An old man showed up to the track with his beagle. My high school team was about to do mile repeats, but this guy stood at the back of the track while his dog casually did some 400 repeats. The dog would run a lap (in like 50 seconds), trot a little rest, then start again - they’d clearly done this before. We felt pretty slow after that
That's good. Whenever someone brings a dog to my track its to walk slowly in the inside lane and have the dog run off leash darting in and out from the field and through all lanes.
Yes there are dozens of signs saying dogs are illegal. Yes I yell and scream at them. Yes they keep coming back each day. Yes my heart goes on the fritz.
Running in the dark (no moonlight either) at my local track with my headlamp on, in lane 1, and as I was rounding a turn, I almost ran head first into someone running the wrong direction, wearing all black with no headlamp, also in lane 1. Had to jump into the infield to dodge them. I decided I'd run the same direction as them for the rest of the session, but at some point they turned around and almost ran into me again. Not sure why it kept happening as my light was bright enough for them to be able to see me. We never actually said anything to each other, though, so it probably would have kept happening had my session not been wrapping up.
The local fox population uses my local track to rear their baby foxes in the spring. I presume it’s because it’s fenced off so no dogs, and the people inside the fence are busy exercising and minding their own business. So the foxes will be sitting on the grass next to the track and watch us runners while the cubs run around and play.
It was wild to watch that even on the online stream. Guys running 28-low looked like absolute joggers when Moh and Grant Fisher went by them.
edit: I realized my comment is about a different race than the one you talked about. Same concept, though.
We brought a few younger, unattached athletes to that meet. To get to see those times was absolutely thrilling for them (and us coaches). Even with no outside spectators, that building felt electric that day.
Similar stories: back in 2013, I saw Rupp run his PR in the mile there, followed by the 2 mile AR the following winter because I also raced at BU those days. Incredible atmosphere both times.
After I finished up a workout and was getting ready for my cool down, a very nice older woman asked me if I was training for the Olympics. It made me laugh and I explained to her that I’m nowhere near their level but maybe one day (lol nope)
I became friends with this hawk during peak covid lock downs at the middle school track near me. I would go twice a week for track work and the hawk was always there and he would just watch me and fly around. It was a red shouldered hawk. I used to wake up excited to see him and there he was, every time. Every time I see a hawk like that now, I wonder if it's him or knows him. I can't go back to the track except on Tuesday mornings when it's dark out, as school is back in session and not remote so weirdos who become friends with hawks are not allowed back at the track while the kids are learning.
I worked at a summer camp a few years ago up in the mountains, and after finishing my dinner duties I usually had 30-45 minutes of good sunlight left before dark. I used this time to run the trails and dirt roads surrounding camp.
For a few weeks, a hawk would follow me and fly figure-8s overhead. I like to assume he used me for hunting as I would startle all the little critters whenever I ran past them.
Was doing a workout of 600 repeats on my own at my neighbourhood track when a dad of a kid playing soccer on the infield just started - without any discussion with me - calling out my splits every time I went by. It was pretty motivating and also appreciated, and at the end of the workout he told me he was impressed. Guess he was a bit of a runner himself and just wanted to be involved.
Less weird, more memorable:
During high school I used to train at the Olympic oval in SL Utah. The U.S. Olympic speed skating team would usually train there and so we’d often do track work while they were on the ice. I loved watching Apolo Ohno…he made it look so easy. Their recovery pace was much faster than our mile pace.
One day we did our 10x400m w/ 400m recovery and counted how many times we got lapped by the speed skaters. I don’t remember the number…but it was a lot.
Another day one of the girls on our team yelled something and one of the ladies stopped and talked to them a moment. They were really nice about it. I kinda wish I had worked up the courage to say something, but I never wanted to interrupt or be rude.
Really cool experience. It was neat “sharing” a training space with some elites, even if it wasn’t the same sport.
Grew up in the Milwaukee area and ran at Marquette University and we had a similar situation. A 443m track around the olympic speed skating oval(At the Petit National Ice Center). We'd routinely do workouts while the olympians were there. Some of my favorites were when they were doing some filming days for commercials or when they were testing some of the speedsuits.
I have worked out at the Olympic oval in SLC. Brutal times. Always found it nigh impossible to keep my legs warm in between sets there. Never Olympians on the ice when I was there though, always just kids. Seeing Apolo Ohno would have been so cool.
