Discussion: Running Games

I'm volunteering as a coach for a youth fitness program. Does anyone have any fun running game or drill ideas? The kids range from 6 to 12. I think I'll be with the younger kids mainly.

Thanks a bunch!

The toe tag game - two kids face each other with their palms touching - they interlace their fingers. Then keeping a hold of both hands, they try to tag the other persons toes with their toes. This ends up in very energetic give and takes as they keep jumping around trying to keep their toes safe while going after the other persons.

If you just need 5 minutes to prep an activity, 'look up, look down' is an easy game to teach that they can run themselves once you've taught it once. Everyone stands in a circle. A leader (who can be in the group too) instructs them to look down. They look at somebodies toes. Then the leader says 'look up' and they look at the eyes of the person whose toes they were looking at. If they are making eye contact (the person you are looking at is looking at you), then they are out. Variations include bonus points for the best 'death' noices/act when you make eye contact (screaming, fainting, growing, animal noices, etc). It's a great way to keep them occupied while you finish setting something up.

Relay races with big t-shirts. Get colorful xl t-shirts (from Goodwill, etc) and then run a relay with lots of teams. One person from each team starts with the t-shirt and runs to the other side. Then they have to transfer the t-shirt by grabbing arms and having a partner pull it over their head and inside out onto the next person. Then they run back to the next teammate and it goes on using the t-shirt as the 'baton'

Amoba or Blob tag - everyone starts out running on their own. But two people are it. They have to hold hands. They run around holding hands and try to tag someone. Once they tag someone, then all three are 'it' and hold hands. When they tag a 4th person, they can either stay as a group of 4 or break off into two groups of 2 that are both 'it.' Blobs can either break off into pairs or small groups, or re-blob at any time. Later in the game it's adventagous to blob so you can corner people.

Follow the leader is a classic, but is still good.

Map memory races are cool - you have a map with a course on one side and a blank map on the other. Teams run as a relay. Each person goes and memorizes one control placement and comes back and draws it on the blank map. Then the next person runs and memorizes the next control and draws it. You do this until all the controls are on the map.

'winds of change' is a good name game. You put pieces of paper on the ground (or something), one fewer than there are participants. Then one person is the middle.

The person in the middle says their name and something about themselves that others might share too. Like "I'm Zan and the winds of change are blowing for everyone who's favorite color is orange." Then everyone whose favorite color is orange has to leave their spot and find a new spot. The person in the center is also running for a new spot. After everyone finds a spot, one person should be left without one and they're the new center spot. Then they say "I'm ____ and the winds of change are blowing for everyone who thinks it would be fun to go sky diving." It's a fun way to learn about people and learn names while also running around and being active.

I remember when a friend of mine organized a giant game of sharks and minnows with 4th and 5th graders. About 150 minnows running across the field at once. The 10 sharks standing in the middle of the field were paralyzed in fear. It went down in history as 'Braveheart in the Meadow.' Turns out this game is better in small groups ;-)

If I remember correctly, blob tag scaled up better. As did various versions of freeze tag.

Kill the Carrier was always my favorite, though I think that might not work with such large age differences.

>>Kill the Carrier

what's that?

>>Blob tag

Blob tag sounds a lot like red rover or whatever. We actually are banned from playing that at the summer camp I work at because one time some over enthusiastic camper jumped on and broke another camper's arm...

thanks a bunch! these are some really cool ideas! I really like the sound of toe tag. sounds rather silly which is always fun. I've played "winds of change" as "train wreck". "winds of change" is a prettier name.

I just did "Hounds and Hares" with my High School team this week. It's another version of tag. Select a few "Hounds" to start the game or ask for volunteers. All the rest of the group are "Hares". Give the Hares a 60sec head start to get away then release the hounds. When you are tagged you become a Hound and the objective is to be the last Hare standing. Lots of running especially if you make the boundries large. Another of my favorites is Ultimate Frisbee, also lots of running.

Kill the Carrier what's that?

It goes by a bunch of names, Kill the Guy with the Ball probably being the most descriptive. One ball, you try to get it, once you get it you run like crazy while everybody else tries to tackle you. Once you're down you throw the ball up in the air and repeat. Best in groups of 5-10, but I've played it with as many as 50. More a favorite with boys, but I recall plenty of girls taking part. I also recall being mighty tired after half an hour or so.

I remember calling that game "Smear the Queer" when I was a kid. I'm pretty sure we were too young to consider the term 'queer' as meaning anything except its traditional definition, but now I'm not so sure it would be a good idea to use the term.

"Queer" has had its current colloquial meaning since well before you were born, maybe even moreso when you were a kid. I strongly suspect it was being used in a derogatory sense then, and you just didn't realize it. But how did that work? Instead of a ball, did you use some other token? In any sense of the word, what could you be holding that would render you queer?

Blindfolded football. Each blindfolded player has a sighted partner on the sideline who can shout instructions.

It was the same - someone had the ball, everyone else tried to tackle that someone. I always assumed they were the 'odd person out' and thus 'weird' or 'queer', though it's possible that the other 7 year olds in my neighborhood had the other meaning in mind. I'd rather not believe that, though. :-/

Well, now that that name's out of the bag, yes, we called it that sometimes, too. And, yes, we knew exactly what it meant.

Even if the 7 year olds weren't thinking of it that way, I'll bet that whoever they learned it from was. For what it's worth, in my town it had degenerated into a variant called "Kill the Other Guy".

I am surprised no one has mentioned Capture the Flag. Doesn't get better than that.

A good running game is cat and mouse. One person just has to follow all the moves the other makes faceing each other.
I do like blindfolded football, but do they wear helmets?

as a warm up for teams we used to do the "here, there, where" game. It involves us running as a team and the coach, with a whistle, blows and says either Here, there or where. Here means you run to the coach, there means you run to the point the coach is pointing to and where means you run anywhere. This can get pretty tiring as you are constantly running and changing direction. Good for the kids.

Flashlight tag is an awesome one, but that requires darkness... or maybe just a really dark gymnasium.

I think it'll be the six and seven year olds playing the games while the older kids to sprints and stuff. I think I'll try "here, there, where" or the toe touch game if I'm w/ the young group.

thanks for all the ideas, i really appreciate it!