Track Manual
Track Manual
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<-- previous section --or-- Return to Top --or-- next section --> The general purposes of Corporate track are to achieve maximum team effort, help individuals achieve personal physical goals and to be competitive on a local level in track and field events. We accomplish this by: (1) seeking as many participants as possible, (2) asking participants to make a commitment to maximum physical conditioning, and (3) having as much fun as possible.
The accomplishment of these three goals maximizes team effort and ultimately brings team success. This success can then be brought back to the work environment everyone can share in the benefits of teamwork.
<-- previous section --or-- Return to Top --or-- next section --> MECTA: An acronym for Maine Corporate Track Association. It is our local association made up of companies from southern Maine. This Association runs the local meets. NECTA: An acronym for the New England Corporate Track Association. It runs the track meet we call "the Regionals" and a few other events each year. USCAA: This is the United States Corporate Athletics Association which runs the track meet we call "the Nationals" and a few other events in which we do not participate.
Age Divisions: In one way or another, our events are grouped by age and/or sex. At the local meets, we have many events in which we compete individually in a race for our age and sex. The other local events are relays that require specific members from certain age groups. These events may be all male or all female or require a minimum number of females (the specific races will be described later.) The age divisions are: Open - up to 29 years of age Sub-master - 30-39 Master - 40-49 Senior - 50-59 Veteran - 60 or older For simplicity, 'age' is the age you will be on 12/31 of the year of competition.
<-- previous section --or-- Return to Top --or-- next section --> Commitment: Number of events: For regular season MECTA meets, each competitor may enter a total of five events per meet, with relays counting as one-half an event. For example, a competitor may enter a maximum of five non-relay events, or four non-relay events plus two relays Clothing/Provisions Practices:
Practices are often divided into a speed group and a distance group (the distance group sometimes splits into middle and long distances) or specific workouts. Team members may select either scheduled workout whether they're a sprinter or a distance runner.
Cancellations: Funds:
Committees: The Advisory Committee: this committee will make general decisions about our purpose and goals, and meets in which we will compete. The Workout Committee: this committee would meet several times before and during the season to plan workouts for the next month.
<-- previous section --or-- Return to Top --or-- next section --> Membership in MECTA is "open to any company, partnership, joint venture or government entity which conducts business or engages in business activities in the State of Maine". Up to three companies, partnerships, joint ventures or government entities, each of which employ less than or equal to 500 individuals, may combine together to form one MECTA membership. Their combined total will determine which division they will compete in. Joining MECTA is a pretty quick and painless process. You need to do the following:
1) Contact one of the following people: 2) Pay the appropriate registration fee (see the Fee schedule page ).
<-- previous section --or-- Return to Top --or-- next section --> Warmup:An easy run to get your muscles warm and the blood flowing through them. This should last at least 5 minutes but preferably 8 to 12 minutes. Traditionally, athletes have been taught to stretch before theft warmup but many coaches today recommend warming up then stretching. Their theory is that cold muscles are more easily injured while stretching. Cooldown: Another easy run after your workout to cool the muscles slowly allowing wastes to be removed from the muscles and helping avoid soreness the next day. Base or Base Mileage:This is the running you do on your own at a comfortable pace to get your muscles, joints, etc, ready for the higher demands of track practices and races. You should try to run at least 4 times a week during the season (5 is better) - 2 practices and meets and 2 "long, easy runs" of at least 3 or 4 miles or at least 1 and 1/2 times as far as the longest race that you expect to run, whichever is farther. The rules are different for marathons - but that's 26.2 miles and, if you are running in a marathon, you should know more about training than is in this manual.) These base runs can be run using many different measures of effort (time, speed, distance or heart rate, for example). The simplest is "as slow as you need to be able to carry on a conversation." The