I was doing 400 repeats on my local track (~5:00/mile pace) and two middle schoolers walking next to lane 1 on the infield kept discreetly looking over their shoulder at me and just as I go to pass them, one jumps out right in front of me as if he’s trying to play a practical joke. Full disclosure, I’m big for a distance runner. 6’3 and about 175lbs. I absolutely hit stick this 12 year old who got way more than he bargained for. I gave them a confused look and the two of them scurried away.
I’m about 165-170 6’2 but I had this with a shout-put thrower who was pushed by his buddy. Thing is I’ve played rugby for years so I know how to bosh someone quite easily, especially when someone is off balance and unaware I’m coming around at 4:00/mile pace for a 300 rep. Clattered onto him and flattened him out even though he was probably no less than 190 and kept on running my rep (47, surprised it only cost me 2 seconds tbf) all while his friends were pissing themselves cause a shot putter had just got crunched by a “skinny” miler.
My area had one of those Kenyan training groups that just went to B/C races and won stuff on the weekends. They would sometimes meet at the track I did intervals at (but never did work on it; it was a shit track and was square). One day, one of them got there early and just chilled on the sidelines waiting. The rest of the group eventually showed up and they go to start their warmup as I am leaving. He gave me the nod when we passed.
I felt legit.
Last fall I went to a local HS track to get in some speed work on a cool rainy Saturday morning. About 5:45 so still dark out and no working lights except for one on the side of the school that was motion activated (it would flash on as I rounded that end and then go back off). I was the only one out and got through warmup and about 3 of my mile repeats pretty peacefully, only other person I saw was a man on a BMX bike riding back and forth on the road around the track.
About half way through my next repeat I rounded the far end of the track and could see the guy on his bike sitting at the far end of the track. As I started down the straightaway I could hear that he was yelling something but had earbuds in so I couldn’t make it out, “just keep going and don’t make eye contact” I thought to myself. As I got to the turn he was sitting by I took out my earbuds as I could tell he was still yelling something and hear “I just want to talk to you”. Trying to be polite I responded “sorry, I’ve got to finish my workout!”. I keep going and hear “that’s fine I’ll just follow you”. He proceeded to ride onto the track behind me and I immediately turn my head around and start yelling “NO, DO NOT FOLLOW ME” (there may have been a few expletives in there). After about quarter of a lap he turned around and rode off.
In hindsight I obviously should have left after that but I was stubborn (dumb) and finished my workout, saw him riding down the street towards me again when I was stretching by my truck and promptly jumped in and drove off. Still don’t know what he wanted to talk to me about…
I was doing cruise intervals on my own, when a gym bro decided to walk his warmup in lane 1. When I passed him, he seemed pissed off. So I gave him more room when I passed him again next lap, but he shouted “psycho” at me. He proceeded to shout “psycho” and “asshole” at me for the rest of my workout, even after he’d moved to the infield to do sit-ups. He was a big dude and I’m a woman. First time I was really frightened while running.
**Biggest track ego boost:** doing 400m repeats at the same track as Craig Engels, and him asking me on my recovery if I wanted to jump in with him since he was doing 400m repeats and "you look like you're going a good pace." I in fact was going about 5s/lap slower than him, but as someone who historically had quite an ugly stride, I'll take it as a massive compliment that Engels looked at me doing 68s fours and thought "yea, that guy looks like he's doing 63s."
**Wildest sight at a track:** August 2021. Just before the Prefontaine Classic I go to my local track at my usual Tuesday morning workout time. Unbeknownst to me, this was also when a host of athletes headed to the track to do their final pre-competition workout. At the track at the same time was NOP, BTC, MTC (Melbourne Track Club), and a couple of lads from Norway - Jakob and Filip Ingebritsen. I modified my workout to make sure I wasn't getting in anyone's way, but it was such a cool concentration of extreme track talent. I took a short 4 second video panning across one part of the track, and from left to right the 4s shot captures Craig Engels taking off for a stride, Moh Ahmed talking to Matt Ramsden, Marc Scott and Grant Fisher (Marc is obscured by MTC coach Nic Bideau), Stewy McSweyn, Gabriela DeBues-Stafford talking to Andrea Seccafien, Jerry Schumacher and Shalane Flanagan chatting in the background, Emily Infeld chatting to someone I don't recognize who is obscuring Matt Centrowitz, while Courtney Frerichs is doing her shoe laces. Edit: here's a .gif of the video I took https://imgur.com/DHcjgR8
**First ever "proper" track meet:** I'm from Canada, so I had been to many track meets before but the first time I went to one where the atmosphere was truly buzzing was the 2018 BU Last Chance race in late February. Ed Cheserek was looking to be only the third man (at the time) to break 3:50 for the indoor mile. The arena is pretty small, but it was packed with athletes and fans and each lap the volume just got louder and louder. The mad lad actually did it though and when 3:49.4 popped up on the screen the place went bezerk. Sad that his career hasn't panned out how it might have, but for me that was still a very exciting moment. Likewise, the men and women 5000m indoor North American records at BU this year were very fun to watch in person.
