Relay race

The relay race is a discipline of athletics.

In a relay, several runners run one after the other in a group of runners called a relay, passing a baton from runner to runner.

Olympic events for men and women are the 4 times 100 meters and the 4 times 400 meters. The 4-by-100-meter relay is run in lanes. In the 4-by-400-meter relay, the first approx. 510 meters are run in lanes, so that the first changeover still takes place in the respective lanes. After that, all runners change to the inner lane.

In the relay race, each athlete must cover the distance once and then hand over the baton to the next runner in a 20-meter transition area (since 2018: up to and including 4 times 100 meters 30-meter transition area) without leaving the transition area. Decisive for the correct execution is the position of the baton, not the position of the body. In case of a mistake the relay team will be disqualified. A loss of the baton, however, does not lead to disqualification, as long as the athlete picks up the baton himself. Only for this purpose he is allowed to leave his lane, as long as he does not obstruct any fellow competitor and does not shorten his running distance.

The world record and best lists also include relays over 4 × 200 m, 3 × 800 m (women, female youth and schoolchildren only), 3 × 1000 m (men, male youth and schoolchildren only), 4 × 800 m (men only) and 4 × 1500 m (men only), as well as 4 × 50 m and 4 × 75 m for schoolchildren. Independently of this, other competitions are also held, such as a 16 × 50 m relay for schoolchildren at the ISTAF Berlin.

In general, short relays are those where the legs are a sprint course (up to 400 m). Long relays are based on the middle distances of 800 to 1500 metres.

In the Swedish relay, four runners (or runners) run a total of 1000 metres. This total distance is divided into four different distances (400, 300, 200 and 100 m), which are run in the order mentioned. Another form of relay race with different partial lengths is the Olympic relay.

Long-distance relay races held outside of a track are called ekiden. Here, no baton is handed over, but a cloth (tasuki) or, since the electronic recording of running times, a transponder. The best known form and the only one for which official world records are held is the marathon relay over the distance of 42.195 kilometres, in which six runners run the 5, 10, 5, 5 and 7.195 kilometre sections. In addition, there are a number of such relay races in the mass sports sector, such as the SOLA relay, the Batavier race or the virtually organized Germany relay.

The longest relay race in Germany is the Lauf-KulTour, a project of the Chemnitz-based association of the same name. In the course of this, 12 runners (primarily students of the Chemnitz University of Technology) run non-stop around Germany for approx. 4,000 kilometres within 16 days, thus helping a good cause every year since the first tour in 2007.

In contrast to the relay race, there is also a team classification for some longer distances, e.g. the half marathon, marathon or cross-country race. The times or placings of three runners in a team are added together. However, they do not start one after the other as in the relay race, but at the same time.

There are also relay competitions in swimming, cross-country skiing, triathlon, biathlon, canoe racing and orienteering as well as in fire brigade competitions.

Relay types in athletics

Short Relays:

• 4 times 100 meters
• 4 times 400 meters
• 4 times 50 meters (schoolgirls, schoolboys)
• 4 times 75 meters (schoolgirls, schoolboys)
• 4 times 200 meters (especially common in the hall)
• Swedish relay (400 m - 300 m - 200 m - 100 m)
• Hurdle Pendulum Relay
• 16 times 50 meters (student at the ISTAF Berlin)
• In the student section, there are a variety of relay types, such as the reversal relay, triangular relay, lap relay, obstacle relay, transport relay, memory relay, "puzzle or riddle relay".

Long Relays:

• 3 times 800 meters (only women, female youth and schoolgirls)
• 3 times 1000 meters (only men, male youth and pupils)
• 4 times 800 meters (men only)
• 4 times 1500 meters (men only)

Ekiden, road and cross-country runs:

• Marathon relay (5 km - 10 km - 5 km - 10 km - 5 km - 7.195 km)
• SOLA Relay
• Batavian Race
• Germany Relay
• Run-CulTour
• Orienteering Relay
• Cross-country relay
• Half Marathon Relay
• Marathon relay (half marathon twice, quarter marathon four times ...)

Mixed relays: For a few years now, there have been so-called mixed relays not only in children's athletics, but also among adults. These are relay competitions in which two male and two female runners compete. The German Athletics Association planned to include the mixed relays with the distances 4 × 200 m and 4 × 400 m in the competition programme for the first time at the Relay Championships on 27 and 28 June 2020. However, this event was cancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemic.