Ok for a non-student to run intervals at lunchtime at a HS track?

Best thing to do would be to call the school and ask--the A.D. or the track coach would be the best ones, probably the track coach as he is likely to sympathize with you.

I don't think there is anything wrong with it, but many schools are understandably skittish about having unknown adults on their campus during the school day.

yeah, it's definitely an awful thing to do. you're ruining the track and disrupting lives.

good thing you're so in touch with what is morally right. we should make more laws and regulations so others who aren't such stand-up citizens might know better.

I don't work or coach at a high school, but I sometimes run on the local HS track during lunch when they are having PE class on the field. No problems from the teachers or the kids. Some schools are probably more open to public use than others. Maybe you could call the school. As far as the kids heckling you, who gives a crap? They're high school kids. That's what they do. I was an obnoxious a55hole in high school too. I wouldn't expect anything less. But I actually haven't ever been heckled or even talked to by the students.

Public school? Do you pay taxes in the community? Help yourself.

Contact the school to find out. In the community I live in... school grounds are off limits to ANYONE not enrolled (including parents unless they are picking up or dropping off or have check in with the secretary) during school hours.

I'm sure it's different other places, so contact the school. Or just do it until they kick you off. I'm sure they won't call the police, they'll just ask you to leave.

Better yet, go to your local Community College. You won't get heckled and you can run any time of the day.

Why not contact the school and get the OK from the Principal?

Sockalexis wrote:

Why not contact the school and get the OK from the Principal?

Why not just run there, mind your own business, and if a teacher asks you to leave, then leave. This seems to be much ado about nothing.

I had to laugh at this thread...I coach at a high school and we regularly have folks from town come to jog at our track DURING our practices in LANE ONE and seem genuinely mystified when we ask them to move. Better yet are the guys who bring their dogs along or the ones with headphones who wouldn't understand what "track!" means even if they could hear us. Maybe next winter I'll take my kids skating during hockey practice.

Get to know the High School Track Coach. Find out when his meets meets are and volunteer to help them out by timing or running a field event. This kind gesture might give you an in for next winter.

Keep in mind, just because it's a public school doesn't give you the right to just walk in. At the school where I coach, all of my assistants have to be fingerprinted and given a background check before they can help. Any school district doesn't want to allow someone in with a criminal background, particularly a pedofile. If they don't knoiw who you are, they might be inclined to ask you to leave on the basis that they are resposible for protecting the students.

do you live and work in the town? if you do then you pay taxes for the track so you shouldn't feel bad at all.

It's illegal in Arizona for any non student, non teacher, or non faculty, to be on school grounds without permission-you know, wear the "guest" sticker on your shirt.

Too many freaks out there. This includes high schools.

he beat hall wrote:

do you live and work in the town? if you do then you pay taxes for the track so you shouldn't feel bad at all.

yup, it's just like walking into the school and making yourself at home in english 101. or taking that M1 abrams tank i've had my eye on at the army base out for a spin.

my school has people walk and hog around the track everyday , even during track practice , where of ocurse they jogi nthe 6th lane

I've (almost) never had any trouble running at a HS track. ~10 years ago I worked the 3-11 shift and ran on the local HS track 2 or 3 days a week. About half the time there were 3 or 4 female teachers out walking on the track while I was there. I always said "Hi" or "good afternoon" or something. They stayed out of first 2 lanes as soon as I showed up. Its easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. If a PE class showed up or there was band practice, etc ... I just moved on to some other location, after all, it is their track.

I did have one incident a couple of years ago at another track when a security guard asked my wife and I to leave. Apparently there had been some kind of threat earlier in the week and well I'm sure that it was something like "my wife and I are going to run on your track at 6:30PM, then ..."

just last year, i was booted from a local hs track during school hours just before i started my intervals. i was told there was no running on the track during school hours. i'm pretty sure i could've run around the grass practice fields for football, soccer and baseball without a problem but not the track. one day several years ago, 4 of us ran to a local hs track, went into the office to ask for permission, signed in and were initially granted permission and then had it denied. so we did fartlek in the school parking lot instead. 4 shirtless guys running around the parking lot for 45 minutes. they put a security guy in a car to watch us. i'm not sure why school grounds are fair game to be running on but the track is different.

most of the time, i do my workouts in the dark. there is a local high school track that puts their lights on for people to run/walk there in the evenings.

Sockalexis wrote:

Why not contact the school and get the OK from the Principal?

b/c it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

In my area at least, most tracks, college and high school, have posted rules governing use. These include the hours the track is avalable to the public or reserved for team or pe use, spikes, use of equipment, etc. College tracks are generally available until 1 or 2PM, then reserved until 5PM or so.

High school tracks are very often not open until after school hours (often 3PM).

If you don't see any rule regarding use of the track, rest assured that there is one. At a high school, you may need to contact the main office--and you may need to register as a visitor if you enter the track during school hours--or you may need to contact the PE or AD office. You might be granted access to the track, even during posted hours, if you simply ask for it.

In many jurisdictions, presence on a high school campus without registering (especially if you are not a parent) can be considered a crime. In any case, the best way to assure yourself of preferred use of the track is to talk to the track coach about being a volunteer assistant.

are you absolutely sure you NEED the intervals?

You do know that intervals ARE NOT the most important part of distance training right?

There may be some sort of Aerobic strength work you could be doing on the roads. Also if you absolutely need the intervals have you ever thought of doing them as part of a fartlek on the road or maybe even just as timed intervals on the road and not measuring distance.

Frequent track training can often get depressing and cause you to get into a rut....by not measuring your routes and by running the intervals as a time on the road you may be able to fight off the boredom that come from frequent track training, you may even set some blazing new prs!

I've found that this is one of those things where if you act like you are the Principal's best drinking buddy you'll be fine. Act like you belong there, don't make eye contact with anyone unless they talk directly to you, be confident, pleasant, relaxed and purposeful in your actions. I even had to call out some a**holes who were trying to knock me off the track once- they backed way off when I told them that getting them suspended would be easier for me than the workout I was doing.

Just don't behave sketchy or furtive in any way. You are there for business and you belong there (until someone with real authority tells you different).