- Aerobic running: Running done at low-intensity speeds so that oxygen intake and oxygen output are the same; therefore this type of running can be sustained for a long period of time.
- Anaerobic running: Running done at great-intensity speeds so that oxygen intake is less than oxygen output; therefore, this type of running can be sustained only for a short period of time.
- Anchor leg: The last leg for a runner on a relay team.
- Baton: The stick that is passed from one relay runner to another.
- Blind pass: A nonvisual baton exchange used in sprint relays.
- Crossbar: The bar that a high jumper or pole vaulter must clear.
- Discus: One of the field events in track and field in which a circular object is thrown.
- False start: Moving or jumping before the gun is fired
- Fartlek: Swedish term for speed play, a type of training in which a runner varies running speeds over a long distance, usually in a forest, or a golf-course, or some other non-track area.
- Flight: The in-the-air techniques for the long jump and triple jumps.
- Flop style: The style of high jumping in which the jumper's back passes over the bar.
- Fly zone: The 10-meter zone outside the passing zone used by the outgoing runner to get a flying start.
- Gather: In jumping events, the settling or lowering of the hips during the last few strides prior to takeoff.
- Heat: Preliminary race whose winners qualify for the semi-finals or finals.
- Hitch kick: A running-in-the-air action during flight in the long jump, used to prevent forward rotation.
- Interval training: A type of running training containing four variables: the number of repetitions, distance, tempo of run, and rest interval.
- Passing zone: The 20-meter zone in which the baton is a relay must be exchanged (passed).
- Relay leg: The distance each runner travels in a relay.
- Takeoff board: The board from which the long jumper takes off.
- Throwing sector: The specified area in which a thrown implement must land.
- Toe-board: A board, in the form of an arc, on which or over which the shot putter must not step.
- Trial: An attempt in a field event.
- Visual pass: The pass used in the distance relays in which the outgoing runner visually watches the incoming runner during baton exchange.