Track and field is a sport that encompasses many events. Every event in track and field falls under one of two categories: track or field. The shorter track, or running, events are called sprints or dashes. The 100-meter dash is the shortest - except for the 60-meter dash, which is held in some indoor events on smaller tracks - and is the most popular of all track and field events.

The 200 and 400 meter races are the other two track and field events that can be considered sprints. The only other short events are hurdles events, in which the runner must leap over evenly spaced hurdles throughout the run. Men typically compete in the 110-meter high hurdles or 400-meter intermediate hurdles, while women compete in the 100 hurdles.

Those running events considered to be "middle distance" events include the 800, 1,600 (1 mile) and 3,200 (2 mile) races. The most common long distance events in track and field are the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races. There are also two "relay" events, which feature four runners each running one leg of the race. Each runner passes a baton to the next to signify the transition from one leg to another. The two most common relays are the 4x100 - 400 meters total, each athlete runs 100 meters - and the 4x400 or 1,600.

Within the field events in track and field, there are also two main categories: throwing and jumping. The four throwing events are discus, shot put, hammer and javelin. Discus and javelin involve the longest throws, as they use a disc and a long spear, respectively. The shot put is a heavy ball and the hammer is a heavy ball at the end of a chain, so both events involve shorter throws.

There are also four jumping events in track and field, including the long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault. The long jump and triple jump require athletes to jump far, while the high jump and pole vault require them to jump high over a bar.

In the long jump, the athlete takes a long running start before jumping as far as he or she can into a pit of sand. The triple jump uses the same runway and pit, but requires two extra jumps - a hop and a skip, so to speak - immediately preceding the one that is measured. The high jump requires athletes to jump over a bar of a predetermined height after a running start. The pole vault is much higher, and the athlete uses a pole to leap over the bar.

There are also composite events that combine multiple events into one using a point system. The decathlon is a grueling men's event spread over two days that includes the following 10 events: 100, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400, 110 hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500. The women's heptathlon features these seven events: 100 hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200, long jump, javelin and 800.