Grant High School head track coach Jim Tucker remembers the injuries that built up over the last few seasons. Shin splints. Stress fractures. Pulled muscles.
“More lower leg and foot injuries than in any other year in my 21 years of teaching,” Tucker says.
The culprit? Grant’s broken down and battered track. While schools like Lincoln and Cleveland enjoy newly laid surfaces, Grant has had to deal with a track that has long surpassed its lifespan.
“It’s like you’re running on concrete,” Tucker says. “The layers of the track are so thin that you can see the asphalt base.”
In 2003, Lincoln High School had a new track and field installed. In 2011, its field was renovated with new turf. “The teams that have the higher quality surfaces tend to get more out of their athletes, because they’re not hurt all the time and the surface is supposed to enhance your ability to perform,” Grant track coach Karl Acker says.
Tucker got fed up last year with the condition of Grant’s track. “Last spring during the Cotton Invitational meet, the track had so much water on it that I had to dig trenches with a shovel so that the water would drain off the track,” Tucker says.
Excitement over the possibility of a new track and a new field surface has been emerging for a few years now, and thanks to a partnership of Nike, the City of Portland, Portland Public Schools and the Friends of Grant Field, Tucker and the rest of the Grant track team are going to get an improved track soon. Officials say they are putting the finishing touches on the fundraising efforts for the project.
But construction could start as early as this spring, in the middle of the track season, and it won’t be finished until the end of this summer. The Parks Bureau, which owns the land, recently condemned the track as unsafe – take a walk around the track and you can spot the bubbles, dips and pools of water, as well as signs warning you of the danger of the track.
Track athletes are not allowed to train on it and community members are encouraged to stay off. Because of this construction, Tucker and his 150-180 athletes are going to have to take a bus to Marshall High School for practice until a new track gets installed. “I am sure that it will be frustrating to some kids, especially the younger kids. It will probably add 30-45 minutes on to practice time,” Tucker says. “It’s a dilemma. We’re in the process of trying to figure out the best solution.”
While it will be inconvenient to practice at Marshall, coaches and athletes are excited for a new facility. “I think the benefits that will come the following year will far outweigh the sacrifice that we will have to endure for this one track season to get years in the future of training athletes on a quality surface,” Acker says.
The current Grant track was built in the bowl in 1997. Nike donated rubber from recycled track shoes and the Parks Bureau funded this community staple, which is a go-to workout spot for the community.
Running tracks are supposed to be serviced every 10 years with a new rubber surface. The field surface is one of the few all-grass fields around and it takes a beating, especially in the winter. The track is used by all-comer track meets in summer; Little League baseball with kids walking on the track in cleats; roller bladers; scooters; bikes; morning joggers; school use for PE, and community members taking their dogs out for a run. The nearly constant use has worn the track down.
The track is on land owned by the City of Portland. City Commissioner Nick Fish, who oversees Portland Parks & Recreation, has taken on the daunting project with hopes of opening by fall 2013. Fish says that he is actively fundraising to get the project done.
“This is a good example of public and private sectors working together for the benefit of the community. Nike has stepped up, private individuals have made pledges; we can’t do these new fields without partnerships,” Fish says.
Freshman Haven Riffel, 15, has been running on the Grant track since eighth grade through the CYO Madeline track program, which practiced at Grant. “I wasn’t proud of our track,” Riffel says. “But it will be great to show other schools a nicer one. It helps to run on a new track.”
For upperclassmen track athletes, the news is bittersweet.
Junior Julia Sherman has been running track since freshman year. “We should have a better track because we deserve it, it’s something we need. We have a track program at our school and we deserve to have the best resource,” Sherman says.
Sherman suffered from leg injuries last season and is looking forward to a safer track. But this season, she says it will be inconvenient to be a part of the track team. “I think it will keep people from going to track practice, and will make me want to go less. It’s a hassle. It will make our team less united. Separating the people who go to Marshall and who stay here is frustrating,” Sherman says.
Senior Aidan Paulk, who has been running track since the third grade, is frustrated that he won’t be able to use the updated facility. But he’s glad it’s finally going to happen. “I hope the future track teams appreciate the new track and I hope that they do a good job on it,” he says.
