Running Scrabble
I used to be a runner. I liked that classification. I'd like to be one again.
I can't call myself a runner anymore, other than in spirit. I'd like to say I've tried countless times to get back into it, but I'd be lying. Three or four attempts, maybe. Each time some part of my body, usually a knee, has said, NO, you're not a runner anymore. Give it up.
Well, I'm out to give it another go. I expect things to go wrong, and to go wrong rather soon. But this time I'm not going to quit. There will probably be some physical therapy involved at some point, a few doctor visits and a lot of ibuprofen consumption. But I expect to complete a 5K by the end of the year, and am holding out hope to complete the Crim 10-Mile next August.
In that vein, I've also been thinking about the Scrabble-Running biathlon that some of my word friends started while in Orlando for the nationals. The rules for that event seemed to have players alternating making a play on the Scrabble board, and running a quarter mile on the track. This is the YouTube video of that competition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DGNmJjkgac
Here's an outline for how I'd like it to go:
Contestants start on the track with a quarter-mile run. The runner who finishes first, goes first in the Scrabble game. Rather than running after every turn over the board, the contestants run a set distance, say a quarter mile, for every 50 points scored. A typical game of 400 points would see players covering two miles (in addition to the opening distance).
I also think there needs to be bonuses for faster runners, and/or penalties for slow ones to somewhat equalize the Scrabble-Running equation. Starting with the run is a step in this direction. But adding a time standard for each running segment seems like a good idea. For example, with a time standard of a 6-minute per mile pace, quarter-mile laps would need to be turned in 90 seconds. Take longer than that and you lose points; Go faster and you get points. To do this would require a running clock for each player, separate from the game clock.
The game could end the traditional way, with one player going out first, or we can add another simultaneous, longer run at the end. For instance, the Scrabble portion ends 430-410 in favor of Player A. Both players now line up for a mile run, with Player B needing to run 21 seconds faster than Player A to overtake him and win the event.
Suggestions, ideas, thoughts?
I can't call myself a runner anymore, other than in spirit. I'd like to say I've tried countless times to get back into it, but I'd be lying. Three or four attempts, maybe. Each time some part of my body, usually a knee, has said, NO, you're not a runner anymore. Give it up.
Well, I'm out to give it another go. I expect things to go wrong, and to go wrong rather soon. But this time I'm not going to quit. There will probably be some physical therapy involved at some point, a few doctor visits and a lot of ibuprofen consumption. But I expect to complete a 5K by the end of the year, and am holding out hope to complete the Crim 10-Mile next August.
In that vein, I've also been thinking about the Scrabble-Running biathlon that some of my word friends started while in Orlando for the nationals. The rules for that event seemed to have players alternating making a play on the Scrabble board, and running a quarter mile on the track. This is the YouTube video of that competition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DGNmJjkgac
Here's an outline for how I'd like it to go:
Contestants start on the track with a quarter-mile run. The runner who finishes first, goes first in the Scrabble game. Rather than running after every turn over the board, the contestants run a set distance, say a quarter mile, for every 50 points scored. A typical game of 400 points would see players covering two miles (in addition to the opening distance).
I also think there needs to be bonuses for faster runners, and/or penalties for slow ones to somewhat equalize the Scrabble-Running equation. Starting with the run is a step in this direction. But adding a time standard for each running segment seems like a good idea. For example, with a time standard of a 6-minute per mile pace, quarter-mile laps would need to be turned in 90 seconds. Take longer than that and you lose points; Go faster and you get points. To do this would require a running clock for each player, separate from the game clock.
The game could end the traditional way, with one player going out first, or we can add another simultaneous, longer run at the end. For instance, the Scrabble portion ends 430-410 in favor of Player A. Both players now line up for a mile run, with Player B needing to run 21 seconds faster than Player A to overtake him and win the event.
Suggestions, ideas, thoughts?