Snow is no deterrent to supertough tracksters in Chicagoland
M55 sprinter Jason Purcell, perhaps off-put by my reporting from 80-degree all-comers meets in San Diego, shared this photo of himself with Junior Olympian Jenna Spanswick, getting ready for the Wisconsin Indoor Track and Field Championships. “This is how sprinters train in Chicago!” Jason wrote. “You’ve got to wear your spikes in this stuff!” I asked where the photo was taken and how he trains. He graciously replied: “The shot was taken at Highland Park High School’s track just north of Chicago. I coach Jenna, so I just had her run 1×200 and 2×100 at 80%. It was only 16 degrees, so I let her sit in her mom’s car between sets. I ran 2×400 and called it a day. Part of my workout was shoveling the track twice that morning.” That’s serious dedication. See you in Olathe, where it may be 80 degrees warmer.
Jenna and Jason train on a track cleared of snow in Highland Park, Illinois.
8 Responses
I MUST show this to my wife; she thinks I’m the only fool to shovel a track all winter. 😉
God Bless you! I couldn’t do it!!!
jenna and jason, that is dedication,, keep up the great work truly remarkable,,,
way to go Jason!
Hey, this guy is lazy..what about the other 5 lanes he forgot to shovel 🙂
seriously…awesome! This is the life of the Masters track runner!
dedication…!!! and to gary: once they get running hard in the single lane, the rest of the track melts from the burning speed…!!!
Thanks Al! Could not have said it better myself!
Well, because they’re sprinters we know they are tough. Don’t run very far, but toughness comes into play in both training and the actual competitions. I should know; as a collegian I ran the 220 as part of a Saturday sprint medley at Penn Relays one year; the previous year I had run the opening leg in the 4 x 440 at Penn on a Friday. OK, I wasn’t tough, but the other sprinters were.
Ken mentions Olathe nationals, just 5 months away. Anyone know whether there will be a split schedule (morning and then evening) to counter the heat, or will the competition run straight through each day from morning to late afternoon? I may try to go.
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