most sophisticated may be to use a monitor and train at a certain heart rate for the type of workout you are running that day. Unless a doctor tells you that you need to monitor your heart rate, try the other measures until you have more specific goals for your training. Hillwork: A workout or practice that - you guessed it concentrates the effort on uphill portions of the workout. The rest is recovery to get ready for the next hill. Ideally, one would run one hill workout a week for several weeks to build strength in the muscles, tendons, etc, before racing or sprinting in workouts (of course, hills should follow several weeks of base work). Always be cautious on the downhill part of these workouts - you can get injured easily on dowhhills and you can tire your quads (muscles on the front of the thigh) very easily on downhills. Speedwork: Speedwork is any workout designed to increase your speed or to quicken your leg and arm action. Running at a faster pace is obviously speedwork. All speedwork should be done with a specific goal. The speed and distance of the speed portion of the workout should be tailored to the distance at which you plan to race. Recovery: Recovery is an easy run between the faster portions of speedwork or between the hills of the hill workout. Run the recovery only as slow as you need to be able to maintain the target pace for the speed portion of the workout you are doing. Plyometrics: These are special exercises or running styles that are designed to increase your range of motion or the explosiveness of your muscles. They are most valuable to the sprinters. Moderate:Moderate work is designed to increase stamina by running longer than you would in speedwork but not as easily as you would run your base work. Intervals:A type of workout that mixes hard and easy runs. You run harder for a distance (usually) or a time, slow down (recovery) to let your heart rate return to a lower level, then go harder again. How hard (fast) you run depends on how long the hard parts are and how fast you will run them. In practices, we divide our members into several groups that will each run at a different level. Within each group, there may still be fairly large differences in the speed at which each person runs. Farleks: A special type of interval workout that is less structured. One might run the distance between so many telephone poles, one block, to the next parked car, for 30 seconds or one minute, etc; run easily for whatever seems like enough recovery; then pick a new finish spot for the next hard part. Indian: Another type of interval which is run as a team. Members line up single file in one lane and the whole team starts jogging. The last two runners in the line each "sprint" up one of the adjacent lanes and become the two front runners. As those two reach the front, two more start sprinting to the front.
<-- previous section --or-- Return to Top --or-- MECTA Event List --> This section is a list of events and their description followed by a list of the events in each type of meet.
100 Meters: one straightaway on the track - full speed. 200 Meters: 1/2 lap - full speed. 400 Meters: 1 full lap - longest sprint event - nearly full speed; must balance speed and distance. 800 Meters: 2 laps - shortest middle distance event - must use some strategy. 1600 Meters: 4 laps (almost a mile) - must pace yourself and a good base is essential to run this hard. 3200 Meters: 8 laps (almost 2 miles) - to run it well, you must plan this race, pace yourself and have good base. 4 x 100 Relay: 1 lap; 4 runners each run 1/4 lap; pass a baton from one to the other within a marked area on the track. 4 x 400 Relay: 4 laps; 4 runners each run 1 lap; pass a baton from one to another within the marked zone on the track; first runner must stay in the beginning lane all through the lap; other runners may move to the inside lane as long as they don't interfere with any other runner. 4 x 200 Relay: 2 laps; 4 runners (at least one woman and one master... and they cannot be the same person. The remaining two can be any gender or age); each runs 200 meters: 1st 2 must stay in lane; others can move to inside lane. Throwers' Relay: 1 lap; a special event for shot putt and discus participants only; must have 1 female; l00 meters, l00 meters and 200 meters. 5K: a road or cross country race that is 3.1 miles long; any team member can run this race but you should be running at least this far (5 miles or more is better) at least once a week for several weeks before the race; the number of runners that count for scoring varies from one level of competition to another. 