Throughout this analysis of those components that make up a race, I will refer to a classic, Olympic-style,100 metre sprint foot race as a reference point. The 100 meter sprint involves multiple competitors each traversing a fixed distance in as short a time as possible. More accurately, each competitor is judged relative to each other competitor. The actual times recorded do not matter absolutely.
A time trial race is no different other than that the competitors complete their run separately. After each competitor has attempted the trial their completion times are compared in much the same way as in a traditional simultaneous race. Some events will allow competitors to make repeated attempts. This is an advantage of the time trial format over traditional format, in that if one competitor has a “bad run” in a traditional simultaneous race it would be unfair on the other competitors to request the run void and have it repeated. Conversely, a time trial format allows these individual repetitions so that each competitor may achieve their best time. This, however, in a way misses the point of traditional races – after all, the logical extension of repeated individual time trials is simply to compare each competitors historical best times, resulting always in only one winner: he who holds the world record for that event.
Relays are another interesting variation on typical athletic sprints. Although at any one time each runner is competing against each other runner, all are part of a team, and the race is actually composed of teams competing against each other. The passing of the baton and switching of pressure from one team member to the next is merely an obstacle that the team must overcome as part of their traversing the distance. In this way a relay is similar to a hurdles event in that competitors (either as teams or individuals) must negotiate a fixed number of obstacles during the course of the race. These obstacles – the individual hurdles – are actually a part of the race track. Without them the race would not be classified as a hurdles event. They are integral to the race. In this case the combination of track distance as well as the hurdles themselves forms what I will call “the Challenge”. It comprises the goal activity to be undertaken. In a 100 meter sprint the Challenge is “run 100 meters”.
The second component of a race is what I will call “the Medium”. This is the thing that is measured. In the case of hurdles and 100 meter sprint, the medium is time. Each race must contain these two things in some form or another, however as will be shown below, they are not restricted to spatial/temporal dimensions. There is a third component which I call Restrictions. These entail any additional rules the race may have, most often specifying the type of locomotion. Competitors in a 100 meter sprint are restricted from riding bicycles or driving automobiles, they must cross the distance required – complete the challenge – on foot, and I expect there are additional restrictions on footwear and clothing, which all fall into this category. The restrictions component exists merely to differentiate existing conventional races which, at their core, share identical challenges and mediums (usually some distance and time, respectively). Ultimately, restrictions are a part of the challenge, however they have been separated here when dealing with traditional races. The category is irrelevant when discussing games and contests not usually described as races.
Compiling these three components, a 100 meter sprint can be said to have a challenge of 100 meters, in the medium of time, with any number of restrictions regarding garment, vehicles, age, gender, gait, etc.
