The Running Track

I post on a beginner’s running forum and a common question from new runners with no track and field background is how do you do speedwork on the track. Another common question is what do all those crazy symbols and lines on a track mean?

Blessed with a track and field background AND enjoying the pleasure of extra time because I am currently no longer a practicing attorney, I thought I’d try and explain a little bit about a track’s configuration. Better yet, I decided I’d show you.

By the way, the only track I had easy access to was my high school’s track. A college track is going to look a little different because in college they do an event called the steeplechase that requires a slightly different looking track. But even then you should figure it out.

First thing to do when you get to a track is find the homestands. Generally not difficult. Look for the press box, look for the larger set of stands. Here’s what it looks like at my high school:

Having located the homestands, you can now start orienting yourself.

A tip: Tracks go counterclockwise. That means you are always turning LEFT.

In front of the home stands, you should find a long straightaway. You want to walk to the end of this straightaway to where you see some numbers painted on the track. Remember, a track goes counterclockwise, so the “end” of the home straightaway is where you would ENTER the first turn.

See the line with the numbers in the pic of the home stands? That is what is known as the:

Common Finish! As far as I know, all races in track and field end at the common finish line. Many also start here.

Now a question you probably want to know when doing speedwork is where do I start to run a mile or a half mile? Technically, most tracks are actually 400 meters rather than a quarter mile (I am sure there are a few such tracks still in existence, but 400 meter tracks are by far the most common — on a quarter mile track, four laps is exactly a mile; one lap is 440 yards). Four laps on a 400 meter constitutes approximately a mile. Its a little off, but it will get you as close as you need to get for the purposes of doing speedwork for common racing distances like 5K and up. Two laps, obviously then, is about half a mile.

By the way, distances are measured in lane ONE. I’ll come back to that in a second.

As you walk into the first turn from the Common Finish, you’ll start noticing lines on the track. These are starting lines for different distances. Here are some examples:

As you can see, at least on some tracks, there will be a distance painted next to the line.

Now you might be wondering why so many gosh darned lines. The reason is called the stagger. Because lane two is longer around than lane one and so on and so forth, the runners who start in the outer lanes get to start “ahead” of the runner in the lane to the immediate left of them. (They actually aren’t ahead because the turn(s) will require them to actually run the same distance). This picture kind of shows the stagger (its at the start of the backstretch in front of the opposing side’s stands — this is where the 300 meter hurdles starts)

 

Explain the triangles

The triangles consitute what are called relay exchange zones. By the way, the colors can vary from track to track.

The big triangles as you enter turn one can consitute one of two relay exchange zones:

1) the 4×400 (or other relays that are longer than a lap)

2) the 4×200

You can figure which color is which on the second turn. Whatever color appears again at the end of the backstretch as you enter the second turn is the color for the 4×200 meter relay.

Here are the triangles in turn two as you leave the backstretch:

The yellow is for the 4×100 relay. This relay has each runner run 1/4th of the track — so there is a relay exchange zone located at the end of the first turn, at the end of the backstretch, and at the end of the second turn.

The red is for the 4×200 relay. This relay is two laps; exchanges happen as you enter the second turn and in the first turn (beyond the common finish).

By the way the little triangles for the 4×100 and 4×200 that look like this:

 

consitute what are called “fly zones.” A runner can start at the little triangle, but the exchange MUST actually take place between the two big arrows. If the exchange takes place outside of the big arrows, the team is disqualified.

As you might guess, there is an art to timing when each runner begins running and handing off the baton within the exchange zones. A lot of practice goes into perfecting this.

As you come out of the second turn, you’ll find another set of painted numbers all in a row. This is the start line for the 100 meter dash.

Ten meters behind will be a starting line for the guy’s 110 meter hurdles.

I want to run exactly a mile!

On a 400 meter track, a mile is about 31 feet longer than four laps. So you can mark off about 31 feet back from the Common Finish (you might even find a line there) and you’ll be running a full mile.

Now I should say none of this is absolutely exact. But for the purposes of learning a little about how a track is configured, hopefully you should now have an idea. Remember, for most adult runners who do distances from 5K and up, something like 31 feet isn’t really going to matter. You can basically start from anywhere on the track and as long as you finish in the same place, you’re good.

Remember too the stagger — if you’re running in the outer lanes (and most tracks would prefer you NOT use lane one because it gets the most wear), you are running a little longer too. Again though that type of precision isn’t really going to matter all that much to most people.

 

Tags: distance, intervals, Running, school, track