When I first started running, the idea of training on a track felt intimidating and foreign. I was used to dodging traffic and dealing with stoplights while pounding out my miles on the roads. But once I became a coach, I realized the track offers a unique, controlled environment that benefits runners at every level. Here’s how you can start using a track for your training, even if you’re a beginner.

Why the Track?

Tracks aren’t only for competitive athletes or elite runners. They’re available to the public at many high schools and local parks, often during specific times. In my area, there’s a track just four miles from my home that’s usually quiet early in the morning, so I often meet my athletes there between 6-8 a.m. It’s the perfect place to run uninterrupted and to focus on specific types of workouts.

If you’ve seen the recent Olympics, you saw a lot of track running. Lane 1, which is the innermost lane, is exactly 400 meters (just under a quarter-mile), while each outer lane is slightly longer. Understanding this is key to structuring your workouts.

Track Etiquette: The Basics

When you’re ready to give track running a try, here are some essential guidelines:

Use Lane 1 for Speed Work: Lane 1 is typically reserved for faster runners. If you’re running hard, you can use this lane unless a faster runner is already there. For those walking or doing easy running, lanes 2 beyond are usually a better choice if you don’t want to piss off someone doing speedwork.

Respect the Track Directions: Track running is done counterclockwise by default. If you ever see someone running clockwise, it’s likely for a specific training reason, like balancing out wear on their body because they are doing a lot of track work.

Passing Protocol: If someone yells “Track!” or “Lane!” behind you, they’re not being rude—they’re just signaling they’re passing on the inside lane. It’s good practice to be mindful and allow space. If you are able to move over to another track (because no one is in it), it is kind to the faster runner to do so. Then you won’t be “yelled” at every lap.

Watch for Cones: Occasionally, there might be cones in lane 1 especially, usually to protect a part of the track that needs maintenance. Don’t move them—just run in another lane.

Be Aware: If you want to use headphones on the track, I recommend the open ear/bone conduction type so you can hear what’s going on at a busy track. If you are going to do your warm up on an outer track and switch to an inner track for intervals, remember to look behind you before you cross over so there isn’t a crash.

Try a Simple Track Workout

For recreational runners, track workouts add a fun change of pace and variety to your training. Running laps at a specific, repeatable distance makes it easy to track progress over time and set benchmarks. Plus, it’s great for focusing on speed, form, and stamina in a safe environment.

Having some track workouts in your rotation also allows you to incorporate running wherever you may be, as long as you can find a usable track. You don’t even need to have a running watch to do this.

If you are interested to manually log your progress for the track workouts without a watch, remember to use the same lane every time so the distances are correct. For example, if you run in lane 3 the distance is 415.33 meters. Lane 4 is 423 meters. Switching the lane you are using will skew your results, either showing you are doing the workout faster or slower depending on which lane you perform the workout in, if it’s a different lane then the last time you did the same workout.

You can, of course, still run on the track using your watch to prompt when a lap is done no matter what lane you are in. If you are doing 400’s, you will just be stopping before a full lap if you are not in lane 1.

Wrinkled Runner Track Pet Peeves

When you run on a track, knowing the rules is a blessing and a curse. The track I talked about earlier in this article does not have any posted track guidance, so there are times others are there using the track that don’t know and it can drive me crazy.

I TRY to give grace. But sometimes!

There is one guy in particular that likes to walk the track around the same time that I meet clients. Which is totally fine, walkers should be welcomed at the track, too!

This guy, though, even if someone has already claimed Track 1 will just start his walk in that lane (bouncing a ball as he goes around). He is either clueless to the rules, or very rude. I would think that even if you aren’t aware of how the track works, it would be obvious that if someone is already using a lane you wouldn’t just jump in and use it at the same time…especially when at that time of day there are 7 more lanes to pick from!

The other thing that happens sometimes if I am using the track close to when a team will be using the field in the middle, is the team will saunter across the track area. These guys are fully aware I am running and it SEEMS like they are deliberately getting in my way…making me slow or stop so they can walk across right in front of me as I approach. To me, that is a failure on the coaches part. They should be telling the team that if someone is on the track, they can wait the 5 seconds before walking across.

I’m sure there are other things that bother runners, when people are involved. I feel that the benefits of track work outweigh the rude behaviors, but there are some days I want to just smash into people, lol. I’m also fully aware that I am probably doing things while running that drive other runners nuts as well!

Final Thoughts

Running on a track might feel daunting at first, but it can be a fantastic way to add some excitement to your routine and work on speed in a focused environment. Give it a try, enjoy the process, and see if it fits into your training!