Long Distance Running

Long distance running events include:

• 5,000m, 10,000m and Marathons

The 5,000m, 10,000m and the marathon are Olympic events. The runs take place on a stadium track, while the Marathon route is staged around the streets of the host city.

Athlete Profile

Long distance runners are lighter, more slightly build and more wiry than the powerhouse sprinters:

• Stamina
• Endurance
• Aerobic fitness
• Physical fitness
• Tactical thinking

On the Track

In the 5,000m and 10,000m races, competitors start off lined up across the track, but because the outsdie curves add extra meters, all runners soon move to the insdie lanes to minimize the total distacne they have to run. One lap round the track is the equivalent of 400m. Consequently, in a 5,000m event, the athletes must first run 200m and then complete 12 laps of the track. In the 10,000m event, the competitors run 25 times round the track. Both races finish at the same line.

Marathon

Marathons are run on roads over a course 42,2km long. At the Olympic Games, the race ends in the stadium. The men's marathon is traditionally the last event of the athletics calendar and is sometimes incorporated into the closing ceremony. The marathon was held at the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896, where the course was only 40km long. te length of subsequent Olympic Marathons varied slightly but was set at today's distance during the 1924 Games.