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Running Games |  |
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See the Index for more topics, information, hints and tips.
Sometimes during a run or race you need something to keep your mind distracted. I frequently play games while running. If I am running on a trail I’ll count the number of downed trees that I have to jump over or the number of trees that I have to duck under or the number of bridges or creeks I cross or the number of animals I encounter. There was one group that counted the number of squirrels they saw.
In a race you are more focused on the finish line and your time. If you are trying to catch someone or a pace group, you can count the number of steps they are in front of you. When they pass a landmark or mark on the ground count the number of steps it takes you to get to that same point. Doing this at different times will tell you if you are gaining on them or not. You can also use your watch to track the number of seconds you are behind them.
Another game is at some point in the last part of a race to count the number of people that you pass or that pass you. By that time in a race things should have leveled out and you’ll be running with others of about the same speed. If you pass more people than pass you then you are doing good. You can add one for every person you pass and subtract one for every person that passes you. I never know how to treat those doing run/walk or with an uneven pace. You may pass and be passed by them numerous times.
You could also count the number of orange or red shirts, the number of shirts from a local race or your running club, or the number of friends you encounter.
At big races people tend to wear shirts from other races. You could count the number of different states or countries that you see represented. This would be a lot of fun at big destination races.
I use the fingers of one hand to count to five and the fingers of my other hand to count the number of fives so I can count up to thirty.
I frequently run a popular 9 mile loop around a lake. I like to try to remember the people I see near the start of my run who are running or biking in the opposite direction. Then I try to watch for them to see if I encounter them again.
Fartlets are a type of running workout. It is a Swedish word for speed play. They are basically unstructured intervals, so I guess that makes them kind of like a game.
Being an engineer I’ll sometimes do or try to do math. Sometimes I run on a small indoor track. If there are other people walking or running on the track I’ll count the number of laps we each do. For example, if I do five laps while they do four and a half, that tells me they are going 4.5/5 or 90% as fast as me, so I can calculate their pace.
Calculate your predicted finish time based on your current time in a race and the number of miles remaining and the pace you want to do.
I find that the longer duration I run the more difficult it is to do this more complicated math.
I’m sure you can come up with other games to keep you amused during a run or race. Let me know what they are and I’ll include them here.
