If you're about to be lapped in a race, is it a requirement to move out a
lane, or is it just the polite thing to do?
I ask because at Saturday's L.A. Invitational, Jonathon Riley lost a chance
to dip under 4 minutes in the mile when a collision with a lapped runner
forced him off the track and nearly into the pole vault pit. The runner
Riley was trying to get around (from Cal Baptist, which played the role of
the Washington Generals at this meet, filling numerous spartan fields so
more accomplished runners would have someone to beat) had already been
lapped by Lagat and Pyrah, but continued to hang determinedly on the rail.
In my distance running days I was lapped with disturbing frequency, so I'm
somewhat of a student of the phenomenon. I usually could tell when I was
about to be lapped by the sound of the approaching runner, the yells of
fans or coaches, or the dread sound of the bell ringing when I still had
two laps to go. I moved out. In big meets, officials stationed around
the track would yell at me to get the hell out of the way -- and I did. At
my speed, moving out to lane two or three didn't make much of a difference
on my time. And by doing this good deed, I knew I wouldn't have an impact
on the outcome of the race by interfering with the leaders, or rob someone
of a fast time, by doggedly hanging on to the rail.
I may be practicing revisionist history, but I seem to remember that at
major outdoor meets in the past ('60s-'70s), lapped runners were exiled to
lane 3 or 4. Now, even at World and Olympic levels, it's routine to see
the leaders weave through lapped runners, who continue to plod along in
lane 1. Even worse are the lapped runners who, if this was a basketball
game, would be called for a moving pick violation. They're the L.A.
freeway equivalent of drivers who cruise at 45 in the passing lane,
changing lanes only when you try to pass them on the right.
So, are the rules no longer enforced, or are runners less polite than they
used to be?
Those who took me to task for my comments about Johnny Gray's performance
at last year's OT should have seen him in action at the L.A.
Invitational. Just as the gun was about to go off for the three man field
(two, I believe, from Cal Baptist) in the 600, who should run onto the
track but Johnny, sporting an odd bandage on the front of this thigh. He
persuaded the starter to hold up the meet so he could take a warm up
lap. During the race, he elbowed one of the college guys in the face. The
officials responded by not ringing the bell on his final lap, and not
stretching a tape across the finish line as they had in all other
races. Johnny came off the final turn, palms upward, wondering if he
should finish or keep going. The officials missed his gesture, as their
heads were buried in the program, presumably trying to figure out what race
was being run. Johnny stopped, then quickly embarked on a "victory
lap." Please, go into retirement -- and stay there.
