What makes some indoor tracks faster than others?

Have you ever ran at Arkansas the indoor track is so freaking nice. For one it's 200 meters long and the curves are inclined so it gives you a little boost. The surface is nice and the crowd is so loud when running their your force to go out in 60 flat in the 5k.

fivkxpert wrote:

Have you ever ran at Arkansas the indoor track is so freaking nice. For one it's 200 meters long and the curves are inclined so it gives you a little boost. The surface is nice and the crowd is so loud when running their your force to go out in 60 flat in the 5k.

Wait a minute. Doesn't it defy the laws of physics to imply that a portion of a track being "inclined" would make it easier to run fast??

Maybe something pshychologically, but if it truly is inclined, this seems impossible.

I think he meant "banked" -

and 60 flat is pretty slow for 200 Meters. :)

If the course/track is banked then part is downhill which gives you an aid. The steeper the bank/incline the more you run downhill. This is why if you set an overall record on a banked indoor track it is just an indoor record and the outdoor slower record remains the overall world record.

Question of the Day wrote:

What contributes the most to some indoor tracks being perceived as being 'faster' than others?

Race times.

the RUNNERS?

The question didn't differentiate between workouts and races. There actually (I think) is a difference.

Obviously, a great surface can add a second or two a lap to your speed and is probably the top contributer.

But I think there is something else too. Even more more intervals then in a race. And that's environment and personal experience. The mental aspect of running cannot be overlooked, especially for those of us not world class. And especially for doing workouts (races are a bit different as the comptition aspect takes over) For example, when I'm in Los Angeles (I'm presently stuck in Minnesota) there is no track I run beter on then Drake Stadium in UCLA. I just FEEL fast and strong when I step on that track. On the other hand, my disasters at the dirt track at Pierce College are legondary. Maybe it's because I HAD back runs there. I think success breeds success and failure breeds failure and when you step on a track where you've been successful before or is legondary for fast running, the positive emotional boost it gives cannot be overlooked. Just a thought. Huggs Becky

I think it has more to do with the venue's setup. Tracks where the athletes are close to the fans and the fans are knowledgeable, energetic and packed in to the stadium will always produce better performances than more spacious venues (that is probably true for outdoors too). Regular sized indoor tracks (200m) like Boston and Arkansas have hosted some great competitions that help boost their reputations as places to run fast whereas in an oversized indoor track (300-400m) the atmosphere just gets lost in the building. You still get good performances from the larger venues like Notre Dame and Washington but they aren't GREAT performances.

the problem with your logic is the fact that the past 2-3 years there have been amazing performances at ND and UW.

People have run out of their mind(s) there.

How may regular guys have gone 7:50ish there?

Miles at ND??

I agree totally with you actually. That is why I differentiated between intervals and other such workouts and racing. In a race, the energy of the environment (which is essentially what you were talking about I think) is probably the most important element for fast times. (Well, track surface IS important too) I was thinking more in terms of why some tracks seem to produce much better workouts then others which is considerably different of course.

But yes, a runner sure can feed off the energy of the crowd in a race and that can add a lot of speed to one's legs! Huggs Becky

Physics is your friend wrote:

If the course/track is banked then part is downhill which gives you an aid. The steeper the bank/incline the more you run downhill. This is why if you set an overall record on a banked indoor track it is just an indoor record and the outdoor slower record remains the overall world record.

You write that "The steeper the bank/incline the more you run downhill," but you neglected to mention that one must run uphill an equal amount. For a runner to get a net boost from running downhill on a track, the track would have to be a downward spiral rather than a loop.

Amen. Like running down a drain!!

You haven't even met Physics wrote:

Physics is your friend wrote:

If the course/track is banked then part is downhill which gives you an aid. The steeper the bank/incline the more you run downhill. This is why if you set an overall record on a banked indoor track it is just an indoor record and the outdoor slower record remains the overall world record.

You write that "The steeper the bank/incline the more you run downhill," but you neglected to mention that one must run uphill an equal amount. For a runner to get a net boost from running downhill on a track, the track would have to be a downward spiral rather than a loop.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned air quality yet.

Anyone who ever ran in the tiny stadium at Eastern Washington University could understand why you didn't want to do the mile there (don't know about now but it used to be one of the last events). I watched Josephat Kapkory nearly puke running a 4:18-4:20 mile (winning time) a couple weeks before he won the NCAA 3000m in 7:49 or whatever...

A larger stadium is a big bonus when you're talking about air quality...