Has anyone else giving up doing workouts on public tracks?

I think you need to keep fighting the good fight against those ignorant of the rules of the track. One person in lane one is a minor inconvenience even if they never surrender the fast lane. A group going 2-3 wide is kind of harder and they might not care, but they also might take the hint. I think you’re still going to get an advantage by doing a track workout when it’s crowded than being on a road or trail.

my local track is closed due to covid restrictions so yes I've given up.

I always use lane 8.

What's the best way to measure distances on lane 8 if you're doing 800s or 1ks? My garmin measures a lap slightly off.

And passing people on lane 1 isn't really an issue for me it's more often than avoiding collisions with people wandering, stopping, or who knows what right in front of me while I'm just about to pass. Lack of awareness and courtesy for others on the track not just me.

That's why we have guns in the US!

Just kidding

What about a friendly “Lane 1” when you’re 20-30m back? I think it works better than “track” or “on your right” since they’ll eventually get the hint that you’re in lane 1.

It’ll probably cause confusion the first time around, but they’ll learn.

What about posting etiquette at the gate? We had that before and generally didn’t have too many issues. Definitely had an agro peewee football dad who dead-set on walking in lane 1 and wanted to fight everyone once, but that was a rarity.

Unless you're training for 800 meters or below you don't need a track. Longer reps can be done via time or just mark out a loop. Shorter reps can be done on a grassy field or even change it up and do them on a hill. Sure they might be a bit slower than if you did them on a track. But it's the stimulus and the effort that counts. Only exception to this if you're going race on a track with spikes than it would be a good idea to do a few workouts in spikes beforehand.

i can still get decent track work done after 9pm in nyc. still plenty of lane 1 walkers but as long as there aren't 6 year olds on bikes or people going the wrong way it is manageable.

when people see me on the track they know im the real deal and surrender lane 1. no problems.

honestly, i live in a rural area. i typically only share the track with obese, late middle age ladies. they are no problem to work around. if the track was a sh!t show, i'd do my reps on the road, as somebody else mentioned.

My trick. Do your warm up strides in the opposite direction of the lane one walkers. Simply point to the second lane as your approaching. They will get the idea.

I generally don’t have problems. I recently found a local university that is open to the public. I did encounter a club sprinter and his coach doing reps/starts in lane 1 followed with doing walk recovery in lane 1. Very annoying. Only happened once.

Count steps from finish line to 400 meter stagger. Repeat it and you have your start line.

Just plough through and teach them.

mellow yellow 2 wrote:

What's the best way to measure distances on lane 8 if you're doing 800s or 1ks? My garmin measures a lap slightly off.

Coros has a software correction for measuring distances correctly on a track using GPS. And in track mode it allows you to set what lane you are running in. It seems spot on in my experience.

Buy a few Baby Ruth candy bars and smash them in various parts of Lane 1 around the track. Worked in Caddyshack.

Sometimes they'll move aside if you're coming by fast. Sometimes it works to yell track as you're coming nearby. Sometimes it works to just have a brief conversation with them. You can adjust if you're doing 200 to 400 repeats by doing them with the stagger starts. All in all, it's well worth it if you can find a public track, a pretty rare commodity in recent years but especially rare now.

OP, I know what you're saying -- there are two tracks available in my area, and they often are filled with too many walkers, and many poseurs who spend an hour on the backstretch doing not much of anything, but trying to act like they are Usain Bolt.

I suggest trying to make a difference by creating a nice looking sign to put up near the start line that asks people to be considerate of others using the track, and follow some simple behaviors like not walking side-by-side all the time, be aware of others running faster, and not to always stay in lane 1.

Public tracks and trails are too dangerous with COVID. Stick to a private track that keeps out the unwashed masses.

Run clockwise. Some will be confused, others will be furious. If you were the first one there and also the fastest, some may follow your lead.