Healthy Kidz Virtual Sports Day - Marathon Challenge

In This Section


You Will Need

  • A ‘Tester’ to shout “Ready, Steady and Go” and record time and distance
  • A Stopwatch/Timer
  • 2 Cones or Garden Objects

How To Set Up and Record Your Result

Place your 2 Cones or Garden Objects 10 metres (m) apart on a flat, non-slip surface (or 20m if you have sufficient space).

Begin at your starting cone in a standing start position (similar to your Sprint start position but standing slightly more upright).

When the Tester shouts, “Ready, Steady, Go”, begin running at a steady, comfortable pace to the second cone, before turning sharply and returning to your original cone.

You will repeat this for your allotted time, with the Tester counting the number of lengths you can complete.

Primary 1-4 (Foundation & Key Stage 1) students will run for a total of 3 minutes and the Tester will record how many lengths have been completed in this time.

Primary 5-7 (Key Stage 2) Students will run for 5 minutes and the Tester will record how many lengths have been completed in this time.

You will then work out your total distance, for example, if your cones are spaced 10m apart and you manage to complete 50 lengths, your total distance will be 500m or if your cones are spaced 20m apart and you manage to complete 30 lengths, your total distance will be 600m.

Once you’ve managed to work out your total distance- record it in the Healthy Kidz App under Sports Day>Marathon Challenge.

Coaching Tips

  1. Remember to try to pace yourself so that you don’t have to stop for a break at any point during the challenge.
  2. Playing some music in the background might help you to you relax and take your mind off the run.
  3. Keep your turns sharp to shave some seconds off your time.
  4. Ask your Tester to give you a 30-second warning before the final part of the race so you can make a big push for home.

How To Prepare

You can really improve your endurance each week by simply practicing this event and trying to improve your total distance.

Try not to eat right before the event and drink plenty of water a few hours beforehand to make sure you’re fuelled up and ready to go.

See if you can recreate Mo Farah’s epic Sprint finish during the last 30 seconds of your Marathon Challenge - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRTxzLJ8Emo.