In certain track events, example the 400m, the competitors start at different spots and not side by side like the 100m, why is that?

gmackematix

Let's analyse this staggered start... Imagine an athlete on the inside of lane 1. If the straight part of the track is x feet long and the internal diameter of the semicircular parts are D feet, then the distance run by this athlete, the internal perimeter of the track is 2x+pi.D feet. Imagine an athlete on the inside of the outermost lane. An athletics lane is 4 feet wide so this athlete will run a perimeter where the straight, x, is the same, but the radius is bigger by 4 x 7 = 28 feet, so the diameter increases by 56 feet. The perimeter run by an athlete who starts at the same point in lane 8 is therefore: 2x+pi.(D+56) The difference is pi.56 = 176 feet or 53.6 metres. To make a 400 metre race fair, the starts in the seven pairs of neighbouring lanes must differ by 53.6/7 = 7.66 metres. Aug 20 09, 3:23 PM

queproblema

"Staggered start "Used in races that are run around a curve, a staggered start places runners at different points corresponding to the lane in which they are running. The runner in the outside lane starts at a point ahead of the next lane and so on. The distance between starting points is determined by the length of the race and the size of the track." http://www.nbcolympics.com/trackandfield/insidethissport/glossary/newsid=112821.html More details: http://everything2.com/title/staggered+start Great details, specially if you click on the visual aids: http://www.trackinfo.org/marks.html "Most racetracks are of an oval shape..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_track Aug 20 09, 4:16 PM