The distance team runs sprints up the hill at Mount Trashmore on Nov. 30, 2023. Photo used with permission from Micheal Nestor.

Both boys and girls indoor track season started on Nov. 20, 2023, with 50 athletes on the team. 

Indoor tracks are 200 meters long, while outdoor tracks are 400 meters long, so during indoor meets, the athletes run the same distance with twice as many curves. 

Additionally, indoor and outdoor events do not include the same activities, according to Mondoworldwide.com. 

There are three main events in indoor track: field events, sprinting and distance running. 

“The sprinters and field event runners workout in the weight room and on the Ocean Lakes track, and our distance runners train at First Landing State Park, and on Saturdays, they practice at Kellam on their track,” said the distance coach Michael Nestor.

During training, the sprinters and field event runners focus on powerful and explosive running, while the distance runners focus on creating more endurance. They have a variety of workouts and further into the season, the experienced distance runner girls run up to six miles a day on average with 10 miles being the most on long run days. 

“My goal for this season is to get over 32.6 in the 300m and [hope] that we all get a chance to go to regionals or states,” said junior sprinter Chautel Saffold.

The track team is excited to begin their season as they had their first meet on Dec. 12, at the Virginia Beach Sports Center. 

“I am looking forward to the Virginia Showcase near the end of the season. It’s one of the biggest meets in the country and because of the competition people tend to run really fast times,” said sophomore distance runner Ben Labert. “A lot of state records and 12 national records have been run there, and I am hoping to run well there.”