Running race pics setting question

[Ady]

After a failed outing the other week taking shots at a race in poor light (daytime) I am going to have a go at another race on Sunday. I made the mistake of leaving the camera (D300) on auto setting and did not preview any taken shots until it was too late (had borrowed the kit and was not fully conversant with it) but basically the auto option had the shutter speed too low for the purpose (1/80th-1/125 at best) causing blurring.

Now armed with the Nikon D5000 I am planning on setting the shutter priority to 1/250 which should be fast enough to capture the runners without any blur. With ISO set to around 500 I am hoping this option will give good DOF without adding too much noise as I would like a lot of the background to be in focus too. The pre-set sports mode aims to give a much higher shutter speed (probably needed to capture a baseball in flight) + higher ISO which is why I am going for the 1/250 option. I know a lot depends on the lighting conditions but I expect it to be overcast.

Am I better looking at a different setting or should this be good for the task?

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[TJ K]

Well if you want fast you're going to want to shoot at a fast aperture to keep the iso low and shutter high. Any reason you want everything in focus?
tj

[hulk]

What lens are you using? A wide-angle would be the best, I think.
You might still get a good enough DOF while shooting wide open if you stand further back from the subject(s).

[Ady]

I was thinking 1/250 would be a fair compromise of speed/ medium apature at ISO 500. The background is countryside and I want some of that detail in focus as well as some of the runners behind the one foucsed on.......?
Lens is kit 18-55