Some people start going in a straight line right on the course and others have to start to the outsides and run in a diagonal line to get to the same point on the course I estimate you could have to run 30 to 40 meters extra. I am saying this because my team is racing at the Louisville Classic this weekend and there are 42 boxes in our race. Couldn't the people on the outside boxes be running much further?
yes
Racesrthyfair wrote:
Some people start going in a straight line right on the course and others have to start to the outsides and run in a diagonal line to get to the same point on the course I estimate you could have to run 30 to 40 meters extra. I am saying this because my team is racing at the Louisville Classic this weekend and there are 42 boxes in our race. Couldn't the people on the outside boxes be running much further?
farther*
Each box has a minimum width of 2 meters, which means the boxes on each end are ~21 meters away from the center. However, any yahoo setting up the course should create a curved start line so that all boxes have the same distance to the first turn.
However, even with a straight line start:
* if the course runs out 100m along the center line before any turns, those on the outside run sqrt(100^2+21^2)/100 or 1.0218 times further (~2.2 meters).
* if the course runs out 200m along the center line before any turns, those on the outside run sqrt(200^2+21^2)/100 or 1.005497 times further (~1.1 meters).
* if the course runs out at least 400m along the center line before any turns (as any large invitational should), then those on the outside run sqrt(400^2 +21^2)/100 or 1.001377 times further (~0.55 meters).
The starting line for a large invitational should be curved, but even if it's not, the advantage for teams in the middle is relatively small and may be negligible when you consider the congestion in the middle of the field.
Did you have to run an extra "30 to 40" meters? Did you suck in your race because of this? Or is this just you over thinking and wanting to whine about something? Either way. Run faster. Stop complaining.