Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping and throwing. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross-country running, and racewalking.
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, covering track and field, cross country running, road running, race walking, mountain running, and ultra running. Included in its charge is the standardization of rules and regulations for the sports, certification of athletic facilities, recognition and management of world records, and the organisation and sanctioning of athletics competitions, including the World Athletics Championships. The organisation's president is Sebastian Coe of the United Kingdom, who was elected to the four-year position in 2015 and re-elected in 2019 for a second four-year term, and then again in 2023 for a third four-year term.
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain.
Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically 3–12 kilometres (1.9–7.5 mi) long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road and minor obstacles. It is both an individual and a team sport; runners are judged on individual times and teams by a points-scoring method. Both men and women of all ages compete in cross country, which usually takes place during autumn and winter, and can include weather conditions of rain, sleet, snow or hail, and a wide range of temperatures.
Trail running is a type of running that takes place on outdoor trails, often in mountainous terrain, and often includes significant ascents and descents. Trail running is overseen by the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) and includes longer races.
Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully assess that this is maintained throughout the race. Typically held on either roads or running tracks, common distances range from 3,000 metres (1.9 mi) up to 100 kilometres (62.1 mi).
Fell running, also sometimes known as hill running, is the sport of running and racing, off-road, over upland country where the gradient climbed is a significant component of the difficulty. The name arises from the origins of the English sport on the fells of northern Britain, especially those in the Lake District. It has elements of trail running, cross country and mountain running, but is also distinct from those disciplines.
Mountain running is a sports discipline which takes place mainly off-road in mountainous terrain, but if there is significant elevation gain on the route, surfaced roads may be used. In this it differs from fell running; also its courses are more clearly marked and avoid dangerous sections. It is a form of trail running if it is run on unpaved surfaces. Mountain running is a combination of running, jogging, and walking, depending on how steep the trail is.
The World Athletics Road Running Championships is a biennial international road running competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010. It was renamed the IAAF World Road Running Championships in 2006 and reduced in distance to a 20K run, but reverted to the half marathon distance the following year and to the original competition name the year after that. The competition was renamed to its current title in 2020 after the governing body rebranded itself moving away from the long-standing International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) moniker and expanded to include additional races.
The 10K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of ten kilometres. Also referred to as the 10K road race, 10 km, or simply 10K, it is one of the most common types of road running event, alongside the shorter 5K and longer half marathon and marathon. It is usually distinguished from the 10,000 metres track running event by stating the distance in kilometres, rather than metres.
The European Mountain Running Championships is an annual international mountain running race. Inaugurated in 2002, it is organised by the European Athletic Association (EAA) in July each year. The venue for the championships is changed each year.
The Obudu Ranch International Mountain Race is an annual 11.25 km mountain running competition that takes place in late November in Obudu, Cross River State, Nigeria. First held in 2005, it has the largest total prize money available of any mountain race and is known as "the world's richest mountain race". The men's and women's competition winners receive US$50,000 each, and there is a total prize pot of around $250,000.
Samson Kiflemariam Gashazghi is an Eritrean long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 metres, cross-country running, but as mountain runner he won 2010 World Mountain Running Championships.
The World Mountain Running Championships, is an international mountain running competition contested by athletes of the members of WMRA, World Mountain Running Association, the sport's global governing body.
The World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships, is an annual international mountain running competition organised by the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA).
Ahmet Arslan is a long-distance runner from Turkey competing in mountain running. He is a six time successive champion of European Mountain Running Championships.
The 2012 World Mountain Running Championships were held on 2 September in Val Camonica in the Italian Alps. The course ran from Temù - Ponte di Legno to Tonale Pass. It was the 28th edition of the championships, organised by the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA), and the seventh time that Italy had hosted the competition. The competition featured four races, with senior and junior (under-19) races for both men and women. A total of 343 runners from a record high of 40 nations finished the competition.
The 2013 World Mountain Running Championships were held on 8 September in Krynica-Zdrój, Poland. It was the 29th edition of the championships, organised by the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA). The competition featured four races, with senior and junior (under-19) races for both men and women. A total of 329 runners from 39 nations were present at the start of the races.
The sports under the umbrella of athletics, particularly track and field, use a variety of statistics. In order to report that information efficiently, numerous abbreviations have grown to be common in the sport. Starting in 1948 by Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, Track & Field News became the leader in creating and defining abbreviations in this field. These abbreviations have also been adopted by, among others: World Athletics, the world governing body; various domestic governing bodies; the Association of Track and Field Statisticians; the Association of Road Racing Statisticians; the Associated Press; and individual media outlets who receive their reports. These abbreviations also appear in Wikipedia.
The WMRA World Cup is an annual series of mountain running competitions organised by the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) that runs from around May to October. Athletes are awarded points for each performance on the tour. Its predecessor was the Alpine Grand Prix, a 1997 formation including four European races in the Alps region. It formally became the WMRA Grand Prix in 1999 and subsequently expanded to six races in 2001. It reverted to four races in 2007 and from 2008 onwards began to vary between five and seven races. The competition took its current title World Cup in 2014.
