Comparing Indoor & Outdoor Track and Field
by Melinda Burris Willms
A recent trend has emerged at schools across the country, in which athletes who primarily compete in other sports during the spring have begun competing in indoor track as a way of staying in condition over the winter months. This article examines the pros and cons of that phenomenon as well as the differences between indoor and outdoor track.
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A recent article in The Baltimore Sun discusses an emerging trend where the popularity of indoor track has seen a significant uptick in popularity in the state of Maryland over the past decade and a half. This change has been credited to student-athletes placing a higher value on maintaining their physical condition throughout the winter months rather than having to binge train for spring athletics.1
The benefits student athletes reap from participating in indoor track are emphasized by former Liberty High School cross country and track coach Bobby Ward:
“The whole point of track and field is to become faster, stronger and jump higher. The track and field coaches specialize in making the kids faster, stronger and [able to] jump higher, so there is no better offseason training program for them.”1
Stats show indoor track is enjoying new popularity in other areas around the nation as well. According to a 2010-11 survey conducted by The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, 18,071 student athletes took part in indoor track during the 2010-11 season, up 22 percent from the number of students who participated in 2004-05.1
The upside to all of this is that more student-athletes are being active in track and field. Unfortunately, the retention rate for spring outdoor track is low. Despite these winter crossover student athletes doing well in indoor track, the vast majority view it merely as a training exercise for their primary spring sport of choice, such as basketball or baseball, and do not stay around for outdoor track in March. This is understandably frustrating for track and field coaches who see real talent that they would like to see fulfilled.1
This raises questions such as, why is it so difficult to retain these gifted athletes into the spring? What are the differences between indoor and outdoor track anyway?
Indoor Track
There is a lot people misunderstand about indoor track, so here are some primary facts. While it has a short season due to the holidays, it is more than mere preparation for the longer outdoor spring track season. Generally, meets begin in the middle of December; there is a holiday break, and then meets start again in the middle of January. The season wraps in early March as the outdoor track season starts. Indoor track is not recognized as a high school sport in all 50 states, but it is a collegiate sport across the country.2
Indoor track and outdoor track differ in parameters. For instance, a standard loop distance measures 200 meters around in indoor track, half the distance of outdoor track, which means indoor track athletes get more interaction with the crowd. Given the shorter track distance, indoor track presents participants with a wide variety of running distances to complete in dry air.2
Despite the increase in participation in indoor track over recent years, it does not compare with the enduring popularity outdoor track maintains. According to a National Federation of State High School Associations survey, outdoor track ranks second only to basketball as the most popular participation sport in the nation based on the number of programs.1
International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) World Indoor Championships
The differences between indoor and outdoor track come into focus even more when viewed on the global stage of the IAAF World Indoor Championships. Perhaps it is the fact that indoor track is still considered somewhat of a newcomer to the world of sport as the first unofficial indoor meets took place with five events in 1863 in England. Officially recognized indoor meets were not held by the IAAF until 1985.3 So perhaps the fact that indoor track has just shy of 35 years of history as a world recognized sport partially explains why it continues to struggle to be understood and respected as it should be.
Differences in International Indoor Vs. Outdoor Track
International level indoor track and field offers less events than its outdoor counterpart. Indoor track and field includes eight track events, five field competitions, the heptathlon (a seven-contest event for women) and the decathlon (a 2-day, ten event contest for men). In contrast, outdoor track and field has a total of 28 events.3
The indoor track size being half the size of the outdoor one, 200 meters compared to 400 meters, requires the indoor athletes to turn twice as many corners and bank them at a tighter rate.
Typically, indoor track corners are taken at an angle of 10-15%.3
Meets are shorter in this competition. Rather than running the 100 meter, contestants run the 60 meter. The 5,000 meter is shortened to 3,000 and several events including the marathon, race walk, steeplechase, and water jump are cut.3
Several throwing events are eliminated in the IAAF as well. Given that the indoor track is half the size of an outdoor track, obviously there is less room for field events to take place and longer throwing distances are not possible. Outdoor track offers several throwing events: the javelin, shot put, the hammer, and the discus. Indoors track offers one throwing event—the shot put, which requires enhanced security measures to ensure no one is hurt by the shot. This is accomplished by surrounding the landing area with a protective barrier.3
References
- Seidel, J. Indoor Track Becoming Popular for Athletes From Other Sports. 2 December 2012.
- Lee-Greenberg, A. 5 Differences Between Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field. 18 March 2016.
- Hartzell, H. What You Need to Know About Indoor Track. 12 December 2017.
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