People who come to the stadium or arena, step on the track for running. Watching the movement of athletes, we see the direction against the movement of the clock.
Why do athletes always run in the opposite direction to the clockwise? Why not the other way around? Let's try to find the answers to these questions.
International standards
Running is the opposite of clock movement - this is an international standard. The first rule of the "Distance Running" section, defined by the "Standards of the International Association of Athletics Federations" (IAAF), states that in running, which have at least 1 turn, running and walking directions must be left-handed. They should be carried out in the direction opposite to the movement of the clock hands. Consider a few justifications for this rule.
Interesting fact: The opposite of the clockwise movement is not limited to athletes. Horse racing at the racetrack, motorcyclist races are carried out in the same direction. The exception was Formula 1, which uses clockwise movement (with a few exceptions).
Traditions of Ancient Greece
It is believed that the beginning of the tradition of running against the clock hands originated in ancient Greece. There are several options for the origin of this direction of running. Information that could officially prove any version has not been preserved. There are only a lot of myths and assumptions.
Interesting fact: the first Olympic Games were held in Olympia before BC in the year 776. From here comes the name of this event. The competition was a sporting and religious festival. Until 393 A.D. 293 Olympics passed. Further, the holding was suspended. In 1896, the Olympics resumed.
Attitude to nature and sport
One of the options for explaining running to the left is the opposition of the naturalness of the development of natural processes to artificial sports development. Based on this, a decision was made to run in the opposite direction to the natural movement. At the first Olympic Games held in ancient times in Greece, athletes fled in that direction. Left-handed running has become a tradition.
Interesting fact: preserved illustrations of the Olympic competitions of 1896 and 1906 in Athens, as well as 1900 in Paris, in which the race was performed clockwise. Later, countries with right-hand traffic insisted on changing directions to the left, as with roundabouts at intersections. But at the University of Oxford and Cambridge University, athletes used running identically to the clock until almost 1948.
Time tracking
In ancient times, there was only a sundial. The time of sports races was measured precisely by them. For the convenience of tracking over time, running was carried out to the left. From the shadow displayed on the sundial, it was possible to determine the elapsed running time.
Interesting fact: It was this hypothesis that some of the historians adhered to.So George Norman Douglas in "History of Europe", wrote that the athletes of ancient Greece ran against the movement on a sundial.
Borrowing from horse racing
The riders held a whip in their right hand, pushing the horse to them at the hippodrome. The animal was headed to the left. One theory suggests that athletes run counterclockwise from horses in a circle to the left.
Other counterclockwise running theories
There are several assumptions that are not related to the history of ancient Greece. They can be attributed to human physiology and the laws of physics. Let's consider them in more detail.
Right-handedness superiority
Most athletes on the planet are right-handed. There are about 90% of them. Such people have the best development on the right side. When running, it is more convenient for them to push off and make a push with their right foot. With this movement, the athlete’s body goes to the left. Therefore, it is believed that the athlete’s right lower limb when running should be on the outer circumference, performing a large load. This explains the fact that it is more convenient to pass the rounded sections of the distance just against the step of the arrow on the clock. This version is the most common. The IAAF standards are based on it.
Interesting fact: with the righties conducted research. They performed various athletic exercises more accurately and efficiently with a left turn. When the people participating in the experiment were blindfolded and asked to go straight, they involuntarily turned a little to the left.
Physical laws
One of the theories explains the direction of athletes running in the direction opposite to the clockwise movement using the laws of physics.
The angular velocity vector, which everyone knows about from the school bench, goes upward with left-hand traffic. This value affects the speed of rotation of the body. It is directed along the axis of rotation. When the athlete turns to the left, the vector value of the angular velocity does not resist the movement of the traveler. It facilitates lifting off the ground and performing movement.
And if you run with a turn to the right, then the vector will be directed down. At the same time, it will be harder for an athlete to take off the ground. He is “pressed” to the ground. Movement is difficult.
Interesting fact: a group of 5 people gathered conducted their experiment. They decided to run clockwise at the school stadium. After two laps, all five decided to run in the opposite direction. Four explained this by the fact that they felt inconvenience and heaviness. And only one claimed that he was just unusual.
Running counterclockwise is a recognized global standard. Therefore, they try to instill it since childhood. Professional athletes are not allowed to violate established rules. Ordinary people involved in sports have the right to choose a direction convenient for themselves when running. The main thing is that this does not interfere with other runners.
