[ecoli]

With the track season about to open the mods thought it would be a good idea to create an introduction to track thread to answer any questions you wanted to know but were too afraid to ask

Calendar/ Where to find a track race

Here is a schedule for a Dublin series know as the Graded meets which are open to all members of AAI affiliated clubs:

DAB Graded meet Calendar 2012 (Please see attached file)

Each event is broken into a number of races depending on your level (and number of entrants in each race i.e if there are only 2 in one grade and 3 in the grade above/below they will run them together)

These are all electronically timed for accurate results.

Other championship races across the country can be found on websites such as

http://www.athleticsleinster.org/
www.munsterathletics.com/
http://www.corkathletics.org/


Also the following sometimes lists open meets which are usually a bit more beginner orientated:

http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/

If anyone has any other races they know if feel free to add. I know the Wiclow Fit4Life group host a good few races during the summer as well as some local athletics clubs.


Aside from these the BHAA also hold some track races (1 mile, 3000m, 2 mile) during the summer.

http://bhaa.ie/members/app/event/list

There is also a good group of high quality races known as the IMC/BMC (Irish/British milers club). These are not for beginners but follow similar format as graded meets (divided into different races depending on ability)

http://www.irishmilersclub.com/index.php

http://www.britishmilersclub.com/fix...cfixtures.aspx

Equipment

Spikes: these are lightweight shoes with spikes in them for grip normally used from 100m - 5000m on track. Unless you are racing regularly they can be a non essential piece of equipment and some runners get away with racing flats for distances from 3000m and up usually.

Please note: If you have used spikes for cross country please be aware that tracks do no permit spikes bigger than 5mm. If you want to use your Cross country spikes you can pick up 5mm spikes and change them into the shoes. These can be picked up in many sports shops such as elvery's/ lifestyle sports

If you are looking to buy spikes they may be limited in the selection in most major sports shops some well established running specialist shops include

http://www.johnbuckleysports.com/ (Cork)
http://www.runways.ie (Parnell St. Dublin)
www.mickdowlingsportsworld.ie/
http://www.amphibianking.ie/

Note (General guidelines with spikes is to go up one size from your usual footsize)

Training Sources:

General Training plans

General Track and field outlines for all events
Index of Letsrun threads (very good track based site)

Sprinting
Sprinter training idea's from Charlie Francis
Very Good sprinting forum
Clyde Hart (famed 400m coach) training outline

1500m
Joe Rubio's competive 1500m guide (very high mileage but good ideas for everyone)

Distance
Running Times Training articles
Improving 3000m Time

Long Jump
Long Jump training
Long Jump Overview


Other Resources

Good track books:

Jack Daniels Training Formula by Jack Daniels
Winning Running by Peter Coe
High Performance middle distance running by David Sunderland
Bill Bowerman's High-Performance Training for Track and Field by Bill Bowerman

If anyone has anything to add please feel free to do so and I will update this thread

[RayCun]

Just to remind people that the Dublin graded meets are for club runners only, you can't just turn up and run.

The BHAA races are
Trinity grass track - 800m and mile -June 14
Irishtown - Mile - July 25
Irishtown - 3k - August 10
Tallaght - 2 mile - August 22
15 euro for non-members, 10 for members (membership is 15 euro soc heaper to join if you're doing all four)

There's a completely open 100 metre race being held in four locations later this month. Seems to be completely free?

[Pisco Sour]

Originally Posted by RayCun

Just to remind people that the Dublin graded meets are for club runners only, you can't just turn up and run.

I'm back for a few weeks in July and theres a graded meet on during that time. I'm not part of club in Ireland (and I've no intention of joining one to run just one race!), but it would be nice to be able to get a run in to break up the off season training. I wonder is there any chance of being able to run as an "international guest"?

[RayCun]

You could mail the Dublin County Athletics Board and ask, but the doc on their site says all athletes must provide their club name and AAI number on the event card, and you must wear club colours at all times.

[Woddle]

Originally Posted by 04072511

I'm back for a few weeks in July and theres a graded meet on during that time. I'm not part of club in Ireland (and I've no intention of joining one to run just one race!), but it would be nice to be able to get a run in to break up the off season training. I wonder is there any chance of being able to run as an "international guest"?

