Earned Runs
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Request Bibs/Contact
  • GEAR LOVE
  • FAQ
  • Starter Checklist
  • RESOURCES*
  • Oh the Places You'll Go!
  • Generosity
  • THE HONOR SERIES
  • BONE STRENGTH FOR ATHLETES
  • About

BLOG

TRACK FACTS FOR TRAINING RUNNERS

6/10/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
“WORKOUT OF THE WEEK: ALTERNATING 400's” by Mario Fraioli for Competitor.com offers a “challenging track session” that “teaches you to recover while running fast". He provides details but the essentials of the workout are that you run one 400 meter lap at 5K – 10K pace followed by a recovery lap that’s only 10 seconds slower, and repeat that sequence until you can't hold your intended pace! He makes the point that these are not “repeats”, but one long continuous session.
 
Those of you who have not trained in this fashion might want to learn a bit more about standard running tracks. It can be confusing when sometimes workouts that call for completion of laps are called “400s”. As we learned in elementary school math class, the unit of measurement utilized is key information.  The distance of a standard track, set by the International Association of Athletics Federations, is 400 METERS.
 
“What is the Distance Around a Running Track for Each Lane?” was written by Kurt Schuster for Livestrong.com. This article discusses how/where on the track the distance is measured (20-30 centimeters from the inside of the track in Lane 1), and then provides the distances around each of the other lanes.
 
Beth Rifkin’s piece for Livestrong.com,  “How Far is 400 Yards on a Treadmill?”, is helpful to those running speed workouts on this equipment.  One lap on a standard track is a distance of 400 meters, or nearly a quarter mile, so to run a 400-meter “lap” on a treadmill you would run slightly less than .25 miles on the machine.
 
A mile is actually 1609.34 meters, thus .25 miles is officially 402.34 meters. Jimson Lee in a SpeedEndurance.com article,  “440 Yards and 400 Meters Racing: Facts and Figures”, lets readers know this fact, and that an officially contested “mile (or 1609 meters) starting line is 9 meters back from a 400 meter track” start line.
 
Alexandra Rippy also for Livestrong.com, “How to Calculate Laps on a Quarter Mile Track”, has a suggestion for how to keep count of the number of laps you have run around a standard track, if you choose to use one for distance work. Since one lap is a .25 miles (quarter of a mile), she advises dividing the distance you plan to run by .25 (her example is 2 miles = 8 laps). Another easy calculation I use is to multiple the number of desired miles by 4 (recall there are 4 quarter miles to 1 mile); 2 miles x 4 = 8 laps. Her other tip is to put the same number of rubber bands on your wrist as laps you want to run, taking one off each time you lap that track. Loose bands, not tight ones, would be best.
 
*More yards v meters trivia for track fans: although 400 meters is nearly equivalent to 440 YARDS, the distances are not equal. The metric conversion to yards calculation (1 meter = 1.09361 yards) shows that 400x 1.09361 = 437.4 yards, obviously shorter than 440 yards.
 
RUN HAPPY!

http://running.competitor.com/2016/06/training/workout-week-alternating-400s_115873
 
http://www.livestrong.com/article/168904-what-is-the-distance-around-a-running-track-for-each-lane/
 
http://www.livestrong.com/article/383705-how-far-is-400-yards-on-a-treadmill/
 
http://www.livestrong.com/article/359598-how-to-calculate-laps-on-a-quarter-mile-track/
 
http://speedendurance.com/2007/07/20/440-yard-and-400-meter-racing-facts-and-figures/

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    BRIDGE TO PHYSICAL SELF
    Running, walking, and fitness activities enable us to experience our physical selves in a world mostly accessed through use of fingers on a mobile device.
    Picture
    Finished my first 50K challenge, a virtual but real effort April 6, 2021. Qualifies me as an ultra-marathoner! All rights reserved.

    Author

    EARNED RUNS is edited and authored by me, runner and founder.  In 1978 I began participating in 10K road races before 5Ks were common. I've been a dietitian, practiced and taught clinical pathology, and been involved with research that utilized pathology.  I am fascinated with understanding the origins of disease as well as health and longevity.

    Archives

    November 2023
    September 2021
    August 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015

    Categories

    All
    Greeting
    Image Only

    RSS Feed

    New! Search Box

    Earned Runs is now searchable! Check it out...
EARNED RUNS LLC                                                                                                                                                                                                    Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Request Bibs/Contact
  • GEAR LOVE
  • FAQ
  • Starter Checklist
  • RESOURCES*
  • Oh the Places You'll Go!
  • Generosity
  • THE HONOR SERIES
  • BONE STRENGTH FOR ATHLETES
  • About