Track and Field facts...

Events:

Sprints: 100 m, 200 m, 400 m

Relays: 4 X 100 m relay, 4 X 200 m relay, 4 X 400 m relay, 4 X 800 m relay, 4 X 1 mile relay

Hurdles: 110 m men, 100 m men, 100 m women, 400 m all

Middle Distance: 800 m, 1000 m, 1 mile, 1500 m, 2 mile, 2000 m

Long Distance: 3000 m, 5000 m, 10000 m, 20000 m, 25000 m, 30000 m, marathon (26 miles)

Field Events: high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus

* All the races used to be measured in yards

- The 100 meter dash used to be called the 100 yard dash.

- The 200 meter was the 220 yard dash

- The 400 meter was the 440 yard dash

This means that people used to measure the track by yards instead of meters. Since, for example, the 220 yard dash came out to be about a yard and a quarter more than the 200 meter dash, separate scores had to be maintained for each race.

The 200 m dash is sometimes run on a straightaway. Mostly, it's run on the curve of the track.

The 400 m used to be a middle distance (about a 75-80% speed) but runners got so good and ran it so fast that it is now a sprint (100% speed). The 800 m may even become a sprint if runners continue to run it so fast.

The crouch start started out with Serrill of Yale in 1888 and has been universally used ever since. It used to be made by holes dug in the track, but now it is done by using starting blocks.

It takes 13 seconds for oxygen to get to your muscles so sprinter do not need to breath on the 50, 60 or 100 m dashes if they don't want to. Still, it relaxes them to breath so they really need to breath after the race or their muscles will cramp up and they will collapse.

This is what shoes looked like 20 years ago. Notice that there are no spikes.

Here's what shoes look like now. They have spikes and they cost a lot more. They are pretty fancy.

Barbara McGuire