History of UK Indoor Athletics

History of UK Indoor Athletics

As the indoor athletics season gets underway The Athletics Museum looks back at the interesting history of indoor athletics competitions and events in its varying forms.

19th century indoor athletics

In some ways the meeting on 7th November 1863 at Ashburnham Hall in Cremorne Gardens, London could be considered as one of the first amateur attempts at modern indoor athletics events. It was small, involving just four running events and one triple jump competition. Unfortunately, it also didn’t take off and become a regular event, hosting only once again the following year in 1864.
Neither did indoor athletics competitions take the form we are so used to now, this can be seen clearly when it comes to ‘Pedestrianism’. A popular form of competitive walking in the nineteenth century, based on distance rather than speed. By the 1870s the six-day pedestrian races emerged as a common concept and were one of the most popular spectator sports of the late nineteenth century in both England and the USA.

Weston vs O'Leary pedestrianising
Weston vs O’Leary competing in their six day pedestrian race at the Agricultural Hall, Islington in April 1877.
Image: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

The Agricultural Hall in Islington, London held many of these great events indoors. Drawing in large groups of spectators there would often be military bands playing, whilst competitors aimed to get around the track as many times as possible in six days, often walking over 450 miles. Under the rules of ‘pedestrianism’ racing, competitors would walk over the six days, eating and drinking as they moved, whilst also playing up to the crowd, gambling being a big part of the appeal. One famous race at the Agricultural Hall, was on 2nd April 1877, between American Edward Payson Weston and Irish-American Daniel O’Leary. O’Leary won in the presence of over 20,000 spectators. However, the pedestrian racing craze that swept England and the USA had faded by the end of the nineteenth century.


First official indoor athletics competition

It was not until 1935 that the first official AAA Indoor Championships took place, coinciding with the WAAA hosting the women’s event. It was first held at the Empire Pool, Wembley, now known as Wembley Arena, on 6th April 1935. A multipurpose arena for many sports, the boards for the track were placed over the swimming pool. The track was 142yd 1ft 9in unbanked board and included 6 events for men and 5 events for women. They continued to be held at Wembley until 1939 and the outbreak of World War II.

RAF Cosford

A huge, converted hanger at RAF Cosford became the next host and really saw indoor athletics take off in the 1960s, hosting until 1991 the National Indoor Championships. RAF Cosford saw the likes of Seb Coe, Linford Christie and Daley Thompson compete there.

Seb Coe leads UK indoor championships 3000 metres at RAF Cosford, in January 1981. Photo: Mark Shearman.

It saw the changes in indoor track over this period from 145yd banked board in the early sixties to the 200m banked board in the late sixties and finally 200m banked synthetics track from 1980s onwards. Indoor athletic tracks are banked as athletes find cambered tracks make it easier to round the turns at a faster speed, with tracks smaller indoors than outdoors, centrifugal force stops them falling on a banked track.


Current indoor athletics:

Since RAF Cosford, NIA Birmingham and Kelvin Hall in Scotland started holding big events. Followed by indoor tracks being built in Sheffield, Cardiff, Lee Valley and Manchester, as well as several indoor field events facilities such as in Loughborough, Bath, Gateshead and Birmingham. Indoor athletics in the UK has come a long way from the first official Indoor Championships held in 1935. The UK Athletics Indoor Championships 2025 in Birmingham will include 8 track events and 5 fields events for both men and women.

The England Athletics Indoor Championships in 2025 take place across January to March at EIS Sheffield.

The 60 metre hurdles at RAF Cosford in 1967. Competing left to right, Stuart Storey, Alan Pascoe, Mike Parker and Rod Morrod. Photo: Mark Shearman.