150 metres

[5] Allyson Felix ran the fastest ever 150 m race by a woman in 2013 (16.36 seconds),[6] although faster times have been recorded at intermediate stages of the 200 m event.

The Great North City Games (held variously in Newcastle and Gateshead) features a similar setup to the Manchester event and has provided several of the best men's and women's times.

A one-off 150 m race on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro was held in 2013 and Bolt finished in a time close to his own world best.

[8][9] A relay version of the distance (4 × 150 metres) was contested at the 1967 European Athletics Indoor Championships and was won by the Soviet Union's women's team.

[10] The distance attracted the attention of 1980 Olympic 200 m champion Pietro Mennea, whose hand-timed run of 14.8 seconds in Cassino, Italy, in 1983 stood as a world best time for over a quarter of a century.

Usain Bolt lining up for his 150 m world best run in Manchester in 2009