Game version
Course planner: walk a short course with a partner and decide together where to settle and where to surge. Then jog the plan together.
Course Walk Plan
Walk or jog the course before a race and plan where to save and where to push.
By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026
Set up
Walk the course with a coach or parent.
Core: Two. Compare only with your own last plan.
- Ages
- 11 and up
- Time
- 15 min
- Space
- Yard or field
- Bring
- Race course or park map, adult
- Level · skill
- Developing · Race Tactics
The steps
How it works
- Walk the course with a coach or parent.
- Mark the turns, hills and narrow paths.
- Decide where you will stay calm and where you will push.
- Write your plan in three short lines.
Coaching point
Know the course, own your plan.
Safety: Run trails and parks with an adult, stay on marked paths, and watch for roots and rocks. If you fall and hit your head, stop and see a doctor before you run again.
Make it fun
Play it, don't drill it
Challenge
Pick a level: Less (one surge), Core (two), More (three). Compare only with your own last plan.
Story
You are explorers with a map, planning the best path.
My best
Beat your own count
Compare only with your own last plan. Only your own number counts: today against last time.
Practice makes progress
Print it now, or save it free
Free for families and teams
Save this drill to your child or team, free
Sign up and the free cross country week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.
14 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free
Does your child's coach know about this?
An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.