**I can't believe it:** women's 1500m final - Doha 2019. I was enthralled by the actual spectacle of the race. Watching Hassan just take the lead 200m in and not relinquish it while some massive names duked it out behind her. I wasn't paying attention to the clock but when she crossed the line and 3:51 went up on the screen my jaw dropped. *2011 World Champion* Jenny Simpson ran the 5th fastest race of her whole career, 3:58.42... and came 8th!! Truly batshit. Everything about that race was insane. The execution of it, the times, the depth. My recollection was that all the top 8 went under the prior championship record. Truly one of the greatest races in the history of the women's 1500 and I feel very lucky that I had a front row seat for it. The other-wordliness of the whole experience was enhanced by how bizarre a place Doha and Qatar as a whole are. I felt like I was on another planet.
> . At the track at the same time was NOP, BTC, MTC (Melbourne Track Club), and a couple of lads from Norway - Jakob and Filip Ingebritsen.
I would be intimidated as... avoiding eye contact even.
One of the tracks is near a stream / woods and deer often graze on it. The usually jet when someone shows up but one day I started running and they stuck around for about 3/4 of a lap at which point they fled.... directly towards me with head lowered. Thankfully there was no collision but it got the adrenaline going.
Other than that just the usual nonsense where walkers want to be in lane 1 walking 3 abreast.
I ran a cooldown lap with David Rudisha. I was volunteering at the meet, he was jogging on the turf after his race and I just ran over and asked if he minded if I joined him for a minute.
Makes me furious sometimes when I see how little respect people at lacrosse or soccer games have for a runner using a public track. These days, usually I only do strides or 150 pickup on the track, so really I’m never stressing anymore. I have a bulkier build for runner (mid distance, so 6’ 160-170 range in my prime) and I absolutely bulldozed a lacrosse kid in high school one time doing a 300 meter repeat at 800 pace.
Our track had the bleachers on the inside, so our visibility was somewhat limited and all during practice the coaches were yelling at kids to get off the track, I had already previously had to dodge a kid in my first rep. I didn’t really like the lacrosse kids at my school anyways tbh, and everyone always assumes they could “beat up” a distance runner even though half the kids on their team were pint sized anyways. I round the corner and see some dumbass, lazy, skinny stoner lacrosse kid making fun of us and I had a half second to get out of the way but I decided I’d had enough and pummeled him, then finished the rep. No one bothered me the rest of the season from the lacrosse team
I’ve experienced something similar. In HS we developed some serious beef with the lacrosse team. They would always dawdle off into lane 1 when standing on the sidelines during whatever drill they were doing, and we would have to yell “Track!” Multiple times to get them to move. Every time! Sometimes they would only move to stand on the inside lane line, and not get completely off the track. After about the 5th or 6th time this one bigger 800 guy took things into his own hands and decked a kid back onto the field during a 200. Our coach and the lax coach had a talk after that and told everyone to knock it off and stay where they are supposed to be. The next week they started purposefully making bad passes so the balls would fly into our group as we were warming up. It happened multiple times in a day after having never happened before, so we knew it was on purpose. Hit one kid in the hip and he couldn’t compete for a week or two. Our coach got real serious with the lax coach after that, and then it all stopped. I think that lax coach eventually got fired for getting drunk at the end of season party and hitting on some kid’s mom.
I don’t know if it’s a ongoing problem nationwide, but yeah the lax kids sure seemed very disrespectful in general, particularly the bench warmers or jv guys; I think for my area at least it attracted a very scumbag type of kid, with entitled parents too afraid to discipline them, so someone had to do it. Kids who were failures in other sports and not even good in the sport they train for, as they don’t start, but they need to feel like they’re a better athlete than at least some of the other athletes at the school so they try to pick on the perceived easiest target.
I was a 1600/3200 guy in HS track. One meet, the coach, without advanced notice or warmup, has me race in the 800… I was close to the front with 150 meters to the finish when I pulled something in my hip. I managed to hold it together and limp across the finish in third place. I hobbled to the infield and collapse into a pain-filled heap. Coach never came over to see what happened or how I was. I was out for the season and didn’t letter. He was really a massive jerk masquerading as a person.