I thought if you wore a plain white top and paid your money you could run as a guest?

[RayCun]

For all information and questions Senior and Masters Competition please contact

Pat Hooper; Mobile; Spoiler: 086 8158052

Email; Spoiler: pathooper100@gmail.com

Might as well go direct to source...

[daviddwyer]

Can anyone tell me what exactly these meetings are... ie are they a League or Championships. Are certificates presented or medals? Do you have to compete in all series meetings?

Sorry for all the questions but finding it hard to get any information

[RoyMcC]

Loads of info on the new T&F sticky David ^^^ They're Open meets for any registered AAI athlete, graded by ability. No medals/certs afaik but they are ideal competition opportunities.

That said, the field events are not always as competitive, but again an ideal opportunity to try out without the pressure of being in a championship or league event.

[RayCun]

The BHAA races in Trinity are on a grass track -what kind of shoes would be best? Are XC spikes with a short spike acceptable? Only worth wearing if the grass is wet?

[gerard65]

Originally Posted by RayCun

The BHAA races in Trinity are on a grass track -what kind of shoes would be best? Are XC spikes with a short spike acceptable? Only worth wearing if the grass is wet?

Last year I wore 5mm spikes and they were fine, the previous year I wore road racing shoes and they were fine, so whatever you feel best in. Spikes would be better if we have rain that week.

[Pisco Sour]

I don't want to be a moany minny, but is it just me or is the Dublin Athletic Board's website the worst website on the entire planet. Thrawling your way though that piece of mess is a painful procedure. The person who designed that site needs a performance evaluation immediately IMO.

[ecoli]

Originally Posted by 04072511

I don't want to be a moany minny, but is it just me or is the Dublin Athletic Board's website the worst website on the entire planet. Thrawling your way though that piece of mess is a painful procedure. The person who designed that site needs a performance evaluation immediately IMO.

Would have thought you may have a bit more insight to add on T&F with all the people you have been plugging to try 400m / track in the training logs

[Pisco Sour]

Originally Posted by ecoli

Would have thought you may have a bit more insight to add on T&F with all the people you have been plugging to try 400m / track in the training logs

Haha. Unfortunately I'm too far away from Ireland to advise on what different sprint races are going on (outside of graded meets). Will have to leave that to you.

But yeh, hopefully lots of people will give it a go.

[Getonwithit]

Great thread. Anything that encourages more people to try track is worthwhile! Most county track and fields are coming up in next few weeks and if you apply to county secretary in your county they'll usually allow guests. Standard and numbers participating usually low

[Pisco Sour]

Ecoli's right, I should add something of value to the thread.

I posted this thread about 10 months ago, when I was a complete beginner at sprinting, with just the tail end of a season's experience behind me. I got some very good advice, and this could be a good reference for others looking to try this event:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2056304229

The best link provided on that thread is:

http://www.usatf.org/groups/Coaches/...lyde_Hart3.pdf

Essential reading to get an understanding of the event and how to prepare for it.

I am a long way away from being an expert and am still learning loads, and no doubt have made tons of mistakes, but my advice to beginners would be:

1) Have a strong focus on speed endurance. There's lots of different types of sessions you could do. 3x300 with 4 minutes rest, 4x200 with 3 minutes rest. 8x100 with 1 and a half minutes rest. The choices are endless. These sessions are needed to build up your endurance for that last 100m of the race. Without it, the fall off between your 200m time and 400m time would be very noticeable. Hills are also a must. Last year I did 5x100m hills on around a 30 degree hill, with 2 minutes between each rep.

2) Running technique is huge. I'm far from an expert with regards drills and will be making a greater effort to learn them for next season, but the key thing for a beginner to know if that you need to run on your toes at all times in races up to, and including 400m. A heel-toe foot strike or a mid-foot foot strike will simply slow you down. It may feel extremely unnatural at first, but with practice it will become second nature. Make sure to do plenty of heel rises to strengthen those calves, as they will take a fair battering when running on your toes for 50-70 seconds.

Have fun.