Take it Outdoors

I have something to get off my chest: I don't like indoor track. The entire indoor track season, I count down the days until outdoor track can begin. It's not that I do not like the runners or what they are doing, in fact, it's the opposite. I greatly respect what they are doing it and I enjoy watching it. I simply do not like indoor track.

Let's get right to the main issue. Does anyone like running indoors? The shorter track makes it hard to get into a groove, and it constantly feels like you're running while leaning. The races tend to be bunched up, which makes it even harder to get into your rhythm. Of course, that close competition does translate well when the outdoor season roles around, but odds are you're not going to be leaning at an angle for half of an outdoor race.

Worse still for the athletes is the indoor weather. Yes, it's not going to snow on your indoor race, but it's going to be so hot that it becomes hard to breath. Call it cotton mouth, dry mouth, or whatever you want to call it, it is going to be almost unavoidable during an indoor track race. 4, 8, or 16 laps with that feeling is excruciating, and you know exactly what's coming. No thanks.

And then there's the timing. For high school and college athletes it is an awkward time. Cross Country just ended, but it's already time to ramp back up to run on an indoor track. This happens again at the end of the indoor season when the runner jumps back into outdoor track. The timing can be difficult, and the first season that someone runs all three at their particular level can be brutal on their body.

So what do you think? What makes indoor track great? Or is it truly the lesser of the running seasons? Let us know in the comments below.