Beat Yesterday

Kids Run This City believes that every runner has the potential to be better than they were yesterday. And not just better at running. Better at life. Be that a better friend, a better student, a better athlete, a better whatever-matters-to-you-most. That’s why we encourage our runners to set goals, set out a plan to achieve more and dig deep on race day.

And we make good on that bet with our Personal Best Awards at our events.

So come on, beat yesterday. We know you can.

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WARM-UP

Warming up is important in any sport to get young bodies ready for activity. Try these activities to get moving:

  • play tag

  • follow the leader (use movements like knee raises, arm circles, toe touches, etc.)

  • high skips (skip as high as you can and raise your arms up high!)

  • crab walk (walk backwards on hands & feet) and robot walk (bring one leg up, bend waist to touch toes with hand and walk forward alternating legs) races

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line leader run

A team-based game in which everyone runs at a moderate pace in a straight line. When the whistle blows, the last person sprints to the front. Repeat. Learn to run at a steady pace and develop the ability to sprint for those nailed-it finishes.

Animal run

A leader calls out different animals and the group runs at that “speed” for 60 seconds (cheetah = fast, dog = moderate, turtle = slow, etc.). Understand how different speeds feel to develop an ideal race pace.

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OUT AND BACK

Practice race pace - an even pace that is challenging, but can be maintained for longer distances. Test skills by running at race pace for 30-60sec. Then turn around and run for another 30-60sec. Did you end up where you started? Or did you go faster/slower?

balloon stomp

Place inflated balloons on the ground, ideally spread out along a “course”. Run the course as quickly as possible, making sure to stomp/pop all the balloons with your feet. First one to pop all their balloons wins (or race the clock!). Work on speed and agility.