What’s the surefire way to win a centipede race? From lineup order to basic posture and training methods

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
Editor-in-Chief, RAG MUSICHane Keisuke
Editor-in-chief of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. After working in a music studio and handling wedding sound, joined the RAG MUSIC editorial team in 2016. Experienced with a variety of instruments: marching band in elementary school, clarinet in junior high school wind ensemble, and drums in a band from high school onward. Drawing on my own musical activities and the experience gained through my work, I produce daily articles, including various song introductions, features on music festivals around the country, and live reports. In music, I enjoy not only rock from Japan and abroad but, lately, a wide range of J-pop as well.

Centipede racing is one of the most popular sports day events where participants line up in a single file and run with their ankles tied together with a rope.

As you might imagine, centipede racing is quite challenging, and among sports day events, it’s one where practice is especially crucial to winning.

In this article, we’ll start by explaining the rules and then cover comprehensive winning strategies for centipede racing! We’ll go over everything from the optimal lineup order and basic posture to effective practice methods, so read this article and get plenty of practice!

Effective Practice Methods (1–10)

Gradually increase the number of people

Up to now, I’ve shared plenty of tips for during the competition, but what I want to introduce here is how to practice leading up to the main event.

One thing you absolutely should do is gradually increase the number of people.

Especially at the beginning, have just the first three runners go, and once you can run smoothly, add more people little by little.

Each time you increase the number, adjust factors like the sense of distance front-to-back and the running pace, and keep optimizing so that the whole team can run smoothly together.

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Only after everyone is able to run should we do speed-ups and turn-backs.

Once all members can run straight smoothly, start practicing your sprint starts, aim for further speed gains, and begin turn-back drills.

Rather than skipping steps and jumping ahead, gradually stepping up is the key to improving quickly.

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If You Happen to Fall... (1–10)

Calm down and reset without rushing.

Lastly, I’d like to talk about what to do if you happen to fall.

Once you fall, other teams will pass you and you’ll probably start to panic.

However, the more you panic, the harder it becomes to get going again, so the best approach is to stay calm.

Steady yourself, take a breath, and start running again on the signal from the person at the back!

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In conclusion

We introduced foolproof strategies for the centipede race—from team order and basic posture to the key ways to call out and even practice methods.

In addition to what we covered, staying calm and unhurried is also essential for running well in a centipede race, so make sure everyone on the team keeps this in mind and aim for victory!