Relay running – Athletics Techniques (Senior 4 Physical Education) | Ganzaa

Athletics Techniques

Lessons

Senior 4 · Physical Education

Athletics Techniques

4 lessons

Lesson 1 of 4

Relay running

25 min

Four runners, one baton, faster than any of them alone

A good 4 × 100 m relay team often runs faster than the sum of its four runners' best 100 m times. The reason is the flying start: only the first runner starts from rest; the other three are already running at speed when they take the baton. But the gain is easily lost. A baton passed outside the takeover zone, or dropped and not recovered by the runner who dropped it, disqualifies the whole team. In Senior 3 you studied sprint and relay tactics. This lesson goes into the exchange itself: the rules of World Athletics, the two passing techniques, and the mathematics of the check mark.

Definition

Takeover zone: the part of the lane in which the baton must be passed. In the 4 × 100 m it is 30 m long, with the scratch line (where each leg's distance starts) 20 m from its beginning. In the 4 × 400 m it is 20 m long, centred on the scratch line.

Check mark: one piece of adhesive tape, at most 0.05 m × 0.40 m, that a receiver may stick in his or her own lane; when the incoming runner reaches it, the receiver starts to run.

Non-visual pass: the receiver does not look back but reaches back on a call from the incoming runner (used in the 4 × 100 m). Visual pass: the receiver watches the baton into the hand (used in the 4 × 400 m and longer).

Upsweep: the baton is swung upwards into the receiver's hand, which is held low, palm back. Downsweep (push pass): the baton is pushed down onto the receiver's palm, held high and facing up.

The rules of the exchange (World Athletics Technical Rule 24)

Rule	What it means for your team
The baton must be passed inside the takeover zone; only the position of the baton counts, not the runners' bodies	The whole baton must be inside the zone from the first touch by the receiver until it is in the receiver's hand only
Receivers must start running from inside the zone	No running start from behind the zone
The baton is carried in the hand throughout; a dropped baton must be recovered by the athlete who dropped it	The incoming runner cannot pick up the receiver's dropped baton, and no other runner may be impeded
One check mark per athlete, in the athlete's own lane, of adhesive tape	No chalk lines, shoes or stones as markers
No gloves, and no substances on the hands or baton for grip	Disqualification
The 4 × 100 m is run entirely in lanes; the 4 × 400 m is in lanes for at least the first bend	Stay in lane until the baton is passed and the course is clear

The baton itself is a smooth hollow tube 0.28 m to 0.30 m long, 40 mm across, weighing at least 50 g.

Technique: the 4 × 100 m non-visual pass

Hand order. Runner 1 carries the baton in the right hand and runs the bend close to the inside of the lane. Runner 2 takes it in the left hand and runs the back straight on the outside of the lane; runner 3 takes it in the right hand for the second bend; runner 4 takes it in the left hand. Nobody changes hands while running.
The start. The receiver stands at the start of the zone, watching the check mark. As the incoming runner's foot hits the mark, the receiver turns and sprints flat out, without looking back.
The call. When the two are about one arm-span plus a baton apart, the incoming runner calls "Hand!". The receiver extends the arm back: low with the palm back (upsweep) or high with the palm up (downsweep).
The pass. The incoming runner places the baton firmly into the hand; the receiver grips and keeps sprinting. Both runners should be running close to full speed when the baton changes hands.

The mathematics of the check mark

A simple model: the incoming runner holds a constant speed $v$ ; the receiver starts from rest at the beginning of the zone with a constant acceleration $a$ . If the receiver starts when the incoming runner is a distance $d$ behind, and the pass happens after a time $t$ , at a distance $x$ into the zone:

x = \tfrac{1}{2} a t^{2} \qquad \text{and} \qquad v t = d + x

Worked example

Worked example 1: placing the check mark. Gatete arrives at $9.0\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}$ . Ishimwe, the receiver, accelerates at about $4.0\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-2}}$ . The team wants the pass 10 m into the 30 m zone. Where should the check mark be?

Time for Ishimwe to run 10 m from rest: $t = \sqrt{\frac{2x}{a}} = \sqrt{\frac{2 \times 10}{4.0}} = \sqrt{5.0} = 2.24\,\mathrm{s}$
Distance Gatete covers in that time: $9.0 \times 2.24 = 20.1\,\mathrm{m}$ .
Check mark distance: $d = 20.1 - 10 = 10.1\,\mathrm{m}$ before the start of the zone.
Check the speeds at the pass: Ishimwe is running at $a t = 4.0 \times 2.24 = 8.9\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}$ , almost Gatete's $9.0\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}$ .

Interpretation. The ideal mark makes the two runners' speeds nearly equal at the pass, so no time is lost. If Ishimwe often has to slow down and wait, the mark is too close: move it further back. If Gatete cannot catch her, move it closer. The model is simple (real runners' acceleration falls as they speed up), so the mark is always fine-tuned on the track.

