History of the Furlong
A furlong is a traditional measure of distance, originating in Anglo-Saxon England, within Imperial units and U.S. customary units. Although its definition has varied historically, in modern terms it equals 40 rods, poles, or perches, which is exactly 10 chains, 220 yards, 660 feet, or 1/8 of a statute mile. One furlong is exactly 201.168 meters, so a 200-meter dash covers a distance very close to a furlong. Coincidentally, 5 furlongs is 1005.84 meters (exactly) and is therefore approximately 1 kilometer.
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…the unit is otherwise no longer in common use --and even in that discipline, its usage is confined mainly to denoting distances of less than one mile.
Long before the Norman Conquest in 1066, Saxon farmers in England were measuring distance in rods and furlongs and areas in acres.
Its official use was abolished in the United Kingdom under the Weights and Measures Act 1985, which also abolished from official use many other traditional units of measurement.
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