Hello,
Anyone know of a good track in the Atlanta area open for training. Preferably on the NE side of Atlanta. With the high schools being in session now they tend to be taken up. Alternatively, anyone know of a fairly flat course with marked, accurate quarter miles?
Thanks
I spend a lot of time at the Peachtree Ridge HS track, although most of it is at night.
Is the track lit up at night? I've been there in the evening and its usually busy with HS stuff until dark.
No, but it's pretty easy to see when you are running. Just watch out for the football signage in lane 1 on the straightaway and you will be fine.
Grady (sometimes)
the bowl at Piedmost Park is close...it has 200m marks
Marist.
Holy Innocents.
Life College.
Any school if you ask nicely.
this isn't northeast, but it is east:
Agnes Scott College in decatur. small women's college, not very busy, open to the public after 5:00pm each day (though on weekends, people go earlier and no one seems to care).
Flat road course in Atlanta? I haven't been on one yet.
If you want a sure thing, the old Monroe Area High School has a track that has been abandoned. It was rubberized in 1996 for foreign olympians to train on. They built a new track that is much softer and you can run on it pretty much 24/7 too. Both are in Monroe, about 45 minutes east of Atlanta.
The old track is well kept and always empty.
The only flat course I can think of in Atlanta with markers would be the Silver Comet Trail over in Smyrna. 35+ miles of rails to trails paved path with limited road crossings. The first 4-5 miles can be semi-busy, depending on time of day, but it's dead after that. The markers are really weird, in that there is no rhyme nor reason for their regularity. There are mile markers spray-painted on the pavement though, that are very accurate. The "official" markers go 0.0, 0.3, 0.8, 0.9, 1.2, 1.6, 2.4, 2.9, 3.2, 3.3, 3.7, 4.2, and on and on.
This trail is SUPER flat. To get there, take 285 west to S. Atlanta Rd. exit, go north, left on East/West COnnector, right on S. Cobb Dr., left on Cooper Lake, left on Mavell Rd. and then park at the end of the road (big parking lot) and this will be the 0.0 marker.
When I used to live near it, I would go on a Friday morning at like 4am for my 20 milers and even in the pitch dark you could still faintly see the divider line painted on the pavement - it was so peaceful and relaxing just cutting through the darkness. The pavement is perfect, so no worries about footing, either.
Silver Comet Trail is great, but a few thoughts: 1. Chattahoochee River trail is very flat and is also marked every 1/4 mile. Located right off 285, pretty much right in town. 2. Last year, a female cyclist was murdered on an early morning ride on the Silver Comet. Not sure of all the details. I know it's different for men than women, but nonetheless a reminder to be on your guard if you're out by yourself on an early morning or late evening workout.