Why are tracks 400m long?

How about a lot of wasted time and money? Why remake so many tracks?

It should have been a sequence of 1, 2 ,5 with 500m tracks because all races of 500m of more start and end at the same point.

100m

200m

500m

1k

2k

5k

10k

20k

50k

There would be no "adjustment" to running the above distances because that is how it always was.

Relays could be 4x125m (5x100m), and 4x500m.

Also, fields inside tracks should have been 100m long. Soccer or Football (not 100 yards).

The above is more logical and consistent --only 3 numbers-- than:

100m

200m

400m

1.5k

3k

5k

10k

21.1k

42.2k

The above is so dumb.

Belarussiya wrote:

How about a lot of wasted time and money? Why remake so many tracks?

Fool, the questions is why were the track made 400m? Why not 500m? Then there would be no reason to "remake" any tracks. They would all be some other distance already.

Five-hundred metres tracks would make javelin throw in infield much safer for all.

They used to be 500 meters.

But 400 meters is the circumference of a soccer field.

They were once 1/4 mile.

They're 400 m because that's how long it takes to make a nice oval around the more important sport's field.

400m is the perfect size to contain a football field inside it and have the spectators reasonably close.

Stadiums need to be fitted for multi use.

500m takes up more space that isn't used for other events and puts spectators further away.

It's a waste to build that for a sport that doesn't pack 'em in.

To bring back excitement, T&F is going to need to add 200m dash on straightaway, add 200m low hurdlers. The only reason tracks are 400m was due to how popular Imperial measured events were to Brits and British loving T&F fans. British loving T&F fans would have had a fit 130 years ago if the standard track were 500m. I am guessing you like the mile more than you like 1500m. Due to inaccurate high school and college throwers, shot putters, discus throwers, hammer throwers and javelin throwers often throw on a field away from stadium. For high school and college throwers, 400m tracks are too dangerous. Five-hundred metre tracks make sense.

1,2,5 wrote:Also, fields inside tracks should have been 100m long. Soccer or Football (not 100 yards).

FWIW Football fields are 120 yards when the endzones are accounted for. Soccer fields are 105m x 68m.

I wish tracks were 500m, would have been a perfect distance for me

There should be no turns on a track at all. Those are only for the spectators. What spectators?

Make one long 10,000 meter track and all the records will be demolished very fast. The very few people who find that interesting can watch through binoculars or drone-mounted cameras.

you do realise that a track that long and straight would take up a great deal of space, right? plus it's mentally more difficult to run that way

Wherever you put a track, there will by definition be very few people near it, so space won't be an issue.

Yes, it's more difficult to run in a straight line - but only in your warped mind. In physical terms you save a ton of energy.

Bad Wigins wrote:

There should be no turns on a track at all. Those are only for the spectators. What spectators?

Make one long 10,000 meter track and all the records will be demolished very fast. The very few people who find that interesting can watch through binoculars or drone-mounted cameras.

This would be awesome. A nice strong tail wind for a full 400m. With a broken wind gauge the records would fall.

5k runnerr wrote:

you do realise that a track that long and straight would take up a great deal of space, right? plus it's mentally more difficult to run that way

A straight track actually takes up the minimum area.

5k runnerr wrote:

you do realise that a track that long and straight would take up a great deal of space, right? plus it's mentally more difficult to run that way

It'd probably take up.... like.... 6.2 miles or something!

it should have doubled every time from the smallest distance, e.g. 100/200/400/800/1600/3200/6400/12800.

In yards, that is roughly 110/220/440/880/1760/3520/7040/14080, or 1/4 lap, 1/2 lap, 1 lap, 2 laps, 4 laps=1 mile, 8 laps=2 miles, 16 laps=4 miles, 32 laps=8 miles.

What we actually got was 100y/220y/440y/880y/1760y=1M/5280y=3M/10560y=6M.

On the metric side, we got instead 100/200/400/800/1500/3000/5000/10000.

At one time, tracks were 500m.