My high school is oppressing runners...

luv2run wrote:

Oppressed? Come on.

The road thing is a legit concern.

concussions are a legit concern. They haven't stopped football players form tackling.

A Number of schools have high school cycling teams do they make them cycle only on school grounds?

Thousands of people drown every year. The swim team still practices in a pool.

Red meat causes cancer proven by science. They still have a deli section in the lunch room.

And lastly the driving age is still 18 and we let kids drive to school.

The fact is this there are a million things that could kill a kid. If we let them drive on the roads, we should let them run on the sidewalk.

First: You didn't provide your PRs.

Second: Stop being such a whiner. Wearing a shirt isn't hurting your training.

Vanilla Rain wrote:

With summer beginning to heat up distance runners, even when off of campus, are being forced to wear shirts. And we are no longer allowed to run on roads, even though we are near the middle of nowhere and the only other place to run besides campus is a straight 2 mile bike trail.

Would it be wise to address the AD with our concerns or should we just stay quiet, dealing with the grueling heat and boring bike trail (which is not shaded by the way)?

Any help advice would help. Thanks.

This is why you get laughed at by the other real sports. The football team practices in full pads during the same kind of heat, but a shirt makes you too hot :(

You would never hear the basketball team complain about having to practice in the same boring gym everyday and request to practice in the street.

You ever watch a summer football practice? Half the time they aren't exerting any energy and they break every 15 min for water.

The best way for basketball players to improve is to practice on a basketball court. The best way for a runner to improve is to run on a variety of surfaces across a variety of terrains.

this is about supporting athletes to do their best. If the school doesn't want to support that, then they should drop that sports program, or allow and pay for their motivated athletes to partake in that sport at a school that does want to take it seriously.

What makes runners so special that they need a "variety of terrains"?

I get it, you watched football practices so you are an expert.

THIS is exactly why you get no respect.

Peace Out!

Have you spoken to your coach? Maybe s/he could advocate for some middle way. For instance, you say you live in the middle of nowhere -- are there shaded, little-used dirt roads that you could build a case for using (e.g, cooler, less impact than paved roads, more hills, etc.)?

And if it is summer running, you are probably either driving to the starting point or someone is dropping you off. There is no place within a 15 minute drive that has trails? Where do you hold your cross country meets?

How is Trump Country treating you, Flagpole?

Run with a singlet idiot.

My school is 5 miles away from the ocean so shirtless people are not uncommon. In middle school we were allowed to take out shirts off in the woods and roads away from the school. In hs anything goes like 1" split shorts and shirtless. I would definitely ask the A.D. about going to the woods more.

Put a T-shirt through a paper shredder like Rupp.

This is stupid. Running is boring and monotonous when you're not running different terrains. I'm not quite sure you understand that having a variety of terrains is what gives running its attraction. Why do you think every distance runner ever hits the state parks instead of the local track to get miles in over the summer? Also, roads suck, but if you use common sense you're safe. Most of the accidents I hear of happen in the evening, not at 3 PM in the daylight.

I'm a pretty fast runner, but I would have quit long before now if I had to run the same 2 mile dirt trail every day.

As for the t-shirts, just deal with it. It's a rule at plenty of schools, in all honesty the basketball team trains with shirts on and the gym gets hot as well.

winelover1969 wrote:

Flagpole wrote:

Running on the roads is ridiculous, so I hope the school is firm with that.

The shirt thing I never got. You can't race without a shirt. Just wear a freakin' shirt. I don't care really about this one though, but the not running on the roads thing should stand. We hear all too often about a runner who was killed by a car. Stay off the roads.

It gets damn hot in the southern US. It's 90 where I am right now, and it's not even May. Don't you live in Ohio or some other miserable place?

Are you wearing a parka when you run? A light t-shirt, especially one made with modern technology, isn't making you hotter, and it protects your shoulders from direct sun which helps prevent skin cancer anyway. You want to take your shirt off, then go to the beach. People really aren't interested in seeing you people run around with your shirts off.

Humans were evolved to run without shirts and we need Vitamin D to survive. Any clothing simply interferes with god's design (wicking or otherwise). Clothing is to blame for the human body louse (ie. bed bugs) and other abominations. Stop being such a Puritan and become a purist.

Flagpole wrote:

Are you wearing a parka when you run? A light t-shirt, especially one made with modern technology, isn't making you hotter, and it protects your shoulders from direct sun which helps prevent skin cancer anyway. You want to take your shirt off, then go to the beach. People really aren't interested in seeing you people run around with your shirts off.

Vanilla Rain wrote:

With summer beginning to heat up distance runners, even when off of campus, are being forced to wear shirts. And we are no longer allowed to run on roads, even though we are near the middle of nowhere and the only other place to run besides campus is a straight 2 mile bike trail.

Would it be wise to address the AD with our concerns or should we just stay quiet, dealing with the grueling heat and boring bike trail (which is not shaded by the way)?

Any help advice would help. Thanks.

Topless girls running down a road would be a traffic hazard.

Flagpole wrote:

People really aren't interested in seeing you people run around with your shirts off.

"You people" ?!

Flagpole wrote:

Running on the roads is ridiculous, so I hope the school is firm with that.

The shirt thing I never got. You can't race without a shirt. Just wear a freakin' shirt. I don't care really about this one though, but the not running on the roads thing should stand. We hear all too often about a runner who was killed by a car. Stay off the roads.

I completely disagree with you on this one. Not everyone lives within a mile or two of a trail or park where they can run. I can guarantee you we would not be going to state in cross every year and consistently have runners who go to state in track if we would only be allowed to run on campus. Most of the grass we run on is not maintained that well and I have rolled many an ankle in middle school when we were not allowed to run on the road. For high school kids though I see no reason why not. Unless your a pro or live next to a trail, the majority of people are going to run on the road.

Well, it won't be long then until your high school has a track meet or cross country meet named after a fallen athlete -- due to a car hitting them.

what's that supposed to mean wrote:

Flagpole wrote:

People really aren't interested in seeing you people run around with your shirts off.

"You people" ?!

Yep. You people.

naturist wrote:

Humans were evolved to run without shirts and we need Vitamin D to survive. Any clothing simply interferes with god's design (wicking or otherwise). Clothing is to blame for the human body louse (ie. bed bugs) and other abominations. Stop being such a Puritan and become a purist.

1) Actually humans have evolved to understand that clothes provide protection from the elements.

2) If you need more Vitamin D, drink some milk or take a supplement. Getting skin cancer under the guise of wanting to get vitamin D so you can run with your shirt off is not a good idea.

3) Major reason people, especially teenagers, run without a shirt -- they don't want a farmer's tan. Own that.