Public tracks in San Diego

San Diego track club runs at Balboa Stadium and San Diego High School. Maybe contact them for other options.

Or get off the track and run just about anywhere. You are near to the Strand which is pretty flat and beautiful year round.

Thanks for the feedback. Plenty of good places to put in miles around and always good weather, you are right. The strand or road isn't sufficient for hard repeats, though, especially if you intend to compete on the track. SdTc has limited windows and scheduled training sessions, so it isn't sufficient either.

Any other ideas? Thanks!

CB you only have to realize that one of the best cross country courses is in within your reach (balboa parks - footlocker cross country), in my estimation you really haven't realized the ---gold---, in other words take a look around there's more to it more than a track.

Good luck

You might try the PLNU track in Point Loma. Beautiful setting not too far from downtown. I haven't been down there for a long time so I'm not sure what the current access status is.

Keep trying the High Schools. Maybe some in the older, but still nicer areas: Pt Loma, Clairemont, Mission Bay, Madison, Patrick Henry. Then try the Junior College's: Mesa or Grossmont (old home for Larsens and the Toads!!), or Southwestern. Then maybe the colleges: SDSU, UCSD, Pt Loma.

I think it is possible to get on the track at PLNU. I walk and jog by there often, but whether someone will come and kick you off is another question!:)

Since it's no secret that I'm PRO san diego, and you;re near balboa park, what is your objective? What is the purpose of your run? To tell you the truth "i''m feeling blue!"

Blatter,

Thanks for the insight. I will give PLNU a shot.

Anon,

Footlocker XC is a legendary course, but far from "one of the best" courses and certainly a poor choice for hard track-style sessions. Clearly there are hundreds of miles of trails and great parks in San Diego county, of which Balboa is one. I run at many of them often. However, as a track athlete still racing 8/1500m events, some on-track work is a nonnegotiable despite having access to XC courses and trails. Thanks for the insight, though.

i jump the fence. although todd gloria is making a push for schools to open fields up when they are out as shared public recreation parks. i hope that happens soon. fyi, current strava CR on balboa stadium 400m is 59s.

Cuyamaca college track is open even during week days. 3 or 4 guest parking spots right by the track. If they are full go park on Fury and walk or jog in. Good warm up anyway. Park anywhere else and you risk a ticket , even if the lots are empty.

Have you checked Mesa College, might have a similar policy as Cuyamaca.

I used to play tennis on their courts often.

Spent the evening googling public tracks and came across this. This thread has been exactly the conversation I've had with every runner out here.

1 'Why aren't there any public tracks?'

2 'We have amazing trails!'

1 'Yes, but I'm an actual runner, which means I don't just do rando XC races or ultras at 10 minutes per. I have a very specific workout in mind, for a very specific event, and I want flat rubber, not some (scenic, I'm sure) canyon gully.'

2 'Hey. It's the *best* trails!'

1 'Look, just tell me where the 400m tracks are.'

2 'Oh there's plenty! '

For the record, guys. Out on the East coast, where we built up quick and packed in, we found room for most public schools to have tracks, they are all open to the public, and every major city has public parks that contain 400m running tracks at a density that you're never more than a 3-mile warmup jog away. *that's* what transplants are asking about.

Cheers on building a single park twice as big as Central park, chopping it apart with three highways through it and turning half of it into a golf course, tho. And then building basically no other parks, other than declaring waste land like canyon gullies 'parks' (which, to be fair, Pittsburgh does as well, but they also flatten parts out and put in facilities, like running tracks.)

And to actually add value to the thread, it seems like SDSU is a nice, open track, and very close to where I work. Weekends, tho, got to drive if I want to run.

Did Todd Gloria ever make progress on opening the public school facilities after school hours? If not, is anyone still pushing on that?

Also, since you seem like my kinda runner, op, you ever find a good running club that focuses on mid-short distance stuff? I was 3k in college and mostly do races between 2 mile and 10k since.

You seem to know how to make friends quickly. You sure you want to live out here on the west coast?

In any case, I understand your issues - if you want to run fast on the track you have to work out on the track...

Unfortunately, most of the HSs in the wealthier areas are more concerned with not getting sued than allowing folks access to their track. That said, I think there has been some good information in this thread... Maybe check the JCs - you should have some luck there. Also, PLC is a real possibility and then there are some high schools that you can sneak on to if you know the drill (just look for available access)... And of course your best bet might be to meet a couple of the HS coaches in the area you live in. If you explain to them what you are hoping for I'd bet one or two would help you even if they are from here on the west coast.

Good luck, Bro... hope you run some fast times... maybe even at ridgemont high.=)

CB wrote:

I just moved out to San Diego (right by Balboa Park) and I'm finding it on the border of impossible to get access to a track to run repeats on. All the high schools in San Diego proper seem to be locked down tight as is Balboa Stadium.

Any recommendations? I'm willing to drive somewhere to train.

Thanks!

A bit to the north, try UCSD track. Weekends, no problem getting on. Later in day on most weekdays too. Great spot to run.

If it's so great, go back to the East Coast then, dickhead.

I'm a recent transplant too...desperately looking for public tracks to use in early AM...everything is locked up! I'm up in the Poway area. Any leads???

Mt Carmel High School in Poway is always open and Black Mountain Ranch park(also in Poway) has an 800m dirt track/trail if you can tolerate the dirt and gravel. PLNU track is easily accessible, just don't go in the mid afternoon. UCSD track open most days and many high schoolers around the area train there frequently so you should be okay running there. Avoid most public high schools though, admin in SDUSD are strict and uncooperative even though the law states they must leave the tracks open for public use. However, if you do "sneak" on to a HS track and get caught bring up the fact that they are breaking the law by closing the tracks to the public, they'll still kick you off the track but they won't call the police.

Thank you VERY much! Appreciate it.

San Diego State University?

Mission Bay High School?

Hoover High School?

Granite Hills High School, El Cajon?

Greenfield Junior High School dirt track next to a park?