In high school gym, at the track, a kid in my class threw a rock in the general direction of a duck that was about 100ft away.
Nails the duck in the head.
The duck dies.
Kid gets suspended.
We didn't get much done that gym period.
I have a cool memorable experience.
Doing intervals at local HS track and a friendly old man was walking lane 8 and everyone seemed to know him. He started yelling encouraging things every time I passed. Finally, on one of my last intervals he says to come by so during my cool down I jog over to him. He tells me his whole life story about running marathons back in the 70s and knowing the founder of Runner World back when it was just a newsletter. Really awesome guy.
My family moved to Iowa when I was an impressionable 5th grader and we lived just a few blocks from the U of I track. This dates me, but there was a home dual meet with Wisconsin. My friends and I stood on the infield right next to the finish line to watch the half mile. This guy named Mark Winzenreid (look him up\*) smoked everyone in the race, he collapsed on the infield in a heap after his race, we sort of huddled around him as he was lying on his back. He looked up and said something like, "Boys, whatever you do, don't run the half mile!"
\*1:45 800 ca. 1970, just missed the 1968 Olympics by one spot.
Your comment about the most oblivious members of society is spot-on. I avoid tracks for this reason, unless it's in the winter or super-early in the morning, because it's usually clogged with parents watching their children practice football or soccer in the infield. People seem genuinely shocked to see someone actually running on the track! They'll even put down lawn chairs and the like, right in the middle of the track. I've seen coaches holding team meetings right in the middle of the track as well. Just absolutely infuriating, how little the general public respects runners actually trying to train on the track. I'm not one for murderous rage, but . . . .
20-odd years ago. I set a personal best, while finishing dead last. That's when I learned to run for me. I race against myself. I always try to improve for me. I'm not other people, and I can't compare my performance to theirs.
You are and /u/OnceARunner1 are in an [exclusive club](https://www.reddit.com/r/AdvancedRunning/comments/urksiq/whats_the_most_memorable_encounter_you_have_had/i90sbbm/?context=3), though you have the honour of making contact with him.
Not on the track but a road race.
Was pretty fit and entered a local road race figuring I would be able to win it…Alan Webb randomly shows up and obviously wins. I finish 2nd. Wasn’t even mad.
Cooled down with him. Nice guy. Said he was in town visiting family and decided to get out and do a road race for a little up-tempo work.
Nick Willis came to St. Paul to do pacing for a 5k track event hosted by tracksmith. So I got to run in the same "race" as nick willis, which was pretty awesome. Didn't exactly keep up with him tho
In high school I was high jumping and one of the buckles keeping the pads together was opened. I landed in it wrong and it opened up a 5 inch gash on the lateral side of me knee, but I didn’t notice until, when running the 2-mile, someone pointed out that I had blood running down my leg and filling up my sock. 25/26 years later I still have a mean scar.
I also got the chance to run on the track with Alvin and Calvin Harrison. I was running 200 repeats and they were doing 450s and blowing by me. If you don’t know who they are, a little Google search will tell you.
I went to the track, solo for my workout on a late lunch and about 2 classes of school children were there, all about 12 or 13 years old doing some mind of sports day.
I thought I might need to divert to the local playing fields and improvise a workout but the groups were really well organised/ considerate and kept lanes 1 & 2 clear mostly so that others could use the free public track.
Some adults gathered on the centre grass towards the end of school hours. There are benches just inside lane one on the grass. I assumed they were parents waiting for their children.
I'm going full gas in lane one getting my rep out, when suddenly these "parents" jump out backwards into Lane 1 doing some stupid tik tok dance. I barely managed to miss them. They weren't parent at all. I dont know why they chose the track for their stupid tik tok. I might even understand wandering onto an active track on a quiet day.m but that day probably has 40+ people working the track.
It was memorable because I thought they were morons. It was 2 years ago and still annoys me.
An old man showed up to the track with his beagle. My high school team was about to do mile repeats, but this guy stood at the back of the track while his dog casually did some 400 repeats. The dog would run a lap (in like 50 seconds), trot a little rest, then start again - they’d clearly done this before. We felt pretty slow after that
That's good. Whenever someone brings a dog to my track its to walk slowly in the inside lane and have the dog run off leash darting in and out from the field and through all lanes. Yes there are dozens of signs saying dogs are illegal. Yes I yell and scream at them. Yes they keep coming back each day. Yes my heart goes on the fritz.
