SportsMaze

What you can't watch without

The rules you will see every few minutes, in the order you meet them. Each opens on its answer.

B · Beginner · 5 rules · Step 1 of 4

The event and the start

  1. What are the middle and long distance races, and how is one won?The middle and long distance races on the track run from 800 m to 10,000 m.
  2. How does a distance race start?Races longer than 400 m start standing, with one command: "On your marks".
  3. When may runners leave their lanes and move to the inside?In the 800 m athletes stay in their lanes round the first bend and may move to the inside only when they reach the breakline, an arced line across the track.

Running and finishing

  1. What decides who crosses the line first?Athletes are placed in the order in which any part of the torso reaches the near edge of the finish line.

Rounds, penalties and kit

  1. How do athletes get from the first round to the final?When there are too many athletes for one race, the event is run in rounds.
I · Intermediate · 9 rulesNext: intermediate rules