Artificial running surface
Starting lines on an all-weather track
An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and 🫦 field athletics.
It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions.
Historically, various forms 🫦 of dirt, rocks, sand, and crushed cinders were used.
Many examples of these varieties of track still exist worldwide.
Surfaces [ edit 🫦 ]
Starting in 1954, artificial surfaces using a combination of rubber and asphalt began to appear.
An artificial warm-up track was constructed 🫦 for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.
[1] During the 1960s many of these tracks were constructed; examples still exist 🫦 today.[2]
In the mid-1960s Tartan tracks were developed, surfaced with a product by 3M.
The name Tartan is a trademark, but it 🫦 is sometimes used as a genericized trademark.
[3] This process was the first to commercialize a polyurethane surface for running tracks, 🫦 though it was originally conceived for horse racing.
[4] Many Tartan tracks were installed worldwide, including at many of the top 🫦 universities in the United States.
[1] Among that list was a Tartan track installed in the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, home of 🫦 the 1968 Summer Olympics at Mexico City, which were the first global championships to use such a track.
Olympic shot put 🫦 champion Bill Nieder was instrumental in developing the product and selling it for this first use in the Olympics.
[5] An 🫦 all-weather surface has become standard ever since.
Another Tartan track was installed on a temporary basis for the 1968 United States 🫦 Olympic Trials held at altitude at Echo Summit, California, before being moved to South Tahoe Middle School, where it survived 🫦 for almost 40 years.
An original Tartan track is still in place at "Speed City" San Jose State University.
Surfacing tracks has 🫦 become an industry with many competitors.
Stobitan has been installed worldwide since 1991 and is available in a variety of systems.[6]
Tartan; 🫦 the legacy of the brand is now known as Tartan APS.[7]
Chevron 440; [8] [9] was a popular surface of the 🫦 mid-1970s.
was a popular surface of the mid-1970s.
Rekortan; was invented and used for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany [10] 🫦 and is still licensed worldwide.
and is still licensed worldwide.Eurotan.[11]
Martin ISS [12] was another 1970's development which now goes by the 🫦 name of the manufacturer Beynon.[13]
was another 1970's development which now goes by the name of the manufacturer Beynon.Plexitracs.[14]Mondotrack.[15]
There are other 🫦 techniques that distribute small chunks of rubber then adhere them in place with various polyurethane or latex substances.
World Athletics, the 🫦 governing body for international track and field competitions, publishes very specific regulations for the conduct of Global Championship or International 🫦 level track meets under their jurisdiction.[16]
Since the early 1980s, the manufacturer of the surfaces selected for most championship meets has 🫦 been the Italian company, Mondo, again the trademarked brand name becoming used as a genericized trademark.
Mondo's track surface is called 🫦 Mondotrack.
The surface differs from the particles stuck in adhesion techniques, in that they are more of a rubber carpet, cut 🫦 to size then tightly seamed together (in the linear direction along the lane lines).
This form of construction gives a more 🫦 consistent bounce (or energy return) and traction.
[17] Because of the tight fit specifications required for manufacture, construction surrounding these sites 🫦 also has to be of a higher standard, making a Mondotrack one of the most expensive systems to use.
Examples of 🫦 Mondotracks were used for the 1996 Summer Olympics (since removed from the Centennial Olympic Stadium) in Atlanta, Georgia, United States; 🫦 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece; 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China; 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom and 🫦 the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[18][19]
Another player in the marketplace is the formerly BASF-owned company Conica, based 🫦 in Switzerland, now part of the Serafin Group (Munich, Germany),[20] which can boast the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in 🫦 Berlin, Germany (where Usain Bolt improved his 100 metres and 200 metres world records), along with other record hosting venues 🫦 like Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy.[21]
Measurement of a track [ edit ]
The proper length of the first lane of a 🫦 competitive running track is 400 m (1,312.3 ft).
Some tracks are not built to this specification, instead being a legacy to 🫦 imperial distances such as 440 yd (402.336 m).
Prior to rule changes in 1979, distances in Imperial units were still used 🫦 in the United States.
Some facilities build tracks to fit the available space, with one of the most notable examples of 🫦 this being Franklin Field, where the 400 metre distance is achieved in lane 4.
Olympic tracks in the early 20th century 🫦 were of other lengths: each lane of the track could (by IAAF rules should) be as wide as 122 cm 🫦 (4.
00 ft),[22] though the majority of American tracks are built to NFHS high school specifications that allow smaller lanes.
[23] The 🫦 IAAF also specifies a preferred radius for the turns at 37 metres, but also allows a range.
Major international level meets 🫦 are conducted and world records can be set on tracks that are not exactly 37 meters, provided they fall within 🫦 the legal range.
Lane measurement [ edit ]
Track and field stadium layout
Lane Total length Radius Semi-circle length Delta Angle 1 400.00 🫦 m 36.80 m 115.61 m 0.00 m 0.00° 2 407.67 m 38.02 m 119.44 m 3.83 m 5.78° 3 415.33 🫦 m 39.24 m 123.28 m 7.67 m 11.19° 4 423.00 m 40.46 m 127.11 m 11.50 m 16.28° 5 430.66 🫦 m 41.68 m 130.94 m 15.33 m 21.08° 6 438.33 m 42.90 m 134.77 m 19.16 m 25.60° 7 446.00 🫦 m 44.12 m 138.61 m 23.00 m 29.86° 8 453.66 m 45.34 m 142.44 m 26.83 m 33.90° 9 461.33 🫦 m 46.56 m 146.27 m 30.66 m 37.73°
Lane – The ordinal number of the lane with the first lane being 🫦 on the inside
Total length – The total length of the lane
Radius – The radius of the curve 0.
30m from the 🫦 inner side into that lane
Semi-circle length – The length of the half circle of track at that radius
Delta – The 🫦 length a track of this radius is longer than the inside track for a 200m race (and thus how much 🫦 lead-in is needed to make it a fair race)
Angle – The corresponding staggering angle (Starting at this offset ensures that 🫦 a racer in that lane runs the same distance on a curve).
[24][25]See also [ edit ]