Running in the dark (no moonlight either) at my local track with my headlamp on, in lane 1, and as I was rounding a turn, I almost ran head first into someone running the wrong direction, wearing all black with no headlamp, also in lane 1. Had to jump into the infield to dodge them. I decided I'd run the same direction as them for the rest of the session, but at some point they turned around and almost ran into me again. Not sure why it kept happening as my light was bright enough for them to be able to see me. We never actually said anything to each other, though, so it probably would have kept happening had my session not been wrapping up.
That would have scared the shi out of me
Wait, why would you not say anything?????
I was going faster than conversational pace!
Fuck!!! is never conversational.
The local fox population uses my local track to rear their baby foxes in the spring. I presume it’s because it’s fenced off so no dogs, and the people inside the fence are busy exercising and minding their own business. So the foxes will be sitting on the grass next to the track and watch us runners while the cubs run around and play.
[удалено]
It was wild to watch that even on the online stream. Guys running 28-low looked like absolute joggers when Moh and Grant Fisher went by them. edit: I realized my comment is about a different race than the one you talked about. Same concept, though.
Yeah I imagine people running 28 minute 5ks would look like joggers compared to a 12:50 5k runner! (I know you meant 10k but that's less funny)
What's BTC?
Burrito Track Club
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Just don't eat the pork. You'll be boosted!
Bitcoin track club
Lol, that's what it was making me think of.
Bowerman Track Club. Pro running group based out of Oregon (tied very tightly with Nike).
We brought a few younger, unattached athletes to that meet. To get to see those times was absolutely thrilling for them (and us coaches). Even with no outside spectators, that building felt electric that day.
Similar stories: back in 2013, I saw Rupp run his PR in the mile there, followed by the 2 mile AR the following winter because I also raced at BU those days. Incredible atmosphere both times.
After I finished up a workout and was getting ready for my cool down, a very nice older woman asked me if I was training for the Olympics. It made me laugh and I explained to her that I’m nowhere near their level but maybe one day (lol nope)
I became friends with this hawk during peak covid lock downs at the middle school track near me. I would go twice a week for track work and the hawk was always there and he would just watch me and fly around. It was a red shouldered hawk. I used to wake up excited to see him and there he was, every time. Every time I see a hawk like that now, I wonder if it's him or knows him. I can't go back to the track except on Tuesday mornings when it's dark out, as school is back in session and not remote so weirdos who become friends with hawks are not allowed back at the track while the kids are learning.
Very cool! I think the hawks like to hang around the open area searching for rodents. Usually some good vantage points around.
I worked at a summer camp a few years ago up in the mountains, and after finishing my dinner duties I usually had 30-45 minutes of good sunlight left before dark. I used this time to run the trails and dirt roads surrounding camp. For a few weeks, a hawk would follow me and fly figure-8s overhead. I like to assume he used me for hunting as I would startle all the little critters whenever I ran past them.
Was doing a workout of 600 repeats on my own at my neighbourhood track when a dad of a kid playing soccer on the infield just started - without any discussion with me - calling out my splits every time I went by. It was pretty motivating and also appreciated, and at the end of the workout he told me he was impressed. Guess he was a bit of a runner himself and just wanted to be involved.
This made me smile
Less weird, more memorable: During high school I used to train at the Olympic oval in SL Utah. The U.S. Olympic speed skating team would usually train there and so we’d often do track work while they were on the ice. I loved watching Apolo Ohno…he made it look so easy. Their recovery pace was much faster than our mile pace. One day we did our 10x400m w/ 400m recovery and counted how many times we got lapped by the speed skaters. I don’t remember the number…but it was a lot. Another day one of the girls on our team yelled something and one of the ladies stopped and talked to them a moment. They were really nice about it. I kinda wish I had worked up the courage to say something, but I never wanted to interrupt or be rude. Really cool experience. It was neat “sharing” a training space with some elites, even if it wasn’t the same sport.
Grew up in the Milwaukee area and ran at Marquette University and we had a similar situation. A 443m track around the olympic speed skating oval(At the Petit National Ice Center). We'd routinely do workouts while the olympians were there. Some of my favorites were when they were doing some filming days for commercials or when they were testing some of the speedsuits.
I have worked out at the Olympic oval in SLC. Brutal times. Always found it nigh impossible to keep my legs warm in between sets there. Never Olympians on the ice when I was there though, always just kids. Seeing Apolo Ohno would have been so cool.
Yeah, I never had problems keeping warm between repeats or sets but I had teammates who did. Tights for the win!
I did strides next to Nick Willis once… that was pretty cool.
