Three-Legged Race

Set up

Play on grass. Mark a start and a finish about 20 big steps apart, with clear space beyond the finish for stopping. Pair players of similar height. Each pair stands side by side, and you tie the left ankle of one to the right ankle of the other with a soft tie: snug, not tight.

Give every pair a minute to practice before the first race.

How to play

1. Pairs line up at the start with arms around each other’s shoulders or waists.
2. On “go”, pairs race to the finish.
3. A pair that falls gets up and carries on from where they fell.
4. A pair whose tie comes undone must stop and retie it before moving on.
5. The first pair to cross the finish line with both players and the tie intact wins.

Pairing fairly

Pairs matched for height move best. For a family event, the more interesting races mix ages: each adult with a child. Run heats of four or five pairs so there is room to fall, and send the winners to a final.

Ways to change it

• Relay: teams of pairs. Each pair races to a cone and back, then tags the next.
• Obstacles: add something to step over or go around. Keep it low and soft.
• Four-legged race: three people in a row, two ties. Much harder.
• Carry something: each pair carries a ball between them or a cup of water.

Who it suits, and who it doesn’t

A three-legged race belongs at a picnic, a field day or a family reunion: outdoors, on grass, with people watching. Falls are part of it, so it is not for hard ground, for very young children, or for anyone with knee, ankle or balance problems. Check that the ties are soft and can be undone in a second.