1) The track is for EVERYONE.
This is the golden rule of the track, and must be kept in mind at all times. From the the walkers right on up to the sprinters, and even the people who have never run a step in their life, the track is for everyone. You don’t have more or less of a right to use it just because of your ability level.
2) Run fast, turn left.
In other words, the infield should always be to your left. Some runners may choose to jog their recoveries in the opposite direction, or if you’re out for a long run or walk, alternating directions every mile or so can help spread the work between both legs. However this should never be done in lane 1 or 2. Use the infield or the outermost lane if you choose to run against the flow of runners. And if someone is already using the outer lane(s), they have the right of way. Which Brings me to the next rule…
3) Lanes 1 and 2 are for fast running.
What is fast running? Simply, if you are in lane 1 and people have to run around you, you should not be in lane 1. Lane 1 is never for walking. Lane 1 is never for running backwards or for standing around. You wouldn’t drive 20 mph on an interstate highway in the left lane. The same principle applies to the track.
4) Lanes 4,5,6, (and 7 and 8 if your track is this wide) are for slower running.
This is the place for you to run at a slower pace. If you need to walk that is fine- use the outermost lane.
5) NEVER leave anything in lane 1 (or any lane)!
Bags, clothing, gear, yourself, etc. The track is for running! Do not stand around, do not sit on the track, do not stretch on the track. That is what the rest of the world is for. The track is for running.
6) Look both ways before you cross.
This should be a no brainer, but I’ve had it happen to me many times. You wouldn’t wander into the street without looking. Don’t wander onto the track without looking. Stay in your lane (unless passing a workout partner).
7) Leave your wheels at home.
Do not inline skate on the track. Do not ride a bicycle, or a scooter on the track. Do not bring your hoverboard to the track. Do not walk with a baby stroller on the track. Tracks are specially designed to run on. Wheels will damage the surface.
8) Schools, organized teams, and organized track meets get priority.
You would think this would be a no brainer, but as a coach, a teacher, and a runner, I’ve seen it all before. Do not jump the fence of your local high school while school is in session and sneak in a workout. That is called trespassing and the Police will get involved. Do not use the excuse that you're a taxpayer and you have a right to be there. No you don’t. In general, if a track is on school grounds, even if school is not in session, ask permission to use the track. If school personnel tell you no, say OK and find another track, or ask if there are times when the public is permitted to use the track.
- If a public park has a public track that is used by school teams, try to use it when the team is not there or introduce yourself to the coach and politely ask if you may share the track. If permission is granted realize that the team gets priority and you should not expect to use lanes 1 or 2.
-If a track meet is getting started as you are finishing up your workout, or is already going on as you approach the track this is not the time to use the track. Finish up your workout, or find somewhere else to run.
9) Smile. Be polite.
The weather is perfect, you’ve done a proper warm up, you are ready to start your next interval, when all of a sudden a nursing home bus pulls up and a group of walkers step on the track. In lanes 1 and 2. One of them has a ski pole with a sharp end balanced on his shoulders and his arms slung over the pole. He sometimes wanders into lanes 2 and 3. That’s because a Soccer game is going on and all the players have their bags in Lane 1 on the backstretch. Soccer balls are constantly being kicked on the track and left there. Simultaneously there’s a woman running 5 miles in Lane 1 in the wrong direction who refuses to move. Without any warning a child decides to run across the track, trips and falls and his mother comes running. Now a group of parents gather around blocking lanes 3 and 4. They remain there for 10 minutes before moving. A large man in a sweatsuit and workboots leaves his 50 lb. weights in lane 1 as he is mixing lunges and cardio. The grounds crew mistook your half full gatorade bottle for trash and now it’s at the bottom of a garbage can. You wisely decide you are never coming to this track again at 4 PM on a Tuesday night, only to find the track two miles away has a different set of obstacles. Only this time its 6 AM, 35 degrees, and raining….Oh and there’s that guy with the ski pole again. And all you wanted to do was a few 800’s!
It would be funny if I was making this stuff up, but again, these are all true stories. Although I’d be lying if I said this was all happening at the same time. (Usually it’s only three or four of these examples happening together.) So you’re left with two options:
A) Vent your anger. Yell at the woman running in the wrong direction that we are not in England (Spoiler alert-they run the same direction all over the world). You pick up those 50 lb. weights and hurl them onto the in-field. (You can count this as your upper body exercise for today). Tell the team’s Soccer coach to learn how to manage his players, go home and call up the school Athletic Director (make sure to mention your tax dollars!) Accuse the grounds crew of knowingly throwing away your gatorade and threaten to get them fired (Again-tax dollars). YOU are the only real runner here! So what if you just made runners everywhere look like we think the world revolves around us. It does!
B) Remember rule 1. Ever heard the saying “you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.”? Ask the coach if he or she wouldn’t mind if the players move their gear off the track. Smile and say thanks. That gatorade in the trash? Well it was next to 4 other empty bottles. And no one wants a track that looks like a garbage dump. The woman running in the opposite direction? She’s a runner too. Ask if she wouldn’t mind trying the other direction for at least a few laps. (Bonus points if you direct her to this article). For all you know she is training for the same race as you. The walkers in lane 1 and 2? Politely ask if they wouldn’t mind if you take lane 1.You might want to throw in that you need an exact measured distance. What you’ve just become in this scenario is an ambassador for our sport. Those walkers might become runners. That runner might just join your running club. And you just got a great workout without looking like a jerk and blowing a gasket.
10) Adapt. Improvise. Overcome.
I’ll never forget what a coach told me when I complained about some of the scenarios in #9. It was a particularly difficult workout, and everyone and everything seemed to be getting in my way on the track. He reminded me that I'm training for a race, and that in races you are going to have to go around other competitors, around potholes, through crowded water stops, and the occasional cheering fan that is a little too close to the course. (Yes sometimes people actually cheer for us). While we would like to run every tangent perfectly it’s usually unrealistic. If you’ve had a little experience switching from lanes 1 and 2 on the track, then passing your opponents in the final straightaway on race day will be nothing new. No one is perfect and no matter how polite you ask someone to share the track you are bound to find someone unwilling to move. Deal with it and move on. After all, you are a runner.
Did I forget any? Leave a comment!
