Question about being lapped etiquette on the track

When I lapped people I generally like them to stay single file in inside of lane one as it was easy to blow past them. The worst is when you go to pass someone and they drift outside to give you space after you already went wide to pass them.

On the other hand, Hassan was definitely lining up to use the lapped runners to block Gidey. I was thinking the slow pokes maybe get pulled from the track if they are 300m down. The Big Ten used to pull runners that got lapped at conference, and while I would hate to qualify to the Olympic and get a DNF, oh well.

While it seems like general etiquette common sense, I'll note that in all the years I've been watching 10000's and seeing slow runners get lapped, I've hardly ever seen the slow runners move outside lane 1. Usually they hug the inside and the leaders just go around them in lane 2. I'm a bit surprised that Let's Runners are surprised that slow runners don't sway out to lane 4.

And not to defend what slow runners do, but I'm also sure there's a safety component to why they hug the inside. How do you know which way the leaders are going to pass you? What if you move to an outer lane and they do try to pass outside of you anyway? Do you risk a crash? At least, if they hug the inside, it's obvious which way they have to go to pass you.

I always thought it best to hug the rail and allow an easy natural pass.

Some of these slow lapped runners are setting a PR.

Breakfast In Bed wrote:

While it seems like general etiquette common sense, I'll note that in all the years I've been watching 10000's and seeing slow runners get lapped, I've hardly ever seen the slow runners move outside lane 1. Usually they hug the inside and the leaders just go around them in lane 2. I'm a bit surprised that Let's Runners are surprised that slow runners don't sway out to lane 4.

And not to defend what slow runners do, but I'm also sure there's a safety component to why they hug the inside. How do you know which way the leaders are going to pass you? What if you move to an outer lane and they do try to pass outside of you anyway? Do you risk a crash? At least, if they hug the inside, it's obvious which way they have to go to pass you.

Good points, and you want everyone doing the same thing otherwise it's just more of a hassle.

During a indoor meet freshman year of high school I was being lapped in 3200 so I pushed the guy off the track. The official must have been on something because the guy I run off the track got dqed

Good question op. I'd send an email to our us womens distance team. They have a ton of experience getting lapped in international races.

Dur wrote:

When I lapped people I generally like them to stay single file in inside of lane one as it was easy to blow past them. The worst is when you go to pass someone and they drift outside to give you space after you already went wide to pass them.

^This also applies to driving. If someone is racing up behind you you keep your line and speed. Let them decide how and when to pass. Sure, some of those tailgaters get pissed off if you don't drive into a ditch to give them a free road, but that is more likely to force you into an accident with the tailgater racing off and not giving a damn. --- The worst tailgaters are those who you see coming and have an opportunity to pass and they don't take it; instead they drive up close behind you trying to make a point ... something about how small their penis is, I guess (yeah, it is usually guys who do that, but not always).

Thanks everyone makes more sense from your responses, although Dena Kastor mentioned it during her guest appearance on the letsrun podcast during the trials

Not sure what the big deal is here. When I was in high school I wasn't super great in the 3200. But they ran the boys and girls together and there were always some really slow people in it (over 16 minute runners). There were plenty that I lapped, some of them more than once and it wasn't difficult at all (just go around them, often just on the outside of lane 1).

Back in my day (70s and 80s), we were specifically instructed prior to the start to move into lane 3 and stay there for the duration of lapped. Seems crazy to me that lapped runners are allowed to keep to the rail, making the leaders run extra distance.

Swinging wide introduces a lot of room for error. What if you move out to lane three, but there’s a pack and someone is trying to go wide in lane three to pass? What if you don’t realize they’re coming till the last minute and try to swing out late and collide? What if you cut back in to lane one after they pass you, but there’s someone just behind the lead pack you didn’t see and you cut them off?

So to swing wide, the lapped runner has to be paying more attention to the leaders than their own race, and this is hard to do after 8k in hot conditions. The other issue is that even if the lapped runner gets it right, the leaders sometimes have to watch carefully that they don’t make any of the mistakes mentioned above. That takes mental energy.

Usually lapped runners are in ones or twos single file so just hugging the inside of lane one is a simple solution. The pack in the women’s 10k was a bit of a fluke.

What does the rule book say? I had an official tell me once that lapped runners are supposed to stay in lane one. I have not verified this for myself...

There is no rule. Think how dumb that would be. "You are required to run in lane 1 after being lapped". But the leader is allowed run in lane 8 if they choose to.

[quote]Paul Cheerio wrote:There is no rule. quote]

Not sure this is correct. Don’t I remember some years / decades ago that a rule (or merely a guideline?) was issued that lapped runners should stay in lane 1, for all the safety and confusion reasons mentioned here.

But we should distinguish between training with hobby joggers on the track and running in professional races. Back in the day, doing shorter repeats, we used to yell “track!” when coming up behind a jogger, asking to pass. Of course, most of them had no idea what to do, so that habit did little good. But unless you are a really elite runner (and maybe not even then), and timing your 200 meter repeats down to the tenth of a second, there’s no reason the faster runners should not move out to lane 2 or even 3 in practices.

But in professional races, I think the rule (not just “etiquette,” but the rule) should be: lapped runners stay in lane 1. Others go around. Everyone is on the same page.

The drawback to this is that gives the runner in the passing / faster pack who is in lane 2 an advantage. S/he can cut off the elite runner on his/her shoulder in lane 1 by holding to lane 2 and making the competition hesitate and then go around. This is what Hassan did to Gidey on the last lap of the 10,000 in Tokyo. It threw her off and she did not recover, falling back to third.

At the Olympic Trials this year, tbe women in the 10k were instructed by officials before the race to stay on the inside while getting lapped.

F*ck being polite! This is a COMPETITION!!!

I’m gay

N. wrote:

F*ck being polite! This is a COMPETITION!!! I’m gay

If by being polite you mean moving out to lane 2 or 3 to let the faster runners stay in lane 1, this would be daft. First, not every lapped runner even knows when they are going to be lapped (the Nascimento syndrome from yesterday's marathon...). Then, the lapped runner doesn't know if the faster runner(s) are one, two or three abreast. So no clue how far to move.

So, my suggestion is stay in lane 1, for gay, straight, trans or intersex runners (Hey! you brought it up!)

Another thing that's changed since the days of the dirt and cinders. Part of starting line briefing used to be to "give way, move to the next outside lane if you are being lapped." Just s.o.p..

They should have a new rule:

“If you get lapped you’re done.”

That would save everyone a lot of trouble. Get lapped, get off the track.