Track is a very vigorous sport. It requires a lot from people, both mentally and physically. 

“There’s more to track than just running. It’s a lot of mindset too, it’s a lot of different types of things,” sophomore Skye Watson said.

Many athletes that participate in track talk about the mental discipline it takes. Being in the right mind set is critical for focus, vision, and creating a focal point for determination.  

“I have to work on myself mentally. The biggest part of track is definitely mental. Everyone thinks it’s staying healthy and stuff. That’s a big part as well, but number one is being confident and being mentally stable. I have to get out of my mind and get out of my head and be more confident in myself and not dwell on my mistakes and injuries,” sophomore Jaelyn Williams said.

Injuries can be another challenging aspect in track. 

“I got injured in seventh grade. I strained one of my muscles in my leg. I was doing two sports at once. As soon as track practice ended, I got ready for softball practice. I had softball practice four to five days a week so I was overworking my body and then I just didn’t give myself a break,” Williams said.

There are a lot of people who run track that also play another sport. 

“Since it’s the end of cheer in the beginning of track, it’s colliding. Right after track, I have to hurry up and go home and get ready for cheer. It gets kind of stressful sometimes, but my coaches don’t really care about it,” Watson said.

Students may be influenced to run track by a sibling or even a friend. 

“My cousin, she ran in track back where she lives and she broke three school records and she still holds the highest school record. My grandma ran track and she’s really one of my mentors. She was actually an Olympian. She didn’t place, but she really inspired me to run track as well,” Williams said.

Girls involved in track have found it difficult to get other girls in the program.

“We struggle to get girls on our program, which is unfortunate. I think the thing specifically for girls is that a lot of times, they can feel underrepresented in their sport. I feel like track is kind of male dominated and the men get a lot of the coaching. Sometimes you have to advocate for yourself. ‘Hey, I want coaching too. Hey, I want to work on this.’ A lot of girls don’t stand up for themselves like that. I think that’s part of the reason why they quit or don’t come out after they get past their freshman year,” senior Grace Collier said.

Getting the right coaching in track is essential for these athletes.  

 “My sophomore year, I had a sprint coach who only wanted to coach the guys. He really only gave the guys attention, and it really frustrated me because I’m putting in the work in my practices. Why am I not getting coaching too? I talked to my head coach about it and he had to talk with him. Multiple other girls were upset about it, too. He had to shift his perspective and start to give both girls and guys feedback on how to run,” Collier said.

There are many different reasons to participate in track, along with many different things to learn from participating in track.