How to Time a 40-Yard Dash and Compare Results Fairly

Measure 40 yards, choose the event that starts the clock, and record that event with every result. An athlete crossing a start sensor, lifting off a start pad and beginning visible movement each defines a different timed interval.

Measure in yards and mark the timing points

Forty yards equals 36.576 m. Use a tape rather than estimating from the width of a field or rounding to 40 m. If you want a 10-yard split, measure 9.144 m from the start timing point. Leave enough clear space beyond the finish for athletes to decelerate safely.

For a gate-to-gate protocol, place the start and finish detection points 40 yards apart and document where the athlete starts. If your programme uses a start pad or another trigger, follow that equipment’s placement instructions and check the trigger before the first timed run.

Label how the clock starts and stops

Record the stance, start trigger, finish trigger and timing system next to the time. A practice result can be useful to your team even when you use a different protocol from a combine. To compare against another programme, check that its start and finish rules are the same.

Two college football studies found average differences between hand times and electronic times under their own protocols. Those findings illustrate why a recorded method matters. Keep the two types of results separately labelled when your team changes timing methods. Mayhew et al., Mann et al.

Record the early split without losing the full result

A 10-yard split adds context about the first part of the run. Keep the split and 40-yard time from the same attempt. If the athlete improves the split but finishes in the same total time, the later segment took longer in that run. Review the video or repeat the test before deciding why.

See how stopwatch and electronic sprint timing differ before switching methods.

Request a MotionTrials demo if you want to test the setup with your athletes.

Sources

• Hand versus electronic 40-yard timing study

• Second college football timing study

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