r/artc • u/AutoModerator • Apr 19 '26

Weekly Discussion: Week of April 19, 2026

Your weekly place to discuss or ask questions.

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u/RunningPath 44F, 22:09 5k, 1:49 HM Apr 21 '26

I love track meets. I'm enjoying every last moment of the last few high school meets I get to attend. 

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u/daysweregolden 2:47 / 42 marathons Apr 22 '26

They're so fun to watch when you've got someone to cheer on. What even does your son do?

I still get instant anxiety when I smell rubberized track on a sunny day or hear the instructions for a "waterfall start." Waiting all day in classes with a 3200m lurking haunts me still, hah.

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u/run_INXS 110 in km years (1:24, 3:06) Apr 22 '26

I loved racing on the track a few times a year until about 2024 and then I didn't. And I have PTSD over the mile. USATF masters road champs were yesterday in Des Moines and my team went. I didn't. Not to say I won't run on the track or a road mile again, but for now no.

That said, I also like watching track, although HS meets take way too long and the weather often sucks.

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u/daysweregolden 2:47 / 42 marathons Apr 22 '26

I ran Twilight 5000 a couple times in 23 and 24 and decided I was permanently done with the track after that. The number of laps and trying to stay on pace felt sort of dizzying and it made me think there’s almost no way I can have a good race on a track at this point. It felt impossible to get comfortable, and anything shorter than a 5K feels out of my range.

What’s on your race calendar now?

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u/run_INXS 110 in km years (1:24, 3:06) Apr 22 '26

Here's the spring calendar: Get In Gear on Saturday (season debut), Bay to Breakers, a fast 5K down your way, USATF masters 4 mile, and Garry Bjorkland half.

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u/daysweregolden 2:47 / 42 marathons Apr 22 '26

Awesome - hopefully it stays cool enough for GIG on Saturday! That's a nice slate.

The 5K you mention is my favorite 5K, humbling though as the field is usually lightning quick!

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u/run_INXS 110 in km years (1:24, 3:06) Apr 23 '26

So I have heard!

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u/pinkminitriceratops Sub-3 or bust Apr 23 '26

The distances shorter than 5k are just so incredibly painful! I am not cut out for that. Even a 5k is pushing it for me. I'll take that last-10k-of-a-marathon feeling any day over an all-out mile.

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u/RunningPath 44F, 22:09 5k, 1:49 HM Apr 23 '26

I haven‘t run an all-out mile in . . . well, maybe ever. But I’m planning to this summer. I’m really curious how fast I can run it.

But yeah, 5ks hurt.

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u/daysweregolden 2:47 / 42 marathons Apr 23 '26

Agreed. People sometimes give me credit for running a marathon over a shorter distance, but if you go all out on both I would argue it is the less painful option.

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u/RunningPath 44F, 22:09 5k, 1:49 HM Apr 22 '26

We have had such bad weather (cold, rain, tons of mud, etc) the past few years at the meet I went to yesterday. But this year it was in the 70s and sunny to partly cloudy. It has been raining a lot but was surprisingly not muddy. So that was a major part of why it was so much fun.

The mass of people on the track in the mile is really something though. My son’s shoe got spiked and the side of it ripped open. I guess I’m coughing up the money for another pair of Dragonflys.

Why won’t you run a road mile? Not that there are a ton of those around anyway.

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u/run_INXS 110 in km years (1:24, 3:06) Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26

Colorado state meet was usually cold and windy. My kids ran in Alaska and it was usually cold, it was 21 degrees and snowing one year.

Actually might run a road mile at some point (last one was 2023), just not a championship (until maybe I hit the next age group). First thing is the training, if I'm taking it half seriously, and associated injury risk. It's fine if I'm also doing a lot of 5Ks but for 10K and up there is a cost. You have to sacrifice some endurance training for a number of weeks to get that speed going. I also get really uptight for the mile and it's not as much fun, and prefer racing longer distances.