Ask Ollie
Backyard Turkey Trot
Here's one to try together!
Pin on a number, waddle, hop, side-step and sprint, then see if you can beat your own best lap!
Reviewed by our team.
Safety first
- running near roads, so a grown-up must stay in sight near any road
- trip or fall risk from shoes or sticks used as lap markers and from hopping and sprinting
- tape stuck on clothing
What you need
- Paper, 1 sheet per runner, plus 4 for signs
- Crayons or markers, a few markers
- Painter's tape, a few short strips per runner
- Phone, 1 timer or phone stopwatch
- Water, a drink for each runner
- Snack, 1 per runner
How to do it
Grown-up prep: Choose a flat, open patch of yard or park with no road crossings, and stay in sight of any nearby road the whole time.
- Mark out a lap course with shoes, sticks or chalk.
- Make your race number with markers.
- Tape your number onto your shirt.
- Plan four stations along the lap: waddle, hop, side-step, sprint. Ask: Which station do you think will be the trickiest?
- Warm up together with jogging on the spot and big arm circles.
- Run lap one while a grown-up times you.
- Run laps two and three and try to beat your first time. Ask: Did you beat your first lap? What helped you go faster?
- Walk a slow lap to cool down.
- Gobble a snack at the finish line, then invite someone to join the next run! Ask: Who will you invite next time, and what new station would you add?
Play it again
- Silly moves: swap the stations for bunny hops, crab walks, giant steps and tiptoes.
- Relay run: team up and pass a paper baton at the start line after each lap.
- Reverse run: run the lap backwards in station order and see if your time changes.
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