I’m planning on doing some running at the local high school track but can’t remember how many laps equals 1 mile. Of all the things I learned in high school I guess this nugget of info was okay to forget. Isn’t it 4 laps in the third lane? Anyone know how much shorter it is to do 4 laps in the first lane?
On a standard 400m track one mile is equal to 4 laps + 9 meters.
1mile=1609 meters
Is this in the first lane? For some reason I remember something about the 4th lane.
Yes it’s the first lane, thus the reason the one lane stagger starts with the first lane at the start/finish line.
1st lane…and most of us run way too far by running in the middle of the lane. Hug the inside line as much as possible…never run farther than you have to…I still can’t believe it when I watch the Olympic games and I see medal contenders running mid lane in the 400 or 200 !
Dev
On a standard modern track, the inside lane is 400m. Some tracks may have a longer or shorter inside lane, but that’s rare. To double check, look at the markers on the lane. In lane 2, you should see a line indicating a 400 m start a few feet up; even further up you should see one in lane 3. If there’s 400m start lines in the outside lanes, but no mark on the inside, it’s 400m on the inside.
The inside track should be the one at 400 Meters (some are yards). Add ~5 meters for each lane you move out. So if you’re in lane 4 it should be 415 Meters I think. So if you wanted to run exactly 1 mile you could start 51 meters in front of the start line and run 4 laps. (1 mile ~= 1609 Meters, 3 laps would equal 1245 Meters, so you’d still need to go 364 M, 415-364 = 51 Meters). There are problems with this as some tracks have different sized straights which cause the actual turns to consume less of the distance, but this is a pretty good estimate if you’re not actually racing.
right on. Thank you all for your quick answers. I’m not sure where I got the 4th lane idea from. Oh well, 1st lane it is.
F’n Canadians and their metric tracks. Remember some older high school tracks in the US are still imperial (i.e. 440 yards). Which means approx 7’ish feet or 2.3 metres longer. 
right on. Thank you all for your quick answers. I’m not sure where I got the 4th lane idea from. Oh well, 1st lane it is.
Here’s a track calculator that you might like:http://www.philsport.com/narf/atrack.htm
When I ran track (poorly) my high school had a 440 yard track. They re-did it recently, not sure if they converted it to the commie “metric system” or not.
I noticed that there is a line just outside of lane two (I think) on one of the 400m HS tracks my area that would be about right for a 1/4 mile distance. Doesn’t matter, they don’t let the joggers run on the inside 3 lanes anyway!
We still have a 1/5 mile track in the area. One of the guys was training and turning in some impressive mile times… nobody bothered to tell him that he needed to do five laps!!! he was pissed at the next AG track meet.
We used to have an invitational meet that featured a 5 man mile relay… turned in some fast times.
Another possibly helpful link. Guide to Track Markings:
1st lane…and most of us run way too far by running in the middle of the lane. Hug the inside line as much as possible…never run farther than you have to…I still can’t believe it when I watch the Olympic games and I see medal contenders running mid lane in the 400 or 200 !
Dev
Do you consider less than about 3 meters (out of 400) to be “way too far”? Remember 2pir?
“We still have a 1/5 mile track in the area. One of the guys was training and turning in some impressive mile times… nobody bothered to tell him that he needed to do five laps!!! he was pissed at the next AG track meet.”
Reminds me of when I started swimming again after a 20-year layoff. No one told me I was swimming in a 20-yard pool. I was checking my times and thinking–“Yeah. I’ve still got it.”
Okay, so what if you run the track like NASCAR??? Cut in close on the turns then swing wide on the straights???
Then you have some complicated math ahead of you. Did you bring your protractor to the track with you?
I would guess if you were running around 100+mph this would make sense, but, for a 7-8min/mile I’d say cutting it as close to the line as possible is the best way to go. You’d need to stop every 10 laps for a pit stop to get a new pair of shoes. Good thought though.
Ken…DUH…yeah, if you are competing in a 200m or a 400m, then ~1.5 to 3 m of extra running can be the difference between gold and 5th.
Ken…DUH…yeah, if you are competing in a 200m or a 400m, then ~1.5 to 3 m of extra running can be the difference between gold and 5th.
I didn’t realize that "and most of us run way too far " referred to the potential Olympic sprint champions lurking on the forum.