RUNNING
• INTRODUCTION-
The evolution of Running from a natural response
in the face of danger to the world’s most celebrated
sporting event is an interesting one. It is one of the
oldest Olympic sports and in-fact it is the only
event whose details have been recorded in the
sources of the first 13 ancient Olympic Games. In
the modern Olympics, the winner of the 100m
event is declared as the fastest man/woman of the
world. It is part of the Athletics which includes
track, field and road events. Running is one of the
most easily accessible forms of physical activity and
is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to maintain
physical health.
• HISTORY-
O The history of running can be traced back two
million years ago when the Humans started
evolving and began exploring.
O The first recorded example of organized track
and field events was at the Ancient Olympic
Games. The stadion footrace was the only event of
the first Ancient Olympic Games.
O Running was also part of the events organised in
ancient Greece at the Isthmian, Nemean and
Pythian Games.
O Throughout Europe, local fairs and festivals also
included running, jumping and throwing
competitions.
O There was also a tradition of “pedestrian” events
in Great Britain, which normally involved walking
or running races.
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• RULES-
O All the running events end when a runner’s torso
(not the head, arm, leg or any other body part)
crosses the finish line.
O The lane in which runners compete for measures
1.22 metres (4 feet) wide, from start to finish.
O 100m: It takes place on a straight track. Every
100-meter runner starts the race with his feet in
the starting blocks. On the call of officials, the
runners get into set position (it requires the
runners to have both feet in the blocks and adopt a
position with the bodyweight on their hands). Each
runner must remain in his/her own lane till the
finish line.
O 400m: One lap around the track. Athletes start
in blocks and remain in their lane throughout the
event.
O Top eight runners participate in the 800-meter
final, top 12 in the 1500 finals, and top 15 in the
5000.
O The middle and long-distance races begin with a
standing start.
O 800m run: Athletes complete two laps of the
track. The race begins with each athlete in his/her
own lane. After the first bend, athletes can leave
their lanes and converge on the inner lane of the
track.
o 1500 m: Runners compete for 3.75 laps of a 400m
track
• Categories of competitive
running:
o Sprints:
100m (Men/Women)
200m (Men/Women)
400m (Men/Women)
o Middle and Long Distance:
▪ 800m (Men/Women)
▪ 1,500m (Men/Women)
▪ 5,000m (Men/Women)
▪ 10,000m (Men/Women)
o Road Running:
▪ Half Marathon
▪ Marathon
1. The marathon is 26.2 miles (42.195
kilometres) long and begins with a standing start.
o Hurdles:
110m Hurdles (Men)
100m Hurdles (Women)
400m Hurdles (Men/Women)
3,000m Steeplechase (Men/Women)
4 x 100m Relay (Men/Women)
4 x 400m Relay (Men/Women)
4 x 400m Mixed Relay
Ultra Running
• Records in the individual
categories:
• Olympics (Men’s):
EVENT TIMING ATHLETE COUNTRY
100 metres 9.63 USAIN BOLT JAMAICA
200 metres 19.30 USAIN BOLT JAMAICA
400 metres 43.03 WAYDE VAN SOUTH
NIEKERK AFRICA
800 metres 1:40.91 DAVID RUDISHA KENYA
1,500 3:32.07 NOAH NGENY KENYA
metres
5,000 12:57.82 KENENISA ETHIOPIA
metres
10 k metres 27:01.17 KENENISA ETHIOPIA
Marathon [Link] SAMUEL KENYA
WANJIRU
110 metres 12.91 LIU XIANG CHINA
hurdle
400 metres 46.78 KEVIN YOUNG UNITED
hurdle STATES
3,000 m 8:03.28 • CONSESLUS KENYA
steeplechase KIPRUTO
4*100 m 36.84 •NESTA CARTER JAMAICA
Relay •MICHAEL
FRATER
•YOHAN BLAKE
•USAIN BOLT
4*400 m 2:55.39 •LASHAWN UNITED
Relay MERRITT STATES
•ANGELO
TAYLOR
•DAVID
NEVILLE
•JEREMY
WARNIER
• Olympics Record (Women’s)
100 metres 10.62 Florence US
griffith
200 metres 21.34 Florence US
griffith
400 metres 48.25 Marie- FRANCE
jose perec
800 metres 1:53.43 Nadezhda SOVIET
olizarenko UNION
1500 3:53.96 Paula ivan ROMANIA
metres
5,000 14:26.17 Vivian KENYA
metres cheruiyot
10K 29:17.45 ALMAZ ETHIOPIA
AYANA
MARATHON 2:23.07 TIKI ETHIOPIA
GELANA
• World Record (Men’s)
100 metres 9.58 USAIN BOLT JAMAICA
200 metres 19.19 USAIN BOLT JAMAICA
400 metres 43.03 WAYDE VAN SOUTH
AFRICA
800 metres 1:40.91 DAVID KENYA
RUDISHA
1500 metres 3:26.00 HICHAM EL MOROCCO
5000 metres 12:37.35 KENENSIA ETHIOPIA
10 k metres 26:17.53 KENENSIA ETHIOPIA
MARATHON [Link] ELIUD KENYA
KIPCHOGE
• Governing Bodies:
o World Athletics (earlier known as the
International Amateur Athletic Federation and
International Association of Athletics
Federations) is the international governing
body that covers all the running events.
o Headquarters: Monaco
• Competitive Running in
India:
o Although India has not done so well in
competitive running historically, the recent
years have seen the rise of public interest in
running particularly Marathons.
o Every city hosts a competitive marathon
event. Many times these marathons are also
organised to commemorate an event or to
raise awareness about any topic.
o Delhi Half Marathon, Mumbai Marathon,
Hyderabad Marathon, Wipro Chennai
Marathon, TCS World 10K in Bangalore, Pune
International Marathon, Ladakh Marathon and
Rishikesh Half Marathon are some examples.
o In International Arena, Milkha Singh and PT
Usha have created milestones.
▪ Milkha Singh (The Flying Sikh) was the first
Indian athlete to win an individual athletics
gold medal at a Commonwealth Games.
▪ He won gold medals in the 1958 and 1962
Asian Games and represented India at three
Olympics (1956, 1960 and 1964).
▪ PT Usha narrowly missed a medal at the Los
Angeles Olympics after finishing fourth in
400m hurdles. She won a total of 101
international medals in a career spanning 15
years.
o Prominent Indian runners: Milkha Singh,
Ram Singh Yadav, PT Usha, Hima Das, Tintu
Luka, Lalita Babbar, Arun Kumar Prakash, MR
Poovamma, Saritaben Gayakwad and VK
Vismaya
