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“On your marks.” Eight sprinters back into their blocks. “Set.” Hips rise, the stadium goes quiet, and everyone hopes nobody twitches, because one flinch can end a season. Track and field rules can feel like fine print until they decide a race: a false start, a foot on the lane line, a baton passed a stride too late, a long jump that’s wind-aided. This page explains the rules that matter most, from the World Athletics rulebook used at the Olympics and pro meets to the NFHS rules for US high schools and the youth rules of the AAU and USATF.
For the sport as a whole, start at our track and field hub. Road racing and cross country rules are on our running rules page.
Who writes the rules
World Athletics writes the Competition and Technical Rules used at the Olympics, World Championships and Diamond League meets, and most national federations adopt them. USATF publishes its own rulebook for US meets, including the youth rules. US high schools follow the NFHS Track and Field rules, which each state association adapts. Colleges use NCAA rules. The basics below are the same almost everywhere; the details (spike length, hurdle heights, number of attempts) change by level, so always read the meet information.
Starts and false starts
In races up to 400 m (and the first leg of the 4×200, medley relay and 4×400), athletes must use starting blocks and the commands are “On your marks” and “Set.” Longer races start standing, with just “On your marks.” In a crouch start, the start begins when a hand leaves the ground or a foot leaves the block. Do that before the gun and it’s a false start.
- World Athletics: any athlete responsible for a false start is disqualified (red and black card). At big meets a start information system in the blocks flags any reaction faster than 0.100 seconds as a possible false start. In the multi-events, one false start per race is allowed; anyone who false starts after that is out.
- High school (NFHS): any competitor who commits a false start is disqualified. Since 2024, leaving your mark with a hand or foot after “set” but before the gun is spelled out as a false start. Small twitches don’t automatically count; the starter can call a “stand up” instead.
- Youth (AAU and USATF): athletes 14 and under get a warning on their first false start and are disqualified on the second. Starting blocks are optional for them and required from 15–16 up.
Lanes and lane violations
In races up to 400 m, each athlete has their own lane, 1.22 m wide, from start to finish. In international competition the 800 m is run in lanes until a curved “breakline” after the first bend, then everyone can cut in. Step on or over the line to your left on a bend and, under World Athletics rules, you’re disqualified, with narrow exceptions: you were pushed, or you touched the line once on a bend without gaining an advantage or impeding anyone. In events with several rounds, only one such touch is forgiven across all rounds. Running outside your lane on the straight, without gaining an advantage, isn’t a violation.
Hurdles
All hurdle races are run in lanes, and you must go over every hurdle in your own lane. Clipping a hurdle isn’t automatically a foul, but under World Athletics rules you’re disqualified if you knock one down with your hand, body or the front of your lead leg, if your trail leg passes beside the hurdle below the top bar, or if a hurdle you hit gets in another runner’s way. Heights change with age and sex:
| Race | Senior | Under-20 | Under-18 | US high school |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110 m hurdles (men/boys) | 1.067 m (42 in) | 0.991 m (39 in) | 0.914 m (36 in) | 39 in |
| 100 m hurdles (women/girls) | 0.838 m (33 in) | 0.838 m | 0.762 m (30 in) | 33 in |
| 400 m hurdles (men/boys) | 0.914 m (36 in) | 0.914 m | 0.838 m | 300 m hurdles at 36 in |
| 400 m hurdles (women/girls) | 0.762 m (30 in) | 0.762 m | 0.762 m | 300 m hurdles at 30 in |
Senior, U20 and U18 heights are World Athletics standards. The high school column shows the heights in a state association’s published specifications (UIL Texas); check your own state’s manual.
Relays
The baton must be passed inside the takeover zone, and only the baton’s position counts, not the runners’ feet. Pass it outside the zone and the team is disqualified. In the 4×100 and 4×200, each zone is 30 m long, with the scratch line 20 m into it. In the 4×400 and longer relays the zone is 20 m. The 4×100 is run entirely in lanes, and the 4×400 usually stays in lanes for the first leg and the first bend of the second. If you drop the baton, you must pick it up yourself. World Athletics’ standard relays now include mixed 4×100 and 4×400 teams, and USATF youth meets run mixed relays for ages 15–16 and 17–18.
Jumps and throws: attempts, fouls and time limits
- Number of attempts: in the long jump, triple jump and throws, World Athletics gives everyone three trials when there are more than eight athletes, then three more for the best eight. Many high school and youth meets use the same “3 plus 3” format, for example in Kansas state meets and AAU national meets.