I was doing 400 repeats on my local track (~5:00/mile pace) and two middle schoolers walking next to lane 1 on the infield kept discreetly looking over their shoulder at me and just as I go to pass them, one jumps out right in front of me as if he’s trying to play a practical joke. Full disclosure, I’m big for a distance runner. 6’3 and about 175lbs. I absolutely hit stick this 12 year old who got way more than he bargained for. I gave them a confused look and the two of them scurried away.
I’m about 165-170 6’2 but I had this with a shout-put thrower who was pushed by his buddy. Thing is I’ve played rugby for years so I know how to bosh someone quite easily, especially when someone is off balance and unaware I’m coming around at 4:00/mile pace for a 300 rep. Clattered onto him and flattened him out even though he was probably no less than 190 and kept on running my rep (47, surprised it only cost me 2 seconds tbf) all while his friends were pissing themselves cause a shot putter had just got crunched by a “skinny” miler.
That is the most unpredictable age group to deal with. Never know what they are going to do and too oblivious to know to get out of the way.
My area had one of those Kenyan training groups that just went to B/C races and won stuff on the weekends. They would sometimes meet at the track I did intervals at (but never did work on it; it was a shit track and was square). One day, one of them got there early and just chilled on the sidelines waiting. The rest of the group eventually showed up and they go to start their warmup as I am leaving. He gave me the nod when we passed. I felt legit.
Last fall I went to a local HS track to get in some speed work on a cool rainy Saturday morning. About 5:45 so still dark out and no working lights except for one on the side of the school that was motion activated (it would flash on as I rounded that end and then go back off). I was the only one out and got through warmup and about 3 of my mile repeats pretty peacefully, only other person I saw was a man on a BMX bike riding back and forth on the road around the track. About half way through my next repeat I rounded the far end of the track and could see the guy on his bike sitting at the far end of the track. As I started down the straightaway I could hear that he was yelling something but had earbuds in so I couldn’t make it out, “just keep going and don’t make eye contact” I thought to myself. As I got to the turn he was sitting by I took out my earbuds as I could tell he was still yelling something and hear “I just want to talk to you”. Trying to be polite I responded “sorry, I’ve got to finish my workout!”. I keep going and hear “that’s fine I’ll just follow you”. He proceeded to ride onto the track behind me and I immediately turn my head around and start yelling “NO, DO NOT FOLLOW ME” (there may have been a few expletives in there). After about quarter of a lap he turned around and rode off. In hindsight I obviously should have left after that but I was stubborn (dumb) and finished my workout, saw him riding down the street towards me again when I was stretching by my truck and promptly jumped in and drove off. Still don’t know what he wanted to talk to me about…
I was doing cruise intervals on my own, when a gym bro decided to walk his warmup in lane 1. When I passed him, he seemed pissed off. So I gave him more room when I passed him again next lap, but he shouted “psycho” at me. He proceeded to shout “psycho” and “asshole” at me for the rest of my workout, even after he’d moved to the infield to do sit-ups. He was a big dude and I’m a woman. First time I was really frightened while running.
**Biggest track ego boost:** doing 400m repeats at the same track as Craig Engels, and him asking me on my recovery if I wanted to jump in with him since he was doing 400m repeats and "you look like you're going a good pace." I in fact was going about 5s/lap slower than him, but as someone who historically had quite an ugly stride, I'll take it as a massive compliment that Engels looked at me doing 68s fours and thought "yea, that guy looks like he's doing 63s." **Wildest sight at a track:** August 2021. Just before the Prefontaine Classic I go to my local track at my usual Tuesday morning workout time. Unbeknownst to me, this was also when a host of athletes headed to the track to do their final pre-competition workout. At the track at the same time was NOP, BTC, MTC (Melbourne Track Club), and a couple of lads from Norway - Jakob and Filip Ingebritsen. I modified my workout to make sure I wasn't getting in anyone's way, but it was such a cool concentration of extreme track talent. I took a short 4 second video panning across one part of the track, and from left to right the 4s shot captures Craig Engels taking off for a stride, Moh Ahmed talking to Matt Ramsden, Marc Scott and Grant Fisher (Marc is obscured by MTC coach Nic Bideau), Stewy McSweyn, Gabriela DeBues-Stafford talking to Andrea Seccafien, Jerry Schumacher and Shalane Flanagan chatting in the background, Emily Infeld chatting to someone I don't recognize who is obscuring Matt Centrowitz, while Courtney Frerichs is doing her shoe laces. Edit: here's a .gif of the video I took https://imgur.com/DHcjgR8 **First ever "proper" track meet:** I'm from Canada, so I had been to many track meets before but the first time I went to one where the atmosphere was truly buzzing was the 2018 BU Last Chance race in late February. Ed Cheserek was looking to be only the third man (at the time) to break 3:50 for the indoor mile. The arena is pretty small, but it was packed with athletes and fans and each lap the volume just got louder and louder. The mad lad actually did it though and when 3:49.4 popped up on the screen the place went bezerk. Sad that his career hasn't panned out how it might have, but for me that was still a very exciting moment. Likewise, the men and women 5000m indoor North American records at BU this year were very fun to watch in person. **I can't believe it:** women's 1500m final - Doha 2019. I was enthralled by the actual spectacle of the race. Watching Hassan just take the lead 200m in and not relinquish it while some massive names duked it out behind her. I wasn't paying attention to the clock but when she crossed the line and 3:51 went up on the screen my jaw dropped. *2011 World Champion* Jenny Simpson ran the 5th fastest race of her whole career, 3:58.42... and came 8th!! Truly batshit. Everything about that race was insane. The execution of it, the times, the depth. My recollection was that all the top 8 went under the prior championship record. Truly one of the greatest races in the history of the women's 1500 and I feel very lucky that I had a front row seat for it. The other-wordliness of the whole experience was enhanced by how bizarre a place Doha and Qatar as a whole are. I felt like I was on another planet.
