Eli5: in track running (800 m, for example), how isn’t the runner on the outer lane in a disadvantage? I know that the starting position is compensated, but…

Question

…but at one point, all runners get together on the inner lane, which means that the outside runner needs to add the width of the track to their total distance, right?

In: 0

Answer 1

No, their offset starting position is designed to compensate for all extra distance. The part where they merge is included. They are not quickly crossing to the inside, they are running a straight line from the whatever lane they are in at the beginning of the merge section to the inside lane at the far end of the merge section. This distance is calculated into the total.