- Time limit: usually 1 minute per attempt once your name is called, with a bit more in the high jump and pole vault when only a few athletes are left.
- Long and triple jump: a jump is a foul if any part of your foot breaks the plane of the takeoff line. Your mark is measured from the takeoff line to the nearest mark you make in the sand.
- High jump and pole vault: you choose your starting height and can pass heights, but three failures in a row end your competition. High jumpers must take off from one foot.
- Throws: the implement must land inside a 34.92° sector. It’s a foul to leave the circle or runway before it lands, or to leave the circle any way but out the back half. Implements are carried back, never thrown back.
Wind: what “wind-aided” means
Outdoors, a gauge next to the track measures the wind in races up to 200 m (for 10 seconds in the 100 m, 13 seconds in the hurdles) and in the long and triple jump. If the tailwind averages more than 2.0 meters per second (about 4.5 mph), the mark can’t be ratified as a record. The race result still stands. Kansas’s high school state records, for example, use the same limit, written as 4.473 mph.
Implements by level
| Implement | Senior men | U20 men | U18 men | Senior and U20 women | U18 women | US high school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shot put | 7.26 kg | 6 kg | 5 kg | 4 kg | 3 kg | Boys 12 lb, girls 4 kg |
| Discus | 2 kg | 1.75 kg | 1.5 kg | 1 kg | 1 kg | Boys 1.6 kg, girls 1 kg |
| Hammer | 7.26 kg | 6 kg | 5 kg | 4 kg | 3 kg | Only where the state holds it |
| Javelin | 800 g | 800 g | 700 g | 600 g | 500 g | Boys 800 g, girls 600 g (21 states) |
World Athletics counts U18 as athletes who are 16 or 17 on December 31 of the competition year and U20 as 18 or 19. At international meets only certified implements are allowed, and at many US meets implements are weighed and checked in before the event. Younger kids throw lighter shots, a 1 kg discus and foam javelins; the table by age is on our youth track and field page.
Shoes, spikes and uniforms
- Spikes: World Athletics allows up to 11 spikes. Outdoors, each may stick out no more than 9 mm, or 12 mm in the high jump and javelin. Indoors the limit is 6 mm unless the venue allows 9 mm. NFHS lets each meet set spike length on all-weather tracks, and many high school and youth meets allow only ¼-inch pyramid spikes.
- Sole thickness: at elite meets, shoes for track events, jumps and the javelin can have soles no thicker than 20 mm. Shot, discus and hammer shoes are exempt.
- High school uniforms and devices: NFHS requires shoes on both feet and a school-approved uniform. New for 2026, athletes may not wear audio or video recording devices while competing.
Two things make the rules easier to follow. Bring a set of legal pyramid spikes and a spike wrench to every meet, and practice starts from the same kind of blocks you’ll race in. The 1/4-inch pyramid spike kit we list has 130 stainless steel spikes, a wrench and a storage box for about $10. The Champion Sports Olympic Style Starting Block (about $118) has locking pedals that adjust to any angle on a slotted chrome rail. Prices change often; these are what we saw at a major retailer in October 2026.
1/4-inch Pyramid Track Spikes (130 pcs)
- 130 stainless steel ¼-in spikes
- Wrench + storage box
- About $10
Champion Sports Olympic Style Starting Block
- Slotted chrome rail
- Locking pedals, rubber traction
- About $118
More on spikes by event on our track and field gear page, the bodies that write these rules on track and field organizations, and starts and speed work in our speed training equipment guide.
Track and field rules questions
Is it one false start and you’re out?
Yes, at senior level (World Athletics) and in US high schools (NFHS). The exceptions are the multi-events, where one false start per race is allowed, and youth meets, where athletes 14 and under are warned on the first false start and disqualified on the second.
How long is the relay exchange zone?
Under World Athletics rules, 30 m in the 4×100 and 4×200 and 20 m in the 4×400 and longer relays. The baton, not the runner, has to be inside the zone during the pass.
What is the legal wind limit in track?
A tailwind of 2.0 meters per second. If the average reading is higher in a race up to 200 m or in the long or triple jump, the mark can’t count as a record.
How heavy is the shot put in high school?
12 lb for boys and 4 kg (about 8.8 lb) for girls. Senior men throw 7.26 kg (16 lb) and senior women 4 kg.
How many attempts do you get in the long jump?
Usually three, plus three more if you make the final eight. Smaller meets sometimes give four attempts, or six to everyone when there are eight or fewer jumpers, so check the meet rules.
Back to the track and field hub, or see youth track and field and our track and field injuries page.