Our college running club is hosting a track meet and I was wondering if I could get some input on how many people we could fit in each of these heats for the 800, 1600, 3200. I couldn't find any official information about suggested sizes.
For the 3200, we currently have 12 people, which should be completely fine.
For the 800, we currently have 12 people. Is that too many?
For the 1600, we currently have 21 people, so I feel like that needs to be 2 heats.
fiduciary wrote:
For the 800, we currently have 12 people. Is that too many?
No.
With that said, I've seen 24 people in one heat of an 800, and the results weren't pretty:
Close up view:
With just 12 in the 800, you can run 3 athletes to an alley. An alley is merely 2 lanes, so there are 4 alleys. Alley 1 starts at the start finish line, alley 2 starts in lane 3. You'll need tape to create a mini curved start line that goes through lane 4. Alley 3 goes from lane 5 to 6, and alley 4 go from lane 7 to 8. Athletes break to the pole after 100 meters as normal.
About 2000 pounds for men and 1600 pounds for women are the IAAF guidelines for the amount of people in heats.