Going Off on a Tangent
By
Woody Green
of
RUNNERS NICHE
If you have been running races or hanging around those who
do for any length of time, you have probably heard the term
"running the tangents." The concept is to run the shortest
distance possible on a race course by hugging the turns and
running straight from the tangent on one turn to the
tangent on the next.
For example, let's say you have just turned right, running
close to the curb on a road race course, and ahead you see
an upcoming left-hand turn. Ideally you would want to run
as straight as possible to the curb of the upcoming turn,
running diagonally across the street to reach that point.
Some people understand the concept, but don't put it into
practice so well. As an example, in an 800-meter race on
the track, runners normally run the first turn in a lane,
then they are permitted to cut to the inner lane. All too
often the runner in the outside lane zips quickly across
the track into lane one, thinking they are quickly getting
into position to run the shortest distance. Any geometry
student can tell you, however, that the shortest distance
between two points is a straight line. That means a runner
in an outside lane should point themselves in a straight
line for lane one AT THE END OF THE STRAIGHTAWAY. The
correct approach is to slowly make their way across the
lanes and only get to lane one as the track bends at the
end of the straight.
The same concept applies to turns in road races. Still,
there are exceptions. Sometimes there are so many runners
in a race that there is a traffic jam on the inside path of
the turns. At these times it may be best to run a little
farther by going wide around the turn and thus missing the
human pile-up. Also, consider the surface. It is often
faster to run a little farther and stay on a firm, dry
surface rather than to take a shorter route that is slick,
muddy or unstable.
Try not to "zone out" when running a race. Many runners
forget what they are doing and simply run right down the
middle of the street. Running the tangents and avoiding
obstacles can mean many precious seconds cut from your
final race time.
