Hey track sprinters does doing this harm or help my time?

Question

when doing the 400m i sometimes switch to a lesser lane while on the turns. like if i am in lane 3, i would run on the outside/middle of lane 2 during a race if the girl in lane 2 is far behind/ahead. Does this make my route shorter, therefore shorting my time, or does this not have an affect at all?

Answer 1

It does have an effect on your time by way of shortening your distance and in reality a lot of runner will run close to the line to gain an edge anyway but do NOT cross that line (within reason). Most turn officials will let you go if you accidentally step over for a few steps or something like that but to make a move across the line that would really matter in your time you will definitly get DQ'd in almost any race you run. If the official doesn't see it the other runners will and I'm sure you mean well but it is poor sportsmanship and against the rules....until the last 100 meters in some races they will let you shift to lane one.

Answer 2

If you are assigned to lane 3 in a race and cross over the line into lane 2 you could be disqualified if caught by a lane judge.  It could effect as much as hundreds of a second.  You won't lose much time by staying in the middle of your lane.  But for mental purposes ride the inside of your lane on the corners and use the middle on the straight aways.

Answer 3

ha you cheated and got away with  way to go!!   yes your time will be faster

Answer 4

That will cause you to be disqualified from a race.

Each lane gets a stagger or head start because each lane is longer than the inside lane on the curves.

In a 2 turn race each lane runs about 7 meters farther than the lane immediately inside of it.

If you switch to a lesser lane on each turn you are not running your 400, but something less, probably about 393 meters.