Who can students see running around in the snow or stretching on the track in hoodies and sweats? The indoor track team. Most of these athletes warm up and work out in the frigid air. The jumpers and throwers can usually be found in the school learning and working on new techniques, while runners are found jogging the streets around the school.
“It can be difficult to run when it gets really cold and snows. If the roads are bad, we have to go run on the treadmills,” Junior Kayleigh Roberts said. “I don’t like the treadmills because the air inside is really bad to run with, and it is boring.” In general, running on the treadmills is not enjoyed by many long distance runners.
Meets are held at Edinboro University on Saturdays starting in January. In some cases, these meets can last all day long. “This can make it a very long and tiring day for indoor track members,” Coach Ed Shephard said.
Freedom competes against all divisions from many different school districts, making the meets more competitive than during the spring. That doesn’t stop some members, like Junior Tina Davis, from setting the bar high.
“I hope to…get to the championship, get new [personal records] and hopefully place. I want to stay in shape for outdoor track so I can get better and beat the school record,” Davis said. She is a hurdler, with her personal best being 16.3 seconds for the 100 meter hurdles, and the school record is 16.14.
Though the team is small, they are serious. Most members of the team are working to perfect their skills for the upcoming outdoor season.
“Indoor makes winter training less boring, and it gets us ready for outdoor track. I plan on just running with no pressure to have fun,” Junior Danny Conrad said.
Senior Jared Hogue is planning on toughing out the season by only doing the sprinting workouts, and he won’t be officially be joining the team. Like Conrad, Hogue plans to use this winter as a conditioning for spring.
Indoor track serves different purposes for all of the athletes that participate. Whether it is taken seriously or meant to be fun, the members of this team are busy preparing themselves for the outdoor season.