soccer parents yell at me and harass me for running on a public track that they are standing on

I guess it turns more into a mental workout...If you can keep your focus through that workout with all that BS...then cool! Don't let them intimidate you...you have a right to be there...especially because running is cooler than soccer!!

you are only 16, yet you mention your tax money? Not too many 16 year olds think that way.

while these adults were being reactionary (which was wrong), you should have taken the higher road from the beginning. next time, go up to the group and let them know you'd like to start your workout in about 20 minutes (after your warm up). ask them if they wouldn't mind moving to lanes 3-8. many non-runners (and some runners even) do not know about track etiquette. a friendly reminder will get you a lot further than starting the confrontation yourself.

If I knew that the local track facility had been chosen to be a venue for a soccer tournament, I would have found a different track to run on. While that game may have been over, how did you know that another might not be starting up?

If it was just practice, I could see your point as that type of thing irritates me as well. However, if the venue was being used for a game, they probably paid some sort of rent to use the facility for the game, and that probably trumps your workout. You wouldn't go run your 1200m repeats on the track during a high school football game, would you? (Although I'll admit that I've dreamed of doing that)

You were the one who was wrong.

The soccer tournament had the facility (which includes more than just the field) reserved for a period of time which was probably not over when you came in to run on the track.

What would have happened if it was someone trying to play soccer on the infield right after a track meet, but before every one had left.

The funny thing is your actions represent a stereo-type a lot of people have for runners - selfish and arrogant...

iamstewpid wrote:

you are only 16, yet you mention your tax money? Not too many 16 year olds think that way.

Damn, 16? You probably put enough in tax money to pay for your own track.

Maybe try waiting a bit longer next time or running in a free lane.

You didn't do any warmup laps beforehand, just went right into your 1200s?

I was helping out with an informal running group for high school kids a few years ago. We would meet near a dog park and everyone parked at the lot there. After one of the runs, some old guy came up to me asked if I was in charge. He then called the kids a bunch of punks and were taking up all the spots and running through the dog park to get to the trails.

I informed him that I was not in charge, no one was in charge, these kids are taking time out of their summer vacation to better themselves and meet up for a run on their own. I asked if he would rather have these kids find some unconstructive way of spending their summer. He didn't say anything and just walked away.

There was not another game after that one, the parents were just standing there, and the 300m has an exit. So they just waited there mocking me. There game was long over. No the tables were not turned on me. They were long done, and were enjoying attempting to make me mad, I just picked it up every time I was near them. By tax money, I mean my local high school functions without state funds, and gets a ton of money from the wealthy residential area surrounding it. So yes, I live in the area. I warmed up on grass fields away from the track.

Dude...

I wrote this whole long thing making fun of you. I, instead, want to just let you know that in 4 or 6 years or whenever, you're going to look back on this incident and go, "Jesus, I was a punk. I'm glad those people made fun of me," because you're 16, you think it's your track and not everyone elses and ran into a guy I bet you could avoid, and are complaining about your tax burden.

On taxes...

1. My guess is that your school taxes are property based and unless you own property (which I highly doubt) you did not fund any part of that track or school and will not fund any part of that track or school until you do own property, at which point you probably won't even live in the same town.

2. My other guess is that you don't make enough money that taxes are even a concern to you. When you have done or do your tax return in March or April or whenever you probably get back all that you paid to the local, state, or federal governments in the first place because of your level of income.

Turn the Table wrote:

You were the one who was wrong.

The soccer tournament had the facility (which includes more than just the field) reserved for a period of time which was probably not over when you came in to run on the track.

Except the people standing on the track were not soccer players or part of the tournament. They did not reserve the field and didn't have any particular rights.

they were the parents of the soccer players. the field was reserved for the soccer tournament. they had every right to be there until the reservation expired. the OP should have asked to use the facilities politely, especially when the facility was reserved. his fault. parents showed poor judgement in their response.

You're a spoiled little douche and you should've run one extra warmup lap to inform the people that you were preparing to do a workout. Chances are they would've been happy to move, had you given them a proper warning rather than yelling at them (your first mistake because most people take running personally no matter what the reason). Your second mistake was instigating the situation, and piling the crap on top of yourself by bumping into a stranger. Had I been there, and you just started yelling and slamming into people, even being a runner myself, I probably would've peed directly onto you while you ran past and encouraged my friends and family to do the same.

You're a spoiled little douche and you should've run one extra warmup lap to inform the people that you were preparing to do a workout. Chances are they would've been happy to move, had you given them a proper warning rather than yelling at them (your first mistake because most people take running personally no matter what the reason). Your second mistake was instigating the situation, and piling the crap on top of yourself by bumping into a stranger. Had I been there, and you just started yelling and slamming into people, even being a runner myself, I probably would've peed directly onto you while you ran past and encouraged my friends and family to do the same.

why are you running repeat 1200's in june in the first place??

just a question wrote:

why are you running repeat 1200's in june in the first place??

that was my first question upon hearing he is 16

Wow. Grouchy Friday?

+ wrote:

Wow. Grouchy Friday?

no, i think some of us are fed up with the sense of entitlement in which this society wallows.

The "I pay taxes" argument is a crock. I do in fact pay taxes, yet I can't use my public library at 3 a.m., borrow a police car to drive to McDonald's, or use my ski boat in the public swimming pool. This is no different. Paying taxes does not entitle you to unencumbered usage of a tax-funded facility.

As others said, the soccer tournament paid for the facility, and unless you can prove they had overstayed the terms of their rental agreement, you were in the wrong. Indeed, it might be argued that you were trespassing. The battery on top of it doesn't help your case.

I applaud you for your devotion to the sport, but you went too far.

If he wants to take the legalistic approach, then he probably loses on this one.

But in terms of etiquette and good behavior, I'd give him a slight edge over the parents. Yes, he should have requested some space before he starting hammering his repeats. That was bad judgment. However, what the parents did was immature and wrong. Adults should not get into pissing matches with kids, especially when their own children can see. Those soccer kids are going to grow up to be complete a$$holes.