Slow runners: get the hell out of the way!

Sometimes it is more of a bother for the lapped runner to try to get out of the way by moving out a lane or two than to stay where you are and let the runner swing a meter wide and pass you.

What about a slower runner who is dying the last lap, should they automatically have to move to lane 3 so the faster finisher gets lane 1?Nope, the guy overtaking the dying runner must swing wide to pass. Part of the racing situation.

Should I have been pulled from the track the year I got 7th at TAC 10k becuase Salazar lapped me on his last lap. Doesn't seem quite fair does it?

hmmm, if you wrote the rulebook we would see everybody over 28mins running in fear of getting the hook! How many US runners would ever complete a 10k at world level if you were to pull out any lapped athletes? I used to love 'devil take the hindmost' races, but this would not be a good rule for standard races.

in reality i think the big issue is that the lapped runner not do anything to obstruct the passing runner. i have lapped runners who simply dont want to be lapped and as such move out to try and prevent the passing runner from lapping them. that is not acceptable and they should be dq'd.

frankly, i generally have no issue passing the runner on the right if that runner is going to maintain his line, the problem is many dont.

chgray wrote:

Sometimes it is more of a bother for the lapped runner to try to get out of the way by moving out a lane or two than to stay where you are and let the runner swing a meter wide and pass you.

I agree. It's really not much of an inconvenience for the faster runner to pass on the outside of the runner they are lapping, it's usually easier. The faster runner sees the lapped runner in front of him/her, and can easily manuever around. The difficulty comes when the lapped runner doesn't see what's going on behind him/her, and there is indecision on both runners' parts. I've been to meets where they tell lapped runners to stay in lane 1. It avoids confusion, and puts the manuevering in the hands of the faster runner. It's not that hard.

This really isn't an issue unless you make it one. Going around to pass probably has as much negative effect on one's time as having people to chase has a positive effect. Plus, I've always felt that you can get a little draft from the wind for a few strides when passing someone. It all evens out. And it's not like you're winding your way through a dozen runners, zig zagging from lane 1 to lane 4 and back to make a pass. Sure, it's a difference, but a real minor one to have to swing out to lane 2 (a lot of times not even all the way into lane 2) to get around someone. Nice if they see you coming and move out, but if they don't no biggie.

In the case that started this thread, if she missed qualifying by .14 over the course of 10k and is blaming it on having to go around someone I would be of the opinion that her blame is misplaced. We're talking 10k, not 100 meters. Obviously, an unbelievable number of things happened in that 10k that prevented her from running the qualifying time. Having to swing around someone probably made no credible difference.

Maybe Track should take a hint from XC Skiing. When you're passing someone in a ski race you call out "track" or "hup" or something like that and the person you are passing has the responsibility to step aside on first call. Everybody knows the drill, everybody knows what to expect. Takes about no energy from the passer, gets the job done. Simple issue, simple solution.

chgray wrote:

What about a slower runner who is dying the last lap, should they automatically have to move to lane 3 so the faster finisher gets lane 1?Nope, the guy overtaking the dying runner must swing wide to pass. Part of the racing situation.

I hope you can see the difference between a dying runner and a LAPPED runner. No one complains about having to go around some guy who makes a move too early in a championship 10K and get caught by the field later in the race. That's part of racing. Running in lane 2 around a corner to pass some jerk who getting lapped shouldn't have to be part of racing.

The best way to avoid any confusion is to have "rules" of some sort agreed upon before the race. Either all lapped runners stay on the rail, or all lapped runners move out, or whatever. Just make sure all runners know what to do and what to expect.

Having the Devil rule in these races would make for some interesting team tactics. A deep team could send a runner out hard to lap the field, then as he's gaining on the pack his teammates would take off to avoid being lapped. After the rest of the field is gone the team could jog to the finish for a glorious sweep of the event. Sounds like a bike event.

time will be wrote:

You must be a slow runner with that opinion and should be running only open all comer meets.

Yeah, that must be it

As nobody should be getting lapped in a race if they set standards on seed times. Slow runners should go do Open meets or run against the slow masses on the road. No lapping in road races. Track is for top runners and not slow penguins like you.

Runners get lapped in the Olympics, Einstein. Get over it.

5000m is so right.The quickest way to chaos is unpredictability.If some lapped runners move out and others do not,passing someone becomes a nightmare.If the lapped runners all stay in lane 1,passing in lane 2 is not a problem.It was not the also ran who caused HY to fail,the race took over 30mins.I am sure there were other times when she might have gained that .14 sec.She is disappointed and blaming that runner is unfair and she should apologise to the runner who is now probably regarded as evil old cow in britain.

Charlie G has it right.

Go back and read what the gal said after the race "this always happens to me, I'm going to quit . . ." Perfect, please do.

I agree with this--I think the problems with lapping stem primarily from indecision. When lapped runners are hesitant and don't know what to do, it's communicated through body language to the passing runner and they have to exercise increased caution when passing them since they don't know where the lapped runner is going to end up.

Furthermore, what happens if there are two runners running side by side coming up on a lapped runner who is in lane 2? One has to go on the inside and one has to go on the outside, and that could be awkward--especially for the lane 2 runner. I've also realized from personal experience that if a lapped runner is in lane 2 and is either large or is hugging the inside of his lane, it might take a tight squeeze to get through lane 1 and this can cause an unintentional slowing down effect in the spirit of caution (thus causing more of a slow down effect than running in lane 2 to pass a lapped runner in lane 1).

Here is my opinion from someone who is a national caliber 10k runner and works a full time job. If there are rules set about lapping or times then do something about it. If not why are we making such a big deal going on and on about nothing. This issue about lapping has been going on since the end of time and will continue at all levels. In the scheme of things who cares.

We can beat this horse to no end. Who cares as it is a nothing point and it does not put money in your pocket or make you run faster.

I say if people have enough time to come out to this board and go on and on. If you put half that effort into athletics or making a living. You would all be rich.

Got to run as this is a waste of time talking about something that has no effect what so ever in mine or any or you all every day life.

See I ve already now wasted my time and breath.

God forbid people spend some time discussing something that interests them--getting rich and faster isn't all there is to life. The point of discussions like this isn't necessarily to "solve" anything but it CAN provide someone with an insight into the way other runners feel, which they can use to guide their decisions in the future. It might be a minor point, but who cares? It's something to talk about.

As a runner I honestly don't care about passing anyone, slow or fast in the last 100m. Heck I usually swing a little wide out of habit. The absolute worst is when the lapped dude realizes you're coming at the last second, and hops outside just as you are too. Nothing's worse than a collision. Costs you a lot more than .14. That happened to me in HS. I was coming down the stretch in the mile, passing a shot putter who was running it as a joke, and the official tells the dude to move out... about half a second before I got there. That's the worst.

you know its a good thing she didnt qualify, because according to everyone on this board, had she qualified she wouldnt have belonged in the race anyway being that there are many in front of her who have well exceeded the standard, therefore she shouldnt be in the race because she would be lapped

I give a big amen to this. I just read the article about Yelling missing the UK standard because of lapped runners. A couple of seasons ago a runner I was coaching missed the state meet record in the 3000 meters because of a lapped runner holding our his hand to congratulate my runner as he was being lapped. Oh brother, talk about track etiquette.

In races where there are entry standards and people are getting lapped, it doesn't necessarily mean that person lied on about his time. What if the people actually run faster than their seed time? If the person getting lapped runs under the seed time in the race, but the leaders go faster, what are they supposed to do about that?

MAKES A LOT SENSE TO ME. So during the race between Ritz & KeBe, Ritz drops out during the 23th lap, near the 9000mt point.

NOT!