Armory track

I'll tell you what... it sure feels shorter. Compared to a track like Princeton it really looks and feels shorter but I really doubt that it isn't 200 meters. You'd think that the most popular indoor track in the nation would be accurate.

Yeah, it's a funny way to put it - it feels short - but it does. I mean, I don't think I could tell the difference between running a 3,200 on a 200-meter track or a 3,168 on a 198-meter track, but it just seems like you get back to the starting line sooner than you should.

It is my understanding that a track has to be measured on the initial layout during construction and never again, thus many tracks (indoor or outdoor)could be short or long depending upon construction. I have been involved in two track's alterations(both outdoor). One was resurfacing and the other was a new construction from scratch. Both measured tangents and diameters, but not actual length. Interesting question you have brought up.

NY runner wrote:

Anybody out there run at the Armory and Penn State who can compare?

when you go to the armory or penn state there is a certain atmosphere that makes you believe you are going to run big. your adrenaline, the competition, the mystique of the track all play into making those tracks feel shorter than 200 meters. i have raced both and they are legit to me. personally i feel there is a reason princeton feels like a true 200 meters, its a shitty track with dead spots all over.

Of course Princeton feels longer and slower, it's a flat track and isn't a sprung surface. All banked tracks are not equal even if they're the same length since the banking can be steeper, the transitions are different. For a sprinter I think the Armory is better than Reggie Lewis and slightly faster than PSU. The fastest I have run on is the board track at Reno, very aggressive turns, lightning fast (MJ set indoor 400m record there). Slowest banked track, the one they use at Millrose unfortunately.

I coach at a NY area HS and yes there are many great performances at the Armory, but believe me there are many people who DON'T get monster pr's when they run there. I think some of the reasons so many great performances are run there are these.

1- When you bring studs together they will run fast

2- Most meets there are either mega invites or Championship type

The surface is fast, the banksjust right, the whole event gets HS kids at least pumped to run fast - but not all kids(I know I have coached a few).

The track was once used in Italy for meets, so I'm sure someone would have caught on to it being short if it really was. As far as I was told, the track at the Armory is actually a "hand-me-down". Not such a bad hand-me-down either.

I think the track itself may be perceived to be short because the turns are relatively wide, which leads to a shorter straight. Tracks with tighter turns have longer straights, which makes it seem as though the track is much larger than it is.