A panhandle track (or pot handle track) is a slang expression for a running track built with a 220-yard straightaway. The name came from the resemblance of the shape of a pan (the track oval) with a long handle.

Tracks meeting this specification were popular in the era of cinder tracks, from the early 20th century until about the mid-1960s. In 1962, the IAAF determined that it would no longer recognize records at 400 meters or longer without the course requiring the athlete to complete an oval every 400 metres.[1]

The long straightaway had allowed for one-turn 400 metres or 440 yard competitions; three-turn 800 metres or 880 yard competitions; straight 200 metres or 220 yard sprint or low hurdles competitions.

A typical one-turn 440 yard dash would start as a scratch start (no lanes) at the end of the straight with the athletes sprinting for the lead before entering the turn, making the race a much more physical and strategic affair, similar to modern 800 metres races.[2][3]

While new tracks meeting this specification are no longer being constructed, many older tracks still have remnants of the long straightaway, frequently now put to other uses. Occasionally modern all-weather running tracks have extended the surface to the full length of the original straight.

References

  1. ↑ http://onceuponatimeinthevest.blogspot.com/2012/06/march – 1962-and-introducing-brief.html
  2. ↑ "400 meters with a 1 turn stagger".
  3. ↑ http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675028733_Track-and-field-events-at-Franklin-field_400-meters_pole-vault_Grover-klemmer Example from the 1941 Penn Relays
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