“I think of indoor versus outdoor track as the difference between seeing a great band in a small venue versus a stadium.”
The indoor track season tends to be overlooked and/or underappreciated in the running and track & field worlds. It is brief in duration, squeezed in between fall cross country or marathon seasons and the spring and summer where outdoor track and road racing are king. The indoor track season, however, should not be considered as a mere afterthought or preview of the outdoor season, as it has its own unique character and qualities.
I think of indoor versus outdoor track as the difference between seeing a great band in a small venue versus a stadium. Sure, a stadium show is an impressive spectacle, but there is great physical separation and detachment between the performers and the fans. In a small club, however, you can see the expressions on the performers’ faces, the subtle exchanges between band members, and the precise control they possess with their instruments. Similarly, at an indoor track meet, you are right on top of the action, seeing the sweat fly as the athletes whip past on the tighter turns of the short oval. Yeah, it may not have the grandeur of a top notch outdoor meet, but what it lacks in spectacle it makes up for in intimacy and excitement.
We kick off the indoor season this weekend in Boston, with seven athletes competing on the 200m oval. This is more than we have had on the indoor track in recent years, and perhaps in the history of the team. We will be back on the track a couple more times in January and February, and hope to be represented at the USATF Indoor National Championships in Albuquerque, February 16-17. Globally, this is a big year for Indoors, as there is a World Indoor Championships this year, to be held in Glasgow, Scotland on March 1-3.
Hope you all have a chance to make it out to an indoor meet in your neck of the woods, whether it’s a youth, high school, college, elite, or any other kind of meet. It’s an exciting environment and as an added bonus, it’s a whole lot warmer indoors in the upper midwest this time of year!
Chris Lundstrom is the head coach of Minnesota Distance Elite – formerly Team USA Minnesota – which includes some of the top distance runners in the USA, including Annie Frisbie, Dakotah Lindwurm, Breanna Sieracki and Joel Reichow.
