cinder track

{{Short description|Race track whose surface is composed of cinders}}

{{for|the multi-use path in England|The Cinder Track}}

File:ChalkTrackLining.jpgFile:BillyMills Crossing Finish Line 1964Olympics.jpg winning the 10,000 metres at the 1964 Summer Olympics, the last Olympics to be held on a cinder track]]

A cinder track is a type of race track, generally purposed for track and field or horse racing, whose surface is composed of cinders. For running tracks, many cinder surfaces have been replaced by all-weather synthetic surfaces, which provide greater durability and more consistent results, and are less stressful on runners. The impact on performance as a result of differing track surfaces is a topic often raised when comparing athletes from different eras.{{cite web|url=http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=2958928 |title=cinder-track vs. all-weather track times |publisher=Letsrun.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-14}}{{cite web |url=http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=577309&highlight=&sid=7e25b962b63deba5f1b344111c6687fc |title=Track & Field News • View topic - Kip Keino's 3.34.9 at altitude 1968 |publisher=Trackandfieldnews.com |accessdate=2011-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327072322/http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=577309&highlight=&sid=7e25b962b63deba5f1b344111c6687fc |archive-date=2012-03-27 |url-status=dead }}

Synthetic tracks emerged in the late 1960s; the 1964 Olympics were the last to use a cinder track.[http://www.olympic.org/tokyo-1964-summer-olympics Olympic.org] - Tokyo 1964 - accessed 2011-08-09

The Little 500 bicycle race at Indiana University is still run annually on a cinder track.