Worst Runways

[njvaulter]

What was the worst runway that you had to vault on? I would have to say the worst runway I have been on is the one that used to be at my old track. It was an old cement runway. There were cracks all throughout the runway and I guess some parts must have sunk to cause it was very even with little low parts in it.

[OAKPV2004]

This track I have to go to this week has about an 1/8" of rubber and it feels like im running on cement. it looks like black cement.

[ashcraftpv]

Lewis Cass High School in Walton, IN my sophomore year in HS. The runway was so worn down that there was a groove in the middle. The takeoff was worn down to the concrete, so my coach told me to try to step to the side at takeoff. It worked but i missed the mats a couple of time after clearing heights from drifting to one side. good times!

[uconnvaulta]

At Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, worst run way ever, slow as hell, gaps in it, missing pieces the thing suks

[rainbowgirl28]

My high school, the very first year I started vaulting

It was rubber, but about half of the rubber had come off leaving big holes of concrete. The whole takeoff area was concrete. I got shin splints really bad in my takeoff leg, my doctor thought it might be a stress fracture! Luckily I went off to gymnastics camp for 2 weeks and then did cross country that fall, and that made it all better.

Now the whole track at King's has been resurfaced, new pits, new standards, moved the whole runway to outside of the track. It is one of the most gorgeous facilities ever

[mcminkz05]

eh, we had a meet last season ,where the runway right before the box was all ripped up and covered with cement stuff that was still wet, so they put a wall barrier thing there to block it off, and they expected you to take off before that patch, jump OVER the wall, and try to vault, haha. it was pretty crazy, allot of people just dropped out of the vault.

[Oldcoach]

Does box problems count as part of the runway? We have been to a couple of schools where they have just repaved the runways and track but the box at one was fiberglass with the back wall broken out and a big chunk of hard clay protruding into the box. If you planted on the left side of the box you went straight up if you planted on the right the vault was normal ( pole tip counld not slide as the pole bent). Another had a really rough finish concrete box, I had to grease the pole tips to get them to slide as the pole bent.

[vaultmd]

Whiners.

A bunch of us old timers had to learn on dirt runways. Not all of them were flattened and watered down before the meets. We also had the old boxes with the backs that were vertical.

Darn, it was hard walking to school through the snow . . . in Los Angeles.

[tim hutzley]

the runway we put in, in my coaches back yard its an old conveyer belt and it will make you all bladk and it has small pot holes in it. Its cool cause its a little down hill though.

[Robert schmitt]

In high school every year we had to dig out a spot to but the box in the ground in the sand. The box was always shifting around. We didn't know any better however, heck we just ran from whatever felt comfortable no measured step or anything.

[ashcraftpv]

Whiners.
A bunch of us old timers had to learn on dirt runways. Not all of them were flattened and watered down before the meets. We also had the old boxes with the backs that were vertical.

well, the high school i coach at just finished replacing our CINDER track last fall. We had a roll out runway for the vault, but it was still nasty running on a cinder track in the Pacific Northwest

[xtremevaulter]

The worst runway I have ever been on was my freshman year of college down in McMinville, Oregon at LInfield College. The runway was literally like three layers of previous runway that had been resurfaced. So at points you could be running on the first second or third layer...Talk about shin splints. Waht a piece.

Just as a little aside question: What is the worst Indoor runway you have been on?

And I will answer this...It would be at WOU. You start in the weight room underneth the blechers of the football stadium. lower your pole to eye level to be able to run through a door way that is only about 7 feet tall, and not to mention the path you run puts you practically brushing the wall as you through the door. then you have to raise you pole tip up so it doesnt throw your balance off. Man Its sucks...So glad I transfered.