A cable length or length of cable is a nautical unit of measure equal to one tenth of a nautical mile or approximately 100 fathoms. The unit is named after the length of a ship's anchor cable in the Age of Sail. The definition varies:

• International:  ¹⁄₁₀ nautical mile, or 185.2 m
• Imperial (Admiralty):  ¹⁄₁₀ Admiralty mile, or 608 ft (185.32 m), about 101 fathoms
  • The traditional British fathom varied from 5½ feet to 7 feet in the Merchant Navy.
• U.S. customary (US Navy): 120 fathoms (720 feet, 219.456 m)

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A metric mile is a distance which approximates one statute mile (1609.344 m) at a round figure of metres (the SI or metric unit of length). The term is most commonly used in track running and swimming.

In track running, the 1500 m race became the standard middle distance race in Europe in the late 19th century, and has been the standard distance in the Olympic Games since 1896. The distance of the race is sometimes referred to as a metric mile.

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