10K a road or cross country race that is 6.2 miles long; this race was run by the men at the Nationals until 1991 then was replaced by the 5k for Division II; should do one run of 8 or 9 miles at least every other week for several weeks before racing this distance. (Run at National level, not at state or regional) Long Jump: a jump from a running start along the ground into a pit of sand; practice is required to acquire the technique to do this well; each jumper gets 3 jumps. High Jump: a jump to clear a horizontal bar which is moved up alter everyone jumping tries to clear it (you get 3 tries at each height); when the bar is moved, only those that cleared the last height (or passed at that height) try to jump it; you can choose to slap a height but you don't get credit for any height you don't jump. Shot Put: in this event, you throw a heavy metal ball; you get 3 tries; your best throw counts; technique is involved - both to do well and to avoid injury Discus: in this event, you throw a flat, heavy disc; you get 3 throws; your best throw counts; technique is needed. Sprint Medley Relay: 4 laps, 6 runners; distances for the runners are: 200 / 200 / 400 / 400 / 200 / 200; each team must include 2 females and 1 master. (Run at National level, not at state or regional)/P> Distance Relay: 5 runners; distances are: 1600 meters (woman), 800 meters, 1600 meters (male master), 1600 meters, 3200 meters. (Run at National level, not at state or regional) Sub-Master's Distance Medley: 4 runners; all at least 30 years old; at least 1 must be a woman and at least 2 must be 35 or older; 800 meters, 400 meters, 1200 meters, 1600 meters. (Run at National level, not at state or regional) Women's 800 Meter Team Race: 2 female runners; each runner runs 800 meters and the total of their two times is the team time; two races are run - open and masters. (Run at National level, not at state or regional) 3-Lap Sprint: 4 runners; at least one female running: 200, 200, 400 and 400 meters. Pyramid Relay: 5 runners; at least 2 females running: 400, 800, 1200, 800 and 400 meters Men's Mile Team Race: 2 male runners; each runner runs 1 mile (1600 meters?) and the total of their two times is the team time; 3 races are run - open, masters and seniors. Women's Relay: 3 female runners; combined age of the runners must equal 90; (800, 400 and 400 meters.) (Run at National level, not at state or regional) Sub-Master's Sprint Medley: 4 runners; all at least 30 years old; at least 1 must be a woman and at least 2 must be 35 or older; 200, 200, 400 and 800 meters. (Run at National level, not at state or regional) Master's Relay Plus: 5 runners; all must be at least 40 with 1 runner 50 or older and at least 1 woman; 800,400, 800, 200 and 200 meters. (Run at National level, not at state or regional)/P> Executive Relay: 4 runners who are at the level manager or higher and all 30 or older; 800, 400, 1600 and 3200 meters. (Run at National level, not at state or regional) Senior's Relay: 3 runners who are 50 or older; at least 1 woman; 400, 200 and 600. (Run at National level, not at state or regional) President's Relay: 3 runners who are an officer of the company or report to the president or the president's direct reports; 800, 400 and 800 meters. (Run at National level, not at state or regional) Team Jump: 3 jumpers, counting the two highest scores using decathlon scoring on an age and sex adjusted scale; this is currently a long jump only. (Run at National level, not at state or regional) Team Weight Throw: 3 throwers using the standard inter-national weight for age and sex and counting the two highest scores using decathlon scoring on an age and sex adjusted scale; 2 highest scores are counted for the team; shot put weights are: 16 lbs for men under 50,12 lbs for men 5O-59, 8 lbs for men 60 and over, and 4 kilos for all women; discus weights are: 2 kilos for men under 50,1.5 kilos for men 5O-59, and 1 kilo for men 60 and over and for all women. (Run at National level, not at state or regional)
MECTA Meets: MECTA runs about half of the running events at each meet except the State Championship when it runs all of the events. The long jump, high jump, shot put, shot putters relay and sprint relay are held at all MECTA events. Mixing some sprints and middle distances, MECTA chooses from the following individual races for each event: 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, 1600 meters and 3200 meters. In individual races, all age and sex groups are run. Sometimes more than one age and, or sex will run in one race, but you score only against your own group. NECTA Regionals: If the Regional meet is held, events will be determined based on expected participation. USCAA Nationals: At the Nationals, the following events are held: Sub-Master's Distance Medley, 3-lap Sprint, Men's Mile Team Race, Seniors Relay, Women's Relay, President's Relay, Pyramid Relay, Master's Plus Relay, 4 x200 Meter race, Sprint Relay, Long Jump, Team Weight (Shot Put and Discus), Men's SK Team Road Race and Women's 5k Team Road Race.
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