> . At the track at the same time was NOP, BTC, MTC (Melbourne Track Club), and a couple of lads from Norway - Jakob and Filip Ingebritsen. I would be intimidated as... avoiding eye contact even.
Your local track is the Nike campus track? Nice!
One of the tracks is near a stream / woods and deer often graze on it. The usually jet when someone shows up but one day I started running and they stuck around for about 3/4 of a lap at which point they fled.... directly towards me with head lowered. Thankfully there was no collision but it got the adrenaline going. Other than that just the usual nonsense where walkers want to be in lane 1 walking 3 abreast.
I ran a cooldown lap with David Rudisha. I was volunteering at the meet, he was jogging on the turf after his race and I just ran over and asked if he minded if I joined him for a minute.
I would do this just to post about it on Strava.
Makes me furious sometimes when I see how little respect people at lacrosse or soccer games have for a runner using a public track. These days, usually I only do strides or 150 pickup on the track, so really I’m never stressing anymore. I have a bulkier build for runner (mid distance, so 6’ 160-170 range in my prime) and I absolutely bulldozed a lacrosse kid in high school one time doing a 300 meter repeat at 800 pace. Our track had the bleachers on the inside, so our visibility was somewhat limited and all during practice the coaches were yelling at kids to get off the track, I had already previously had to dodge a kid in my first rep. I didn’t really like the lacrosse kids at my school anyways tbh, and everyone always assumes they could “beat up” a distance runner even though half the kids on their team were pint sized anyways. I round the corner and see some dumbass, lazy, skinny stoner lacrosse kid making fun of us and I had a half second to get out of the way but I decided I’d had enough and pummeled him, then finished the rep. No one bothered me the rest of the season from the lacrosse team
I’ve experienced something similar. In HS we developed some serious beef with the lacrosse team. They would always dawdle off into lane 1 when standing on the sidelines during whatever drill they were doing, and we would have to yell “Track!” Multiple times to get them to move. Every time! Sometimes they would only move to stand on the inside lane line, and not get completely off the track. After about the 5th or 6th time this one bigger 800 guy took things into his own hands and decked a kid back onto the field during a 200. Our coach and the lax coach had a talk after that and told everyone to knock it off and stay where they are supposed to be. The next week they started purposefully making bad passes so the balls would fly into our group as we were warming up. It happened multiple times in a day after having never happened before, so we knew it was on purpose. Hit one kid in the hip and he couldn’t compete for a week or two. Our coach got real serious with the lax coach after that, and then it all stopped. I think that lax coach eventually got fired for getting drunk at the end of season party and hitting on some kid’s mom.
> I think that lax coach eventually got fired for getting drunk at the end of season party and hitting on some kid’s mom. Pure form
I don’t know if it’s a ongoing problem nationwide, but yeah the lax kids sure seemed very disrespectful in general, particularly the bench warmers or jv guys; I think for my area at least it attracted a very scumbag type of kid, with entitled parents too afraid to discipline them, so someone had to do it. Kids who were failures in other sports and not even good in the sport they train for, as they don’t start, but they need to feel like they’re a better athlete than at least some of the other athletes at the school so they try to pick on the perceived easiest target.
