I'm looking to get more serious about my speed but I have some anxiety that is holding me back from getting started. Step 1 is to find a track (I'm avoiding gyms because COVID), but I'm not sure how. Are any tracks fair game? Also, if there are any etiquette rules to be aware of.
Am I allowed to run on school tracks?
High School Running
High School Training
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It depends, as different places have different rules. Contact the athletic director to clarify. Or head to to Wheaton, IL...because their college track is open to everyone.
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Every district has its own set of rules. Generally a track is fair game during non school/non practice hours if the gates are open and unlocked and there's no signage indicating "no trespassing."
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Try it. You'll be asked to leave if you aren't allowed to run there. Don't try it while a practice is going on obviously.
Not having access to a track isn't the end of the world - you could do repeats around a soccer field or even around a loop or on a straight segment of road that you've measured out and possibly marked.
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You're worried about Covid?! Forget the track, you're too much of a baby to survive in the wilderness.
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Covid? Don't leave your house. How do you go to work?
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Probably not with the track, almost all of them are locked up tight. Covid? It's a freakin' cold man. Good lord.
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A lot of college tracks are fair game except when teams have practice. Most high schools are fine early/late + on weekends. Some high schools are strict during school hours but you can reach out to an AD or coach to confirm. Some high school tracks aren't attached right to the school &, for that reason, are usually open.
You can work on speed anywhere though. Hills. Bike paths. Etc.
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vacumjh wrote:
I'm looking to get more serious about my speed but I have some anxiety that is holding me back from getting started. Step 1 is to find a track (I'm avoiding gyms because COVID), but I'm not sure how. Are any tracks fair game? Also, if there are any etiquette rules to be aware of.
Use Google Earth to look for tracks. Your best bet is a middle school track. These tracks are rarely locked. Tracks inside fancy football stadiums are generally locked up. In my experience, public tracks are common in the Midwest, Northwest, and Mountain States. Not so much in California, the South, and Northeast.
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penny farthing wrote:
Your best bet is a middle school track. These tracks are rarely locked.
This is probably your best choice. In my experience, most middle school tracks do not have a fence around them and no signs indicating that you can't use them. If you are lucky, they will even have an all weather track of decent quality. I would avoid using the track during school hours and when being used for their practices.
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Where do you guys live who are suggesting middle school tracks? Where I’m from almost every middle school track was the really just the HS track.
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There are hundreds of tracks available.
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I count 7 tracks within a 4 mile radius of my house. All are available for public use outside of school hours/events.
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Big G wrote:
I count 7 tracks within a 4 mile radius of my house. All are available for public use outside of school hours/events.
Lucky. There's 3 within ~10 miles of where I live. One is locked up like the white house with a huge fence. Owned by the university. When they redid their facilities, the track coach wanted to allow the public to use it, but the school placed it all in their sports complex with the other fields and ticket booths and all that, so I've never stepped foot on it. The other belongs to middle/high school, and is locked up at nonsense hours. It'll be open for a week straight, and then it'll be locked the next week. No rhyme or reason.
Small town down the road has one at their high school that's more or less open 24/7 and I've never had an issue using, I just have to drive to get there.
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Bio Duder wrote:
Where do you guys live who are suggesting middle school tracks? Where I’m from almost every middle school track was the really just the HS track.
Nice upper middle class suburban neighborhood outside a larger city. All of the middle schools have their own tracks as do the high schools.
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I'm looking to get more serious about my speed but I have some anxiety that is holding me back from getting started. Step 1 is to find a track (I'm avoiding gyms because COVID), but I'm not sure how. Are any tracks fair game? Also, if there are any etiquette rules to be aware of .
I got this,....
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