Two young runners exchange a baton in a relay on grass. The receiver looks back and holds her hand open, palm back, to watch the baton in: a visual pass, as used in the 4 × 400 m and by beginners. In the 4 × 100 m the receiver would face forward and wait for the call. Photo: Patrick Bell, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The 4 × 400 m: a visual pass

After 400 m the incoming runner is tired, slowing and less predictable, so the receiver watches the baton into the hand. The receiver starts inside the 20 m zone, jogs or strides away while looking back over the inside shoulder, takes the baton in the left hand and switches it to the right hand once clear. Officials place the third and fourth runners in the order in which their team-mates pass a set point, so the receivers must watch for their own runner and stay in position until the course is clear.

	4 × 100 m	4 × 400 m
Takeover zone	30 m (scratch line 20 m in)	20 m (scratch line at the centre)
Pass	Non-visual, on a call	Visual
Receiver's start	Flat-out sprint from the check mark signal	Controlled run while watching the baton
Lanes	Whole race in lanes	First lap (or first bend) in lanes, then cut in after the breakline

Video: "4x100m Relay Changeover Technique", Brockman Athletics. Watch where the receiver starts, when the call comes and how the arm is held back for the baton.

Tip

Relay hand rule: "Right, left, right, left." Runners 1 and 3 carry the baton in the right hand on the bends; runners 2 and 4 in the left hand on the straights. The baton never changes hands on the way.

Warning

Common mistakes. The receiver looking back in the 4 × 100 m, which slows the start. A check mark that is never tested at full speed. Reaching back too early and running with the arm stretched behind for many strides. The incoming runner slowing down before the pass: run through the zone. Stepping out of the lane straight after the pass and blocking another team.

✦

Practice

State the length of the takeover zone in the 4 × 100 m and in the 4 × 400 m, and where the scratch line is in each.
In a pass, the receiver's body is outside the zone but the whole baton is inside it when the receiver takes it. Is the pass legal? Explain.
The receiver drops the baton. Who must pick it up?
Describe the upsweep and the downsweep passes.
An incoming runner arrives at 8.0 m s⁻¹. The receiver accelerates at 3.2 m s⁻² and the pass is planned 10 m into the zone. Calculate the check-mark distance.
In the case of question 5, find the receiver's speed at the pass and comment on it.
Explain why the 4 × 400 m uses a visual pass.
In practice the incoming runner keeps running into the receiver's back. Analyse the cause and say how the team should adjust the check mark.

Show answersHide answers

4 × 100 m: 30 m, with the scratch line 20 m from the start of the zone. 4 × 400 m: 20 m, with the scratch line in the centre.
Yes: only the position of the baton counts, and the whole baton was inside the zone.
The athlete who dropped it, without shortening the race distance or impeding others.
Upsweep: receiver's hand low, palm back, thumb and fingers spread; the baton is swung upwards into it. Downsweep: receiver's arm high, palm up; the baton is pushed down onto the palm.
t = √(2 × 10 ÷ 3.2) = √6.25 = 2.5 s; incoming distance = 8.0 × 2.5 = 20 m; d = 20 − 10 = 10 m.
v = 3.2 × 2.5 = 8.0 m s⁻¹, equal to the incoming runner's speed: the ideal pass, with no time lost.
The incoming runner is tired and slowing after 400 m, so the speeds are hard to predict; watching the baton reduces drops. The time lost by looking back is small in a longer race.
The receiver starts too late, or the mark is too close, so the incoming runner catches up before the receiver is up to speed. Move the check mark further back (so the receiver starts earlier), and make sure the receiver goes exactly when the incoming foot hits the mark.

Quick check

Remember

4 × 100 m: 30 m zone, scratch line 20 m in; 4 × 400 m: 20 m zone centred on the scratch line. Only the baton's position counts.
Receivers start inside the zone; one tape check mark; the runner who drops the baton recovers it.
4 × 100 m: non-visual pass on a call, hand order right–left–right–left. 4 × 400 m: visual pass.
Check mark model: $x = \tfrac{1}{2} a t^{2}$ , $v t = d + x$ ; aim for equal speeds at the pass.

Sources and credits

World Athletics, Competition Rules and Technical Rules (Book C, C1.1 and C2.1), edition in force from 1 July 2026, Technical Rule 24 (Relay Races), from the World Athletics Book of Rules: zone lengths, check marks, the baton, dropped batons and lanes. Summarised, not copied.
Relay race, Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0: passing techniques. Adapted by Ganzaa.
Photo: Relay race baton pass, Patrick Bell, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Video: "4x100m Relay Changeover Technique", Brockman Athletics, embedded from YouTube.
Takeover diagram, check-mark model, tables, worked example, practice and quick check: written by Ganzaa.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1Four runners, one baton, faster than any of them alone

2The rules of the exchange (World Athletics Technical Rule 24)

3Technique: the 4 × 100 m non-visual pass

4The mathematics of the check mark

5The 4 × 400 m: a visual pass

Four runners, one baton, faster than any of them alone

The rules of the exchange (World Athletics Technical Rule 24)

Technique: the 4 × 100 m non-visual pass

The mathematics of the check mark

The 4 × 400 m: a visual pass