Track and Field Athletics are divided in many different disciplines. First of all it is to say that this kind of sport also is divided in genders. There are, who would have thought of it, two genders, male and female. The specific goals for the performance are set differently. This, for sure, must be, because a trained woman normally is not able to throw a hammer as far as a trained man can do for instance.
Now for some of the disciplines. Like said before, there are many different disciplines in Track and Field Athletics. First of all there are the running disciplines.
It contains sprint, hurdles, long distance, relay, cross-country race and steeplechase. In all of these the main part is to get over the finish line as the first runner.
Sprint normally is carried out over a distance of 100 meters, but it can also be up to 400 meters.
Hurdles are providing a repeating obstacle for the contestant. He or she has to jump over these barriers while keeping the pace to get to the finish line. Many runners were stopped instantly by these mostly black and white painted meanies. People with malicious joy like to see the runners end up on these blockades. Hurdle-tracks come in 100, 110 and 400 meter of length.
Long distance tracks normally have a standard of 3000 meters, almost solely they are completed while running around the track inside a stadium.
The relay can be a very funny discipline, too. Well, mostly for the audience in fact. The runners start with a bar holding in their hands. After one round of running they reach it to another runner who is waiting to run next. The transfer is being made while running, that is why it often falls down to the ground and leaves the next contestant trying to pick it up while the others where able to reach it over without problems. In Relay four runners per team take the rod and the course comes in 4x100 up to 4x400 meter of length.
Cross-country races normally take place as the last running competitions of a year. Here the participators have to run across a racing ground with hardly any track. The field often is located in open plains or woods. Here the surroundings provide a constant amount of obstacles which have to be mastered. The cross-country tracks normally are of a 2000 meter length.
The length of a track for steeplechase is 3000 meters. There are four hurdles (the same as in hurdle race) and a ditch of water to jump over and through. This ditch often leaves the contestants totally wet for they fall into it after they have stumbled over the previous hurdle.
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