Tried to do a track workout today, while schools are on break. Thought it would be the perfect time. All the high schools in town had their tracks closed off. I was going to hop the fence but the sign said that doing so would be trespassing and violators would be prosecuted. I don't get it.
Are public tracks a thing of the past?
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Depends on the community -- and the track -- I guess.
My town built a new track and the surrounding neighborhoods demanded that it remain open (coupla tracks in neighboring towns are, like yours, closed off). -
Call the superintendent and complain. That's what people did when I locked up our school's track. We eventually had public hours.
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Manhattan Beach has an awesome public track.
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Agree, it's out of control. The cost of tracks is unjustifiable for just a few HS kids, Especially at many schools who don't even have track as a real priority, they usually still have a track. I think the citizens must have access to justify the cost. After all, we're paying for it.
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Where I live most, if not all, public high school tracks are available to the local citizens.
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Bummer. The track at the school where I coach is open to the public 24/7.
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Maybe try heading out to the more rural high schools and use their tracks? I live in a rural area and the local track is open all day everyday. Almost no one uses it outside of high school track season.
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30 miles NE of Houston here; only the middle school tracks are open continuously in this area. They are all four lane, but standard markings/distances etc. High school tracks always closed up, even though they don't surround their nicer football fields, which is the holy grail. Given how hyper-competitive everything here is, I'm not at all surprised.
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Why would you lock up your school's track?
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I'm surprised. There's one by my work and it says on a sign "students have priority during school hours". I was amazed because I figured it was completely off limits until after 5pm.
That's how it should be. Share the track with everyone.
There's another track in Portland that is public, but corporate interests are taking it over and redoing the infield to get "usage" up. It'll be a soccer rental soon with little track access. -
Most tracks in the Pacific NW are open and available.
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Liability is the first reason.
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Jamin, WTF? Here you are jizzing about conservative this-and-that and you dare to ask for public welfare in the form of a track that you can run on, for FREE?
If you actually believed your own conservative talking points, then you would not dare ask the question. Pull yourself up by the mythical bootstraps and BUILD YOUR OWN TRACK. -
I understand racing on a track but don't understand why anyone would want to practice on one.
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To keep runners from spitting on it.
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Marathons on a track become a problem
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Trader Joses wrote:
Manhattan Beach has an awesome public track.
Where?? I'm in the area! -
Considering we have already paid for this public track in the form of property taxes that benefit public schools, yes, we're quite entitled.
pop_pop!_v2.1.1 wrote:
Liability is the first reason.
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Jamin, WTF? Here you are jizzing about conservative this-and-that and you dare to ask for public welfare in the form of a track that you can run on, for FREE?
If you actually believed your own conservative talking points, then you would not dare ask the question. Pull yourself up by the mythical bootstraps and BUILD YOUR OWN TRACK. -
Stop looking to groom little boys you war criminal!
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I'm a vault coach. I believe tracks should be open to the public when not used by the school, and outside of school hours.
Since vault coaches are a limited resource, half the schools in the area were looking for a coach and approached me to coach there when I moved to where I live now. I asked each one if their track had public hours. The ones the said no, I told them I was only willing to coach somewhere with the track open to the public. Eventually I found a program with the track open to the public, needing a vault coach, and a head coach I respected. I'm entering my third season of coaching at a very positive program.
