When I couldn't grade any longer, I went towards the athletic fields to see why the parking lot was full of cars. There was a water polo match going on, and my school's team didn't appear to be one of the competitors! Then I looked over towards the football field and track, which is being upgraded:
And it came back to me.
I remember it well, that spring day in 1983. I was young, thin, and swift, and my (soon to be undefeated) track team was in a meet against the team at the school where I currently teach.
I ran the mile that day, and as I came around the last turn my teammates were yelling at me to run faster, Darren, run faster! I had the inside track, and an opponent was just behind my right shoulder. I couldn't run any faster, but neither could he, and I crossed the finish line a fraction of a second before him. I don't remember if I placed or not, maybe not, but I ran my fastest recorded mile on that track, 4 minutes and 59 seconds.
Until very recently, that track was dirt and gravel. We ran wearing running shoes with spikes screwed into the bottoms. Soon enough there will be an all-weather track here, and races will be run in ordinary running shoes.
But I remember that one day, that one race, on that old track. And I smile.
2 comments:
Unless there are specific rules in place for that specific track surface, you still use spikes on all weather tracks, just shorter ones. When I ran the mile in High School, I used 1/4" spikes on the all weather tracks, and 3/8" on the gravel tracks.
I did not know that! I remember running on a university's all weather track at an invitational in high school, and we wore only running shoes. But as you say, perhaps that was that particular university's rule.
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