Mass start

Mass start is a format of starting in some racing sports such as long-distance running in athletics (track and field), speed skating and long-distance cross-country skiing.

There are usually a large number of competitors in such an event, and in order for all the competitors to have the same environmental conditions, which, among other things, include temperature, wind speed, rain or shine, etc., they need to start at the same time and same place and proceed along the same course. But the large number of competitors makes it impossible to fit all of them at the same starting line. So the athletes stand in a pack before they begin: some are behind others, sometimes by dozens of meters or more, depending on the number of competitors.