running lane

running lane (plural running lanes)

1. (baseball) The portion of the field between the basepath and the foul ball line in which a batter is allowed to run without causing or receiving interference. Also referred to as runner's lane.
   • 2021 May 16, Martín Gallegos, “3 key moments from A's wild road-trip finale”, in MLB News‎, MLB:

     Shortly after Donaldson received the throw, Andrus slyly observed that the catcher’s left hand was in the running lane.

2. (American football) An informal division of a football field indicating the channel through which a player will run either to catch a pass or when carrying the ball.
   • 2020 April 24, Ken Belson, Ben Shpigel, “Full Round 1 2020 N.F.L. Picks and Analysis”, in New York Times‎:

     On the field, Brown thwarted triple-teams, mauled quarterbacks and stuffed running lanes.

3. A highway lane that is open to traffic. Often used to describe when a hard shoulder is used as a normal traffic lane either permanently or conditionally during periods of heavy traffic.
   • 2021 January 20, Chiara Giordano, “Less than 5% of England's 500-mile smart motorway network has breakdown-detecting radar technology”, in The Independent‎:

     The government-owned company has pledged to roll out the Stopped Vehicle Detection upgrade on all “smart motorway” stretches – where the hard shoulder has been converted to a permanent running lane.

4. A lane, painted on a road, used to separate runners from normal traffic. Also referred to as a jogging lane.