Track and Field Event Tactics
Senior 3 · Physical Education
Track and Field Event Tactics
Lesson 1 of 4
25 min
A 100 m race lasts little more than ten seconds, yet it has four distinct phases, and a relay adds a fifth problem: handing a baton to a teammate who is already sprinting. In Senior 1 you learned the sprint start and running action, and in Senior 2 the starting commands. Now you learn the tactics: how to spread your effort over a sprint, how to run a bend, and how a relay team gains time at every change.
Definition
Tactic: a plan for using your skills and fitness to beat opponents in a particular race or situation.
Reaction time: the time between the starting signal and your first movement.
Takeover zone: the marked stretch of track in which the baton must pass from one relay runner to the next.
Check mark: a small mark placed on the track by the outgoing runner; when the incoming runner reaches it, the outgoing runner starts to sprint.
| Phase | About where | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Reaction and start | the gun | Concentrate on the sound, not on the other runners. Drive hard out of the blocks. |
| Drive (acceleration) | 0 to 30 m | Lean forward, push back against the track, rise gradually; short powerful steps that lengthen. |
| Maximum speed | 30 to 60 m | Upright and relaxed: loose shoulders and face, high knees, arms swinging forwards and back. |
| Speed endurance and finish | 60 to 100 m | Everyone slows down; the winner slows least. Keep your form, do not tighten up, and dip your chest at the line. |
Rules that shape the tactics (World Athletics Technical Rules). Except in combined events, any athlete responsible for a false start is disqualified: there is no second chance, so react to the gun, never guess it. When starting blocks measure reaction time, less than 0.100 s counts as a false start. In the 100 m, 200 m and 400 m you stay in your own lane all the way. The finishing order is decided by the moment the athlete's torso (not the head, arms or legs) reaches the finish line, which is why sprinters dip the chest.
200 m and 400 m. The start is staggered so that every lane runs the same distance. On the bend, run close to the inside line of your lane and lean slightly inwards, with the left arm swinging a little less across the body. In the 400 m, go hard for the first 200 m but stay relaxed, so you are not exhausted on the final straight.
In the 4 × 100 m each takeover zone is 30 m long, with the scratch line 20 m from its start (World Athletics Technical Rules, as amended in 2025). The outgoing runner may begin inside the zone and runs before receiving the baton, so the baton travels at full speed. The whole baton must be inside the zone when it changes hands, or the team is disqualified.
Figure: one lane at a 4 × 100 m change. The check mark is a measured number of foot-lengths behind the outgoing runner; teams adjust it in practice until the incoming runner catches the outgoing runner in the second half of the zone, when both are near full speed.
In the 4 × 400 m the incoming runner is tired, so the pass is visual: the outgoing runner looks back, takes the baton in the left hand and then switches it to the right hand while running.
Video: "4x100 RELAY TECHNIQUE", Brockman Athletics. Watch where the outgoing runner starts, how the arm goes back on the signal, and that the runners never slow down at the change.
Worked example
Worked example 1: was it a false start? In a 100 m heat the start system records reaction times of 0.143 s, 0.087 s and 0.165 s for lanes 3, 4 and 5.
Worked example
Worked example 2: why relays are fast. Four runners each have a 100 m best of 12.0 s from a standing start, a total of s. Their relay time is 46.4 s.
Tip
Right, left, right, left. The baton goes right hand → left hand → right hand → left hand down the team. If you remember that runner 1 holds it in the right hand to hug the bend, the rest follows.
Warning
Common mistakes. Looking back in a 4 × 100 m change slows the outgoing runner. Starting too late lets the incoming runner run into the receiver; starting too early leaves the baton outside the zone. Runners waiting for a change must stay in their own lane and keep off the track until their leg, to avoid collisions.
Practice
Remember
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
