A World Athletics standard 400 m track has two 84.39 m straights joined by two bends of 36.50 m curb radius, with eight lanes of 1.22 m each. Lane 1 measures 400.00 m along a line 0.30 m out from the curb, not along the curb itself. The current baton takeover zone for the 4 x 100 m and 4 x 200 m relays is 30 m, in one piece. A 2017 rule change merged the old 20 m zone with its separate 10 m acceleration zone.
Court diagram
Full track dimensions
Every figure below comes from World Athletics’ own Competition and Technical Rules, Book C2.1: Rule TR14 for the track and Rule TR24 for the relay takeover zone. The primary PDF did not return machine-readable text in this research pass, so before we used any figure, we independently cross-checked it against at least two further sources that cite the same numbered rules. None is a single-source figure.
| Measurement | Figure | Applies to | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length of each straight | 84.39 m (276 ft 10 in) | World Athletics standard track | Official rule |
| Bend radius, at the curb | 36.50 m (119 ft 9 in) | World Athletics standard track | Official rule |
| Bend radius, on the line distance is measured along (lane 1) | 36.80 m (120 ft 9 in) | World Athletics standard track, lane 1 | Official rule |
| Lane width | 1.22 m ± 0.01 m (4 ft); up to 1.25 m permitted on tracks built before 1 January 2004 and not yet resurfaced | Every lane | Official rule |
| Number of lanes | 8 | World Athletics Series and Olympic / World Championship venues | Official rule |
| Height of the raised inside curb | 5 to 6.5 cm (2 to 2 5/8 in) | World Athletics standard track | Official rule |
| Width of the raised inside curb | 5 to 25 cm (2 to 10 in) | World Athletics standard track | Official rule |
| Baton takeover zone, 4 x 100 m and 4 x 200 m relays | 30 m (98 ft 5 in), one piece | Current rule, since 1 November 2017 | Official rule |
Two radii, and why they differ
A standard track is two straights joined by two semicircular bends, yet the rules publish two different bend radii. Both are correct, because they describe two different lines. The raised curb on the inside of lane 1 has a radius of 36.50 m. Distance, however, is not measured along the curb: it’s measured 0.30 m out from it (0.20 m out from the outer line of any lane that has no curb), which gives the “measurement line” a radius of 36.80 m. Run the numbers (2 x 84.39 m plus 2 x pi x 36.80 m) and lane 1 comes out to exactly 400.00 m. Measuring from the curb itself would come up short.
Eight lanes, one width each
Every lane is 1.22 m wide, with a ±0.01 m tolerance, and the line painted on the runner’s right-hand side counts as part of that lane rather than the next one over. Tracks built before 1 January 2004 that haven’t yet been fully resurfaced are permitted up to 1.25 m; once such a track is resurfaced it must meet the 1.22 m figure like any other. Eight lanes is the standard for World Athletics Series meets and Olympic or World Championship venues; other sanctioned competitions may use fewer lanes, though this page could not confirm a specific published minimum for outdoor tracks in the current rule text. The curb itself is a raised white strip, 5 to 6.5 cm high and 5 to 25 cm wide. Where a raised curb isn’t used, a painted line 5 cm wide and 20 cm from the inside edge takes its place.
The relay takeover zone
Before a rule change effective 1 November 2017, the 4 x 100 m and 4 x 200 m relays used a 20 m zone in which the baton had to change hands, preceded by a separate 10 m acceleration zone the incoming runner’s teammate could enter before receiving it. The current rule merges the two into a single 30 m takeover zone. Whether a change happened legally inside it depends only on where the baton is, not on where either runner’s body is.
What this page doesn’t state as a single figure
Any race run partly or wholly in lanes (200 m, 400 m, the lane portion of a 4 x 400 m relay) uses a staggered start, so every lane covers the same true distance even though lane 8 has a larger radius than lane 1 at the bend. World Athletics publishes that stagger as a formula and a set of construction tables in its Facilities Manual, not as one number that would apply regardless of how many lanes are in use. Any single stagger distance would only be correct for one specific lane count, so this page states the principle and leaves the number out.
Overhead plan
The same surface seen from straight above, drawn to scale. Nothing is foreshortened here, so every figure can be read off the drawing the way a tape measure would take it.
Detail sheet
A rule book fixes more than the shape of the surface, and the rest of it is too small to draw at court scale: a mark a few centimeters long, a post standing a meter off the sideline, the clearance around the whole thing. Each one here has its own frame and its own scale.
Frequently asked questions
What are the official dimensions of a 400 m running track?
Two straights of 84.39 m, joined by two bends of 36.50 m curb radius, with eight lanes of 1.22 m each. Distance is measured 0.30 m out from the curb, which gives lane 1 its true 400.00 m.
Why does the bend radius show two different numbers?
36.50 m is the curb’s own radius. 36.80 m is the radius of the line distance is actually measured along, 0.30 m further out. Both figures are correct; they just describe different lines.
How many lanes does a running track have?
Eight is the World Athletics competition standard for major venues. Other sanctioned competitions may use fewer lanes, though this page could not confirm a specific published minimum for outdoor tracks.
How long is the relay takeover zone?
30 m, in one piece, for the 4 x 100 m and 4 x 200 m relays. That is the current rule, in force since 1 November 2017. Before that it was a 20 m takeover zone plus a separate 10 m acceleration zone.
Official sources
- World Athletics, Competition and Technical Rules, Book C2.1: Technical Rules, 2026 in-force edition, Rule TR14 (the track) and Rule TR24 (relay takeover zones).
These figures were checked against that document on 10 September 2026. The primary PDF did not return extractable text in this research pass, so each figure was independently cross-checked against at least two further sources citing the same numbered rules before we used it. The methodology page explains how each figure is dated and marked official or derived; report an error through corrections. See also the throwing events guide and the jumping events guide for the events held alongside this track.