This year, 7 world records were broken in track events, 6 of them on Mondo surfaces:

Men’s Pole Vault, Renaud Lavillenie

Men’s 4 x 1500m Relay Indoor

Men’s 4 x 400m Relay

Men’s 4 x 800m Relay

Women’s 4 x 1500m Relay

Women’s 1500m, Genzebe Dibaba

Women’s 3000m, Genzebe Dibaba

So what’s the secret?

Fiction: Mondo tracks are hard and not suitable for training.

Fact: Mondo is the best surface for training. Ergonomically designed and incorporating cutting-edge technology developed in collaboration with the most important sport science laboratories, Mondo tracks deliver the ideal combination of shock-absorption, support and speed. Other surfaces always fail on one of these criteria.

Equally important, Mondo tracks are prefabricated, so the thickness and consistency don’t vary. This makes Mondo the safest surface to train on because there’s no risk of injury due to missteps in response to surface variations.

Fiction: Soft tracks are better for training.

Fact: Like running on sand, soft surfaces cause fatigue and muscle strain because they don’t provide the right degree of support.

In contrast, Mondo’s state-of-the-art honeycomb backing – full of air pockets that compress and spring back to shape – reduces fatigue, making Mondo tracks the perfect training choice for all athletes, from occasional runners to dedicated professionals.

Fiction: Hard tracks are faster.

Fact: Speed is a product of elasticity, not hardness. Mondo tracks are more elastic than other surfaces because they’re made from rubber, right through.

Mondo tracks: getting the best results

Get a grip

The dynamics between spikes and the solid rubber surface of Mondo tracks are a key to enhanced performance with Mondo.

In contrast to other surfaces, where long spikes are needed to penetrate the granular topping and increase traction, Mondo’s inherently non-slip rubber surface provides traction without penetration. This means the athlete is free to use cone or pyramid studs, which force the surface to deflect, rather than penetrating.

Deflecting the surface causes it to stretch like a bowstring. On recovery, the athlete is launched away from the surface, adding precious millimetres to his stride length.  

At the same time, deflecting the surface, instead of penetrating it, forces the material to yield more. This enhances shock-absorption and minimizes de-acceleration forces acting on the body, further assisting performance.  

Additionally, cone and pyramid spikes don’t have to be retracted from the surface – a process that saps energy (especially considering the spike enters the material at one angle and exits at another). In contrast, blunt studs are propelled away by the deflected material as soon the athlete’s foot touches it.

Athletes can fine-tune their performance by adapting the number and the length of spikes they use according to their body weight or weather conditions.

Take it in your stride

Tests show that athletes have a longer stride on Mondo surfaces. The difference lies in the inherently elastic quality of Mondo’s rubber material, which delivers superior material-recovery time. This translates to rebound, which transfers energy to the athlete, literally boosting each stride and minimizing time on the ground. 

It’s why so many athletes achieve personal bests on Mondo tracks, and why so many records have been set on our material.

It’s also why it’s imperative for athletes to familiarize themselves with Mondo tracks in the run-up to a big event.

On a roll  

Mondo’s honeycomb backing compresses in all directions, not just in the line of running. This multi-directional flex shortens the so-called rolling time, when the athlete’s foot naturally rolls on impact, from the outside to the inside portion of the foot.

Reducing rolling time means the overall contact time of the foot with the track is shortened and performance is enhanced: Mondo’s famous ‘flying-carpet’ effect. 

Take-off 

Like spikes, starting blocks affect performance. The best blocks for Mondo tracks are heavy-duty starting blocks with 12mm slim cone spikes in steel that prevent the block slipping backwards and tearing the surface.

For more information please click here.