIST that the students "yak their brains out" in my classroom for the next 4:00! Needless to say, they’re excited!

When the running time is up, they get together with their teammates to add their laps together. I give them a piece of paper and a pencil to do the math. If their adding is correct, I give them credit for their total. If their math is incorrect, I double their mistake.

If, for example the four members of a team ran 10, 10, 9, and 8 laps each their total would be 37. They may tell me that their total was 39. I will double their mistake (2) and give them credit for 33 laps (37-4=33). The actual difference between 37 laps and 33 laps is inconsequential. The kids don’t realize this though. They do their best not to get penalized. The point is, they are held responsible for their math skills.

The ultimate goal is NOT to be the first team to finish. The goal is to get all teams to the 26 mile mark within a time frame. When one team finishes, they don’t "win." Their job now is to run laps to "pull" other teams to the finish. Their lap totals are given to other teams in an effort to help them finish. This is continued until all teams finish. This teaches them a sense of teamwork and cooperation. "Slower" teams and classes are very often grateful for the extra help. Just having them know that other kids from other classes are helping them reach their goal is a great motivation!

This activity makes running fun for the kids. It’s not a "dread." They are not pushed to run "all out" all the time. Kids that aren’t the fastest runners often swell with pride when they realize that their pace was good enough to hit the target heart range! This gives that student a tremendous sense of success. They realize that they don’t have to be the fastest kid to be the most successful. Their moderate pace not only earned them respect from their classmates, but also begins to reinforce a lifetime fitness skill of exercising within a target heart range. Plus when the rest of the class realizes that someone’s efforts earned them a "free mile," the enthusiasm skyrockets!

All in all, this activity can cover many things for your kids. Try it and let me know what you think. My e-mail address is twiniecki@fm.cnyric.org

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