Race (sport)

A race is a contest of speed. Racing as a competitive activity has taken numerous forms throughout history, both formally and informally. The simplest form of a race is two or more people running on a track with a set distance. In modern competition, the distances run commonly range from 100 metres to the "marathon", with a length of 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards), though ultramarathons of much greater distances also occur.

People have also raced using most forms of locomotion - there have been race events for horses, horse-drawn chariots, dog-sleds, people swimming, on skis and bicycles, and all manner of boats, cars of various categories, and aircraft.

Some races place artificial obstacles to make the race not purely a contest of speed; these include hurdles events, and equestrian steeplechase events.

There are events which combine different modes, including triathlons combining swimming, running, and bicycling, and events which combine a race with other athletic competitions, such as the Olympic biathlon, modern pentathlon, and decathlon.