i tend to look at things in these classes
short sprint->200 then the
long sprints>800
mid distance>2 miles
distance>5000 10000 and races on the road over 10,000m
i think of the track hurdles and steeple as skills set races and i view xc races as a stand alone subset of athletics as I do racewalking and roadraces under 15,000m
jumps, throws and multi events seem to be neat classifications in the field and while i go along with convention and list the pv as a jump i am not all that comfortable that someone getting flung about by a bendy pole is a real jumping skill but i do enjoy the event
how do you break down the various events/