Sprint Races
- Make sure the distance is age and ability appropriate, and a distance to which children can keep a consistent sprint speed e.g., Key Stage 1, 15 - 30 metres Key Stage 2, 30 - 60m.
- Use a whistle to start the race and prepare the children to expect the start noise.
- Use adults or older children to hand out position tags when the runners cross the line. This helps you to record positions; someone holds a 1st place tag/note and watches for the pupil who wins and hands them the 1st place tag – do this for all runners and their positions.
Egg and Spoon Races
- Use a traditional egg and spoon; hard-boiled is best!
- Alternatives can be balancing a ball on a racquet or a softball on a spoon. Get creative to ensure all children can work at an appropriate level of challenge.
- To add an extra dimension, you could include obstacles for children to encounter en route.

Middle Distance Races
- Middle distance running is traditionally thought of as 800 and 1500m in school. These are quite challenging distances for primary age children, especially without training.
- Middle distance might look more like 400 – 1000m depending on the age and ability of your pupils. Middle distance should be long enough so children can’t sprint the whole way.
- Choose distances that will challenge pupils to adopt a pace rather than run flat out as your ‘middle distance’ event – you know your pupils!
Relay Races
- These races have a set number of legs, usually four, each leg run by a different member of the team. The runner finishing one leg passes the baton to the next runner.
- You can have more or fewer stages to adapt to your groups and classes needs.
- Include an exchange zone to make the race more challenging, runners must have passed the baton within this zone.
- If you don’t have proper athletics batons, get creative! Rolled up and sellotaped newspaper works or an empty kitchen roll tube.