Is a 400m track less then 400m around the rail?
Is a 400m track less then 400m around the rail?
yes
can be as little as 398 meters.
if there is a rail you must measure along an imaginary line 30cm from the rail at all points.
if there is not a rail, you must measure along an imaginary line 20cm from the outside edge of the line.
this is if you were using a wheel.
This is also why a bunch of people come screaming in March about Stanford's track being short.
"I measured it right on the line and it was 398m!!!!"
dumb
Tracks are (or should be) measured 30 cm from the curb or 20 cm from the inside white line when a curb is not present. Lanes 2,3,4,+ are measured 20 cm from the left hand line. The left line is actually part of the lane to the left. The lane line to your right is part of your lane.
It would be amazing if you can reproduce that accuracy with a measuring wheel!
2 meters out of 400 is not a highly accurate measurement, especially since you have the lane line to run along. In reproducing a measurement of 1000 feet for the basis of road race certification, I see differences of 1 cm, although it is a little easier because it is straight.