TRACK AND FIELD

All photos provided by Ecore Athletic

SportsField Management( SFM): In your experience, how have track surfaces evolved over the years? And what design or material innovations have had the biggest impact on athlete performance and safety? Dan O’ Brien: Well, just to tell you how old I really am, I came up running on cinder tracks and asphalt tracks. So, being able to see the progression as I got into college and then as a post-collegiate athlete. The tracks that were available to me when I was competing in the‘ 90s at a high level are now available at the high school level. Every high school in the country pretty much has a polyurethane track of some kind. Then at the collegiate level, and certainly at the pro level, it’ s vulcanized rubber. I’ m always amazed if I’ m at a high school meet, the facility is like what it was running at the University of Washington or at the Mount SAC relays. The materials are so much better today, and you can customize them. If I’ m a college that has a lot of distance runners or middle-distance runners, and the athletes are going to put a lot of miles on the track, you can make it a little bit softer and customize it so that those athletes can put in more miles with less wear and tear on their legs, thus leading to less injuries. In the last 10 to 15 years, tracks, along with shoes, have created an environment in which athletes are going to another level. I look at world records and think they can’ t be broken, but everybody just seems to be pushing the limit.

SFM: Our audience members are at various levels of competition, with varying budgets, locations, and other factors to consider, What should they know when it comes to decisions related to the selection, installation and maintenance of the running tracks at their facilities? O’ Brien: So often in this industry, price dictates our decision. We’ re all at the mercy of that, except for the big DI schools. But we need to dig deeper than that. The goal is to create a surface and facility that you want to have applied to your goals. When we get an administrator who just says we’ re going to purchase this because of the price, we need to look beyond that. There are going to be options within your price zone. There are going to be things to consider when it comes to long-term maintenance. Like any other flooring surface, it’ s going to get used a lot. At some point, it’ s going to have to be repaired or replaced. What does that look like on the back end? What does the price of that look like? It’ s knowing what exactly it is that you want. And that comes with communication. Getting the key stakeholders together is really important. And far too often, decision makers don’ t take a lot of those key factors into consideration when selecting a surface.

SFM: What’ s your advice when it comes to not only having a seat at the table regarding decisions about the track surface, but what those conversations should look like? And from your experience as an athlete and coach, what do those conversations looked like for you with the people making the decisions? O’ Brien: Well, I think the coach should be in the room to be a part of the conversation. I understand facilities and administrators and some of the people who are paying for the project are the ones that ultimately will make that decision. But I think the key contributors are our daily operations and maintenance, and the track coach as well. He or she will have certain goals that they want to meet within the organization. When we talk about that communication, those key stakeholders are going to have some of their own thoughts. When it comes to maintenance, year-round conditions are going to certainly matter. There are so many experts within the industry who are ready to sit down and talk to you about some of the unforeseen things that may occur to the surface. But, ultimately, know what it is that you want.

SFM: What is your advice for those who are maintaining surfaces that are open to the public? O’ Brien: One of the shifts that we’ ve seen since COVID has been the closure of public facilities. High schools, junior colleges and major universities have closed their doors. Elite athletes have been having a hard time finding places to practice. I certainly love the idea of public, shared facilities. When I was coming up, I ran at a downtown track in San Francisco, and at a downtown track in San Diego that got used by a lot of people. One of my favorite facilities of all is the Santa Barbara City College with a glorious view over the bay. But when you’ re dealing with shared facilities, that’ s when the conversation needs to be even deeper. Who’ s going to be using the facility? When you’ re talking about the track surface itself, things to consider include hardness, abrasion resistance, heat stability, cold stability, shock absorption, spike resistance. Do you want a track that’ s world athletic certified? Do you want a track that’ s U. S. track and field athletic certified? Is the product good for environment? Is it a recyclable product? There’ s a lot to consider, and maybe even more when you’ re dealing with a public shared facility.

SFM: You have performed at a high level, and you’ ve also coached at a high level. What do you look for when you’ re at a new facility and you’ re evaluating that track surface for yourself or for your athletes? And what should the sports field manager or facility manager look for when it comes to identifying issues with the existing surface? O’ Brien: As an athlete, it was always about performance for me. I didn’ t make the 1992 Olympic team, but I got a chance to compete later in the summer in Talence, France. I show up to this track and it looks like a good high school track. I’ m thinking,“ Man, how well am I going to be able to compete here?” I put my spikes on and I was running some 150s. My coach is looking at his watches going,“ These are the fastest 150s you ever run.” So, performance immediately stands out. Getting your shoes on, and bouncing around the track. For somebody who is making a decision, I encourage them to see a track perform in person. Get an athlete, and get their feedback. I’ ve been to some tracks that were just dead. They looked beautiful, but they didn’ t give anything back to the athlete. When we talk about a track and field surface, how much energy is that track giving back to the athletes? Ultimately it does come down to do I want great performance? Do I want longevity? Can I replace this in six or seven years? When it comes to the maintenance of the track, when you see a track that begins to bubble, or a track that begins to need repairs very quickly, the construction underneath the track was not that great. Unfortunately if price was the biggest consideration, you have to go back to fix it. Ultimately, that’ s going to take you a little bit more money to fix down the road. There are choices, and choices change everything. We want to make the smart choice.

SFM: You are now a track performance consultant for Ecore Athletic. What does that role entail, especially as it relates to product innovation and industry education? O’ Brien: I’ m excited about the role because I love being able to have the conversations with experts on what can make a track a little bit faster. I got a chance to run on tracks for years. I still get a chance to coach athletes. Now I get a chance to help folks select the proper track to meet their goals, but I also get to build them. So my role is connecting Ecore and OSST to track and field coaches and administrators, and introducing them as a competitor to some of the best surfaces we’ ve seen in the last 15 years.

SFM: Looking ahead, what would you most like to see in terms of track and field surface innovation? O’ Brien: That’ s a tough question because just when you think it can’ t get any better, somebody smarter than me comes along and says,“ We can get more energy out of these 6 square inches.” I would also like to see more people going to a recyclable product. We need to be able to recycle this rubber, because there is a lot of waste and a lot of concern for the environment. And so that’ s one of the things I would love to see. And we’ re doing that. But also just to continue to push the limits. I don’ t know if we can run any faster than we’ re currently running right now. We’ re putting limits on shoes. We’ re putting limits on the track facilities. But working with some of the best scientists in the industry and talking to some of the best coaches in the world, I think we’ re going to be able to do that. I just love the challenge of trying to keep up with companies that have put tracks out there for world championships, Olympic Games, NCAA championships, and conference championships.

For our full interview with Dan O’ Brien, listen to the SportsField Management Podcast wherever your favorite podcasts are found.