Running On The Track

Sports Science Basics for Runners

By Dr. David Cosman in Hong Kong

Track Training: Once around and you've seen it all?

A great place to learn and reinforce technique is on the track, with a team or running partners.

There, a coach or partner can observe or take video of you to monitor your form. Even the best athletes need continual coaching in form and technique. Learning efficient technique yields improvement that can be felt, monitored and celebrated. Better technique produces timing and rhythm that makes the sport that much more enjoyable.

For recreational runners, interval training on the track is fun because it can all be timed & logged. Improvement in times can also be monitored and celebrated. This breeds confidence.

But be careful, because if you are not conditioned, those 5 X 200s can get you; just don’t vomit on the track please.

Track running allows you to change your shoes in the middle of a workout. For example, you can warm up and cool down with training shoes, and you can get accustomed to your lighter training shoes or racing flats during interval running.

At the track, there are always areas to do warm ups and cool downs, so take advantage and use tracks on a consistent basis. If you think you've seen it all, do some laps in the opposite direction.