What Goes On: Winter Track Meets
Winter track meets are often invitationals where many teams from schools across your state come to compete. Dual meets held at your school usually do not happen as the outside track will be snow covered or frozen. Here are some examples of events held at the invitationals:
55 meter dash
55 meter hurdles
200 meter dash
400 meter dash
800 meter run
1600 meter run
3200 meter run
4x200 meter relay
4x400 meter relay
4x1600 meter relay
Distance medley relay (1200 meter, 400 meter, 800 meter, 1600 meter)
Awards: 6 places deep
At my high school, both boys and girls go together to winter track meets, and it’s a lot more…fun? Interesting? Sometimes if there aren’t too many runners attending, we all get on one bus together. Expect lots of food and noise on the bus ride there. Invitationals are long if you stay through the whole thing and are usually about four hours from start to finish. If it goes into early nighttime, you may find yourself at a McDonalds on your way back home for dinner.
Each of the listed events is split into three or more levels: Frosh boys/girls, Novice boys/girls, and Varsity boys/girls. Frosh obviously designates that the run is for freshman runners only and the frosh level usually runs first. Next is the Novice level, which is usually for anyone who hasn’t won a medal in a meet. If you have won a medal, you are placed in the varsity level for your event, even if you may not have gotten a varsity letter from your coach. Be aware that there may be varsity runners who run at the novice level at invitationals because they haven’t gotten a medal yet. All of the events are run in a boy girl order. For example the 200 meter dash goes in frosh boys, frosh girls, novice boys, novice girls, varsity boys, and then varsity girls. The events may not be held in the order I listed them, but the 55 meter hurdles and dash are always held first.
Sometimes, events may not have a frosh level. Freshmen would then run at the novice level. Anything other than relays are referred to as an ‘open’ event. Field events like the high jump may or may not be held.
When you arrive, your team will seek out an area in the middle of the track that hasn’t been claimed by the other teams and settle down. There is usually a concession stand in the middle of the track (or somewhere nearby) as well so bring money for a snack after you run. The next thing you’ll probably be doing is running your warmup on the track and then stretching and doing some plyos (plyometrics).
Indoor tracks differ from outdoor tracks lengthwise and texturewise. An outside track is 400 meters in the inner most lane while indoor tracks are around 200 meters in the inside lane. This is the reason why the slowest runner gets placed in the inner lane behind all the others. Most events in winter track may not be staggered. You cannot wear spikes to indoor track meets as they will damage the track (which is usually a mondo surface or something like that). Racing flats and even the regular running shoes you wear to practice is okay.
Prior to the start of the events, your coach will be busy filling out the cards that you pin to your uniform when your run your event. The card has your name, the event you run, your level, and your seed (how long it takes for you to run your event). After that, there’s nothing to do but wait, talk and text. If you’re doing a relay, practice handoffs with your teammates and decide if you’re going for blind handoffs and which order to run in if your coach hasn’t decided yet. When events start (always with the 55 meter hurdles and dashes), be sure to move around the track and cheer on your team. Pay attention to the order of events (your coach will have this) and listen to the announcers when they call each event.
When your event and level are called (example: girls’ novice 800), go up to the desk, hand over your card (usually right next to the straightaway on the track) and wait to be lead on the track. Collect your card. There will be some sort of official who may or may not have a megaphone next to his mouth who will tell you what to do. If you’re in a relay, line up in your order. If it is an open, the official will group you by your seed times (example: “anyone who runs the 200 in less than 27 seconds, go here. Anyone who runs it in 28 to 30 seconds, go here.”)
After everyone has been grouped, officials will come by and will write down your heat (when you ran and in what lane you started in). For example 9-3 means that you ran with group nine and in the third lane. Listen to the official to know if you have to stay in your lane when you run and if you’re going to be staggered. After everything is sorted out, wait for the current event to finish and wait in line. When your heat is called up, get in your lane and wait for the ready, get set, go!
After you cross the finish line, get your time from your coach who will have been watching and cheering you on, and head back to your team area. Listen to the announcements to see if you or your team have won a medal. Awards are given to the first six fastest times of the event, not of each heat so even if you came in first of your heat you may not have placed first overall. This is where running with varsity runners at a novice level gets really frustrating, but as long as you gave it all, it doesn’t really matter. Now you get to chill out and watch the rest of the events and get something to eat without the fear of puking it up when you run. I suggest bananas as they help you recover from a hard run and enjoy the bus ride home!
