Has anyone ever built their own private track?

I know that building a 400m track costs anywhere between 250K for a cheapie to $600K for Mondo surface...

I would guess you'd be looking at close to $1M till all is said and done (price of building the track, permits, land, warranties, etc.)

susqrunner wrote:

I know that building a 400m track costs anywhere between 250K for a cheapie to $600K for Mondo surface...

I would guess you'd be looking at close to $1M till all is said and done (price of building the track, permits, land, warranties, etc.)

really?

I don't see it being that expensive. If you already own the land I don't see how you wouldn't be able to just use a rope to make some semicircles separated by 100m and then destroy all the grass. That's assuming this isn't on the side of some hill and is relatively flat.

Grad Student wrote:

really?

I don't see it being that expensive. If you already own the land I don't see how you wouldn't be able to just use a rope to make some semicircles separated by 100m and then destroy all the grass. That's assuming this isn't on the side of some hill and is relatively flat.

I'm pretty sure he said that the price range given was for a mondo track, not a dead grass track. If you want it to be useable for competition, it will be expensive. It has to be measured very precisely and the ground has to be leveled. A dead grass or dirt track would be cheaper, but it would get torn up in bad weather and people probably wouldn't want to train or compete at your track.

I was in South Africa for a few monthes. And the high school near wear I was staying had a grass 400 meter track. They took care of it like a golf course. It is my favorite running surface I've ever trained on.

Grad Student wrote:

really?

I don't see it being that expensive. If you already own the land I don't see how you wouldn't be able to just use a rope to make some semicircles separated by 100m and then destroy all the grass. That's assuming this isn't on the side of some hill and is relatively flat.

I tend to agree. It's not like the Mondo people are out building tracks every single day of the year. If you already own the land, you could get subcontractors to do the work for probably half of what the Mondo guys usually charge major universities.

I would think you could build your own cinder track if you had some land. Get a grading contractor to come in and carve out a track and level out the area and deal with any sub grade drainage issues. Perhaps a small concrete curb around the outline to keep weeds out and stone in. A couple dump trucks full of crushed limestone for the surface. Maybe buy a small drum roller (sort of a mini steamroller) to re-compact the surface every now and then. High 4 or low 5 figures maybe?

The cinder track idea is probably the best bang for your buck.

Last year I measured out a 400m track on the cornfield we practice on, unfortunately we could only fit two lanes over 370m until we hit a wall, but the kids loved running on it, and with a little bit of paint, we had relay zones and everything. It looked pretty good, and it was a great teaching tool for kids who never had run on one before. The neat thing was driving passed it at night and seeing other people using it.

Back in college in the late 70s, our coach had the college staff build a 440 yard woodchip track just across a small street from our all-weather track for recovery runs, injury rehab runs and just for a change of pace. It was incredible....

russT wrote:

I was in South Africa for a few monthes. And the high school near wear I was staying had a grass 400 meter track. They took care of it like a golf course. It is my favorite running surface I've ever trained on.

They are great, unfortunatley you need the right climate that is condusive to making a good one (hot and dry usually). I don't think there are too many places in the states that you could do it, maybe out west or someplace.

I think most of you are underestimating how much it costs to properly grade an area the size of a track. I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to find a 400m oval of land that was perfectly level. After its level, you need to lay down a layer of asphalt, or something similar, so the surface doesn't buckle or fall apart. I also assume Mondo surfaces require some special adhesive.

As far as cinder or grass tracks, same grading issue, plus you need a great drainage system or the track will be torn up really quick.

There's plenty of old books on cinder track building. They took care of drainage issues with a large depth of gravel below the cinders, and sometimes drainage outlets in the curb (which extends all the way down, like a foundation).

It wouldn't be a problem if it was sloped a little bit. You wouldn't use a DIY track for world records or anything.

does anyone have any idea how much it would cost to upgrade an asphalt track to tartan?

I watched them build a surfaced track across the road from my office and the cost of 1mil would seem realistic perhaps even a bit low.

The real cost is the laying of the concrete under the mondi - 400+ ssqm of concrete is not cheap - also creating a perfectly level surface and then laying down the surface.

One of my "fantasies" is to buy a big piece of land and build a high school and university level cross-country course and open it up for use to all comers.

zatopek wrote:

One of my "fantasies" is to buy a big piece of land and build a high school and university level cross-country course and open it up for use to all comers.

Isn't that what Bob Timmins did with Rim Rock Farm in Kansas?

I would not go so far as to say it was my fantasy..but it would be cool to do.

In europe they are generally open and free for all to use anyway so the 'build and they will come' would probably only apply in less fortunate communities.

Now if you set up a open house with 100 playstations you may be onto something :)

back when I was teaching high school in Vegas most of the HSs had cinder tracks. When tbey went through the boom building new HSs in the 90s, the school district did a study and found it was cheaper to build rubberized asphalt tracks than cinder tracks.