Track and field is one of the oldest and most popular sports, consisting of different athletic contests based on running, jumping and throwing. It includes track events, field events, and combined events. Some popular track events are sprints, middle distance races, and long-distance races. Field events include jumps such as the high jump, long jump, triple jump, and pole vault, as well as throws like shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer throw. Multi-event competitions combine different track and field events, like the decathlon and heptathlon.
Track and field has a rich history and originates from ancient sporting events dating back over 2000 years to the Ancient Olympic Games. Over time, many interesting stories, myths and riddles have emerged surrounding various track and field events and athletes. Let’s explore 55 riddles about different aspects of track and field, along with their answers:
Riddles About Running Events
Q: I’m a race thousands have run, yet I’m not even a real marathon. What am I?
A: The 5K race. It’s 3.1 miles or 5 kilometers long.
Q: What has tunnels but doesn’t go underground and has lanes but no cars?
A: A running track.
Q: What kind of race can you never win?
A: A rat race. It’s an idiom for an endless, self-defeating pursuit.
Q: If you were in a race and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in?
A: 2nd place.
Q: What starts with T, finishes with T, and has T in it?
A: A race track.
Q: What building has the most stories?
A: The stadium, filled with fans with their favorite sports stories.
Q: Why should you stay away from the water jump in a steeplechase race?
A: It’s hurdle-ing with water.
Q: Why do sprinters eat cereal for breakfast?
A: Because it’s a fast meal!
Q: How do track runners stay cool during races?
A: They concentr8.
Q: Why do marathon runners wake up early?
A: To run in the crack of dawn.
Riddles About Field Events
Q: What has a big toe but can’t wear shoes?
A: A high jump mat.
Q: What has a wide mouth but never speaks?
A: The discus throwing ring.
Q: I stick straight up out of the ground but I’m not a tree or pole. Top athletes try to clear me but only a few reach their goal. What am I?
A: The high jump bar.
Q: What has a wooden body but metal on its toes and goes flying when the hammer throws?
A: A javelin.
Q: What has a long neck but no head and gets heavy in the rain?
A: A javelin.
Q: I’m not a bridge yet people vault over me. I’m as high as an athlete can be. What am I?
A: The pole vault bar.
Q: What belongs to you but other people use it more than you?
A: Your name on a track and field scoreboard.
Q: What has a net but doesn’t catch fish?
A: The landing pit for pole vaulters.
Q: What has a runway but doesn’t fly and slides backwards after landing?
A: A long jumper.
Q: What becomes shorter when athletes work harder?
A: Their personal best times/distances get lower.
Riddles About Equipment
Q: What has numbers but can’t count?
A: A stopwatch.
Q: I have hands but no arms and a face but no eyes. I tell athletes when to begin and when to stop. What am I?
A: A stopwatch.
Q: What has a flag but doesn’t wave?
A: A starting pistol.
Q: What belongs on your feet but isn’t a shoe?
A: Spikes for the bottom of racing flats.
Q: What bends but never breaks and charts the path of runners?
A: The curves of the track.
Q: What has a lane but doesn’t go straight?
A: A relay baton.
Q: I have a lane and runners chase me but I never move. What am I?
A: The finish line.
Q: What jumps off the ground but never comes back down?
A: The starting pistol sound.
Q: What equipment starts every race but never actually moves?
A: The starting pistol.
Q: What carries food at a track meet but doesn’t have a snack inside?
A: The baton, which looks similar to a relay.
Riddles About Multi-Event Competitions
Q: What starts with sky diving and ends with a marathon?
A: The decathlon’s 10 grueling events.
Q: What competition has jumps, throws, sprints and distance races?
A: The multi-event meets like the heptathlon and decathlon.
Q: What has seven events packed into two days?
A: The heptathlon.
Q: What contest takes place for thousands of years but lasts less than two days?
A: The modern decathlon, inspired by the Ancient Greek pentathlon.
Q: I was conceived by the Ancient Greeks but wasn’t born until 1912. Track and field athletes compete ferociously to bring me home. What am I?
A: The gold medal for the Olympic decathlon champion.
Q: What competition has double the running events of the heptathlon?
A: The decathlon.
Riddles About Track Surfaces and Venues
Q: What surface do runners love to hate?
A: The track oval, with its grueling laps.
Q: What venue has been home to ancient Greek Olympians and modern world record holders alike?
A: The track and field stadium.
Q: What surface did Jesse Owens run on when he disproved Hitler’s master race theory at the 1936 Olympics?
A: The track at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.
Q: Where do track athletes compete that’s not a field and has a surface with no grass?
A: The rubberized track oval.
Q: What surface starts flat but keeps going around until vertical?
A: The inside curves of the track which bank upwards.
Q: Where do pole vaulters plant their poles but don’t grow beans?
A: In the vault box on the infield.
Q: What surface surrounds the infield at track meets but isn’t grass or artificial turf?
A: The rubberized track.
Riddles About Athletes and Training
Q: Who runs the longest yet never gets tired?
A: The pacer lights or rabbit along the track.
Q: What athletes jump constantly without getting penalties and slide backward without losing yards?
A: Long and triple jumpers in practice and competition.
Q: What athletes throw the discus and shot put without ever releasing them?
A: Athletes practicing weighted throws.
Q: High jumpers run towards me but stop short and jump sideways. Pole vaulters bend me almost in half as they swing upwards. What am I?
A: The crossbar they try to clear.
Q: What runners never stretch their legs despite running all day long?
A: Treadmills for indoor training.
Q: Runners pound me relentlessly trying to improve their times. They think I’m flat but my name says otherwise. What am I?
A: The banked curves of the indoor track.
Q: Athletes wrap their feet in me to run faster but I’m not shoes or socks. What am I?
A: Athletic tape.
Riddles About Track and Field Terms
Q: Going around the oval track over and over is said to be what kind of mental torture?
A: The agony of da feet (defeat).
Q: Athletes try to beat the clock in races against this opponent that never gets tired. What is it?
A: Time itself.
Q: What technology tells athletes their time but doesn’t actually keep time itself?
A: Stopwatches and timing systems.
Q: What applies to sunscreen but also means athletes are at their peak performance?
A: On form.
Q: Pole vaulters bend these before launching themselves skyward. High jumpers knock these off while clearing the bar. What are they?
A: Standards which hold up the crossbar.
Q: When exhausted runners “hit this”, it has nothing to do with punching a wall but everything to do with meeting their limit. What is it?
A: Hitting the proverbial wall, when glycogen gets depleted.
Conclusion
Track and field has certainly given rise to many fascinating riddles over the years! The sports’ rich history has woven an intricate tapestry of captivating tales, myths and linguistic tricks surrounding blazing runners, soaring jumpers, and powerful throwers.
These riddles provide a fun way for new fans and seasoned track heads alike explore different aspects of the sport – from iconic venues, grueling events, tactical equipment, training methods and more. Some riddles play with clever turns of phrase while others reference famous moments etched in track and field lore.
Hopefully these 55 track and field riddles not only stumped but entertained you. And perhaps they’ve inspired you to become an expert in solving sport mysteries across running, jumping and throwing events!
