Question about Track in the Olympics?

Question

I've been watching the Olympics and have been wondering why some of the runners start further back than the others on the track. Like the runners on the outside are further forward starting out than the runners closer to the inside, why is that?

Answer 1

The track is oval so they have to stagger the staring points to make each runner race the same distance.  Otherwise in the 400 meter race, the outside lane would be 420 meters (or something) long and clearly that person would never win.

Answer 2

They are running the same distance though

Answer 3

This is to even out the distance that each runner is from the finish line. If you think about it the outside line is longer than the inside line so that runner looks like they're closer when they are the same distance from the finish line as the person in the closer lane.  

Answer 4

The first lane in the inside of the track is the actual distance, so they have to stagger start to be sure everyone runs the same exact distance.

Answer 5

the people in the further back start more forward because inthe turns they  have a bigger turn

Answer 6

Think about it.

If you ran around in the inner lane and then ran around in the outer lane, you would notice that the outer lane is more distance.  So the people in outer lanes get to start farther ahead so its fair and everyone runs the same distance.