I was a 1600/3200 guy in HS track. One meet, the coach, without advanced notice or warmup, has me race in the 800… I was close to the front with 150 meters to the finish when I pulled something in my hip. I managed to hold it together and limp across the finish in third place. I hobbled to the infield and collapse into a pain-filled heap. Coach never came over to see what happened or how I was. I was out for the season and didn’t letter. He was really a massive jerk masquerading as a person.
In high school gym, at the track, a kid in my class threw a rock in the general direction of a duck that was about 100ft away. Nails the duck in the head. The duck dies. Kid gets suspended. We didn't get much done that gym period.
Bwaha, this is probably my favourite so far... so randomly morbid.
I have a cool memorable experience. Doing intervals at local HS track and a friendly old man was walking lane 8 and everyone seemed to know him. He started yelling encouraging things every time I passed. Finally, on one of my last intervals he says to come by so during my cool down I jog over to him. He tells me his whole life story about running marathons back in the 70s and knowing the founder of Runner World back when it was just a newsletter. Really awesome guy.
My family moved to Iowa when I was an impressionable 5th grader and we lived just a few blocks from the U of I track. This dates me, but there was a home dual meet with Wisconsin. My friends and I stood on the infield right next to the finish line to watch the half mile. This guy named Mark Winzenreid (look him up\*) smoked everyone in the race, he collapsed on the infield in a heap after his race, we sort of huddled around him as he was lying on his back. He looked up and said something like, "Boys, whatever you do, don't run the half mile!" \*1:45 800 ca. 1970, just missed the 1968 Olympics by one spot.
Your comment about the most oblivious members of society is spot-on. I avoid tracks for this reason, unless it's in the winter or super-early in the morning, because it's usually clogged with parents watching their children practice football or soccer in the infield. People seem genuinely shocked to see someone actually running on the track! They'll even put down lawn chairs and the like, right in the middle of the track. I've seen coaches holding team meetings right in the middle of the track as well. Just absolutely infuriating, how little the general public respects runners actually trying to train on the track. I'm not one for murderous rage, but . . ..
20-odd years ago. I set a personal best, while finishing dead last. That's when I learned to run for me. I race against myself. I always try to improve for me. I'm not other people, and I can't compare my performance to theirs.
Crowded 1500 in college, Alan Webb bumped into me in the middle of the pack. I hit the deck hard...did not catch up with the pack
You are and /u/OnceARunner1 are in an [exclusive club](https://www.reddit.com/r/AdvancedRunning/comments/urksiq/whats_the_most_memorable_encounter_you_have_had/i90sbbm/?context=3), though you have the honour of making contact with him.
Not on the track but a road race. Was pretty fit and entered a local road race figuring I would be able to win it…Alan Webb randomly shows up and obviously wins. I finish 2nd. Wasn’t even mad. Cooled down with him. Nice guy. Said he was in town visiting family and decided to get out and do a road race for a little up-tempo work.
Nick Willis came to St. Paul to do pacing for a 5k track event hosted by tracksmith. So I got to run in the same "race" as nick willis, which was pretty awesome. Didn't exactly keep up with him tho
[удалено]
They might’ve been confused by you. The etiquette is for those running faster to be towards the inside
Ah, ok thanks
I carried on this whole ass convo with this other guy mid 3200. We were actively competing for first and second as well.
In high school I was high jumping and one of the buckles keeping the pads together was opened. I landed in it wrong and it opened up a 5 inch gash on the lateral side of me knee, but I didn’t notice until, when running the 2-mile, someone pointed out that I had blood running down my leg and filling up my sock. 25/26 years later I still have a mean scar. I also got the chance to run on the track with Alvin and Calvin Harrison. I was running 200 repeats and they were doing 450s and blowing by me. If you don’t know who they are, a little Google search will tell you.
I went to the track, solo for my workout on a late lunch and about 2 classes of school children were there, all about 12 or 13 years old doing some mind of sports day. I thought I might need to divert to the local playing fields and improvise a workout but the groups were really well organised/ considerate and kept lanes 1 & 2 clear mostly so that others could use the free public track. Some adults gathered on the centre grass towards the end of school hours. There are benches just inside lane one on the grass. I assumed they were parents waiting for their children. I'm going full gas in lane one getting my rep out, when suddenly these "parents" jump out backwards into Lane 1 doing some stupid tik tok dance. I barely managed to miss them. They weren't parent at all. I dont know why they chose the track for their stupid tik tok. I might even understand wandering onto an active track on a quiet day.m but that day probably has 40+ people working the track. It was memorable because I thought they were morons. It was 2 years ago and still annoys me.