Indoor Tracks (Lane Conversions Per Lap)

[trackcoach]

My university recently built a brand new indoor 200 meter track.

I realize that 8 laps on this track equals 1600 meters, or darn close to one mile for the average jogger doing a workout.

Does anyone out there have a chart that will convert how far one will travel if they walk/jog in lane two through six per lap, or convert how many laps they must do in these lanes to equal a mile?

Thanks in advance!

[Powell]

Re: Indoor Tracks (Lane Conversions Per Lap)

There's no rule - it will depend on the lane width, which, if I remember correctly, can vary between 90 and 110 centimeters.

[Asterix]

Re: Indoor Tracks (Lane Conversions Per Lap)

Most indoor tracks, especially if they are to be used for competition, will have appropriate stagger lines. The 200m stagger should be the first line after the finish in lane 2 and equally spaced for subsequent lanes.

As posted previously, how much that stagger is depends on the lane width, which does vary from track to track. Once you know that measurement, just use early high school geometry to figure out the extra distance (if you don't want to look for stagger lines).

Assume the lane width is 'w'. For a given curve radius 'r', the distance around the curves (ignoring straights) in lane 1 is:
2(pi)r.

For each additional lane of width w, the distance is 2(pi)(r + nw) where n is the number of lanes you are going out (ie n=1 for lane 2, etc).

Therefore, the extra distance is:
2(pi)(r + nw) - 2(pi)r = 2(pi)(nw)

Assuming the lane width is 1.00 meters, that would make the extra distance approximate 2(3.14)(1) = 6.28m for lane 2.

Of course this gets tricky if the track has an inside rail. With a rail, the distance around lane 1 is measured about 30cm from the inside of the lane (exact distance is specified in the IAAF specs), but if there is no rail, as is often the case on unbanked indoor tracks, the distance around lane 1 gets measure about 20cm from the inside of the lane. Outside lanes are measured about 20cm from their inside lane.

Suffice to say, you're best off just looking for the painted stagger lines.