A well known instance is the cursus honorum - a ladder of political offices.
[1] At its simplest, the Roman race-course took the form of two posts; each called a discrimen or a meta, round which the runners, whether on foot, on horses or in chariots, raced.
It was the similarity in appearance of this Roman cursus to the Neolithic archaeological feature which led 18th century antiquarians to use the same name for the latter.
This combination of straight and tight turn combined the thrills of speed on the straights with those of danger as collisions and falls were likely on the turns.
The distinction between a cursus and a circus in connection with racing is not wholly clear.