Ranking Every Indoor Track I've Run On

Trying to occasionally make some "special feature" posts, ones that are more list or ranking based (or something else) rather than the stale weekly logs-only format. Indoor tracks unlike other surfaces are pretty rare (at least compared to outdoor tracks/XC courses) and feel unique with the two categories of flat or banked. It's such a weird venue to race at, inside a building on small 200 ovals. Yet it's a major sport many of us do and don't really question.

Overall the years I've raced a lot of indoor events but only have been on a handful of tracks. Some are quite a pain to have to go to and compete on while others are a delight. Here is the full list, ranked from worst to best with a small description of why it landed where it did and some of my running statistics at each one. I will be doing a ranking of the track itself in addition to an overall facility rating.

9. University of New Hampshire (Paul Sweet Oval)

Durham, NH

160m- flat (small bank)
# of Races run: 3
Current PRs at this track: 1
Mile- 4:27.72 (1/26/2019)

01/26/2019 UNH vs Vermont vs Maine (DMR)

I started this post a year ago, at the conclusion of my 2018-2019 indoor season, and wrote a pretty negative review of the UNH track. While it still ranks last, it's absolutely grown on me to the point where I really don't mind doing workouts on it anymore whatsoever. That being said, it's still an undersized track and is pretty old, which makes races on it far from excellent. The biggest issue by far is that it's a 160 meter track. This not only makes the turns pretty tight, but the distances feel off for most people as they're used to a 200m track with nearly all races/distances being broken up into a whole number laps. Additionally, it's four lanes and not especially attractive. As far as 160m tracks go, it's probably not that bad but in the pool of all tracks, it doesn't hold up very well and for most teams that race here, it will likely be the worst venue they race at in the indoor season. The one redeeming factor is the massive conversion index for the NCAA. As a undersized track, these conversions are huge (5s for mile, 9s for 3K and 15s for 5K) and while it doesn't make the track any more fun to race on, it makes it much easier to hit a standard here than on a fast banked track because you can afford to run so much slower (while in reality the track is only a little bit slower).

Track Rating: C (likely would have given it an F last year)

Facility Notes: The field house is overall a pretty solid place to have practice, but it's a different story when it comes to meets. The indoor track takes up the vast majority of the room and the field events take up the infield (which wasn't very big to begin with). This leaves a very small space for teams to set up and even less space for spectators to watch. There are no bleachers or elevated seating for viewing and you pretty much have to just watch from the side of the track, if there's room. Bathrooms are limited as well. Overall, there's hardly any room to do anything even in pretty small meets.

Facility Rating: F

8. Providence Career and Technical Academy

Providence, RI

200m- flat

# of Races Run: 37
-Injury Fund Relays
-RIIL Dual Meets
-RITCA Invitational
-RI Classic
-East Coast Invitational
-Class Championships
-Division Championships
-Freshman State Championships
-Last Chance Meet
-State Championships

Current PRs at this track: 2

600- 1:29.11 (01/10/2017) -have technically run faster, but fastest official time

1000- 2:38.25 (02/07/2017)

2/18/2017 RI State Championships (3K)

To be perfectly honest, I probably dislike this track more than UNH's, but simply because it's a standard 200m track I can not place it lower. Many RI high schooler's loathe this track, and for pretty good reason. Basically, the turns are extremely tight making races feel harder despite being slower and making it difficult to run a fast time here. Unfortunately, with the lack of indoor facilities in Rhode Island, so many indoor meets are contested here. After dozens of races here, I got pretty sick and tired of it.

Track Rating: C+

Facility Notes: Despite how much a chore racing on this track is, the facility is solid overall. Unlike some of the more cramped facilities, there are several distinct areas including a hallway which is often used for warm-ups, a massive bathroom on the ground floor (perhaps the only track facility, indoor or outdoor, where I've never had to wait for a stall), the main track and an upstairs balcony seating area with a pretty good view of the track. I don't like the complete disconnect between the track level and spectating level and how spectators are prohibited from entering the track level. Additionally, it can definitely get crowded in the bigger meets but at least it's capable of hosting bigger meets to begin with.

Facility Rating: B

7. University of Rhode Island (Mackal Field House)

South Kingstown, RI

200m- flat

# of Races Run: 4
-URI Track Classic (HS)
-URI Coaches Tribute Invite (College)

Current PRs at this track: 1

1600- 4:30.48 (01/07/2017) -have technically run faster, but fastest official time

1/07/2017 URI Track Classic (1k)

My main complaint about this that it's a flat 200m track. The track is fairly new, has a nice surface and looks nice, but most flat tracks simply can't compete with banked tracks. The turns aren't ridiculously tight although the track still feels pretty slow. I've had never a bad experience racing here although I never look forward to racing here either. URI has a perfectly middle-of-the-track that's probably really nice to train on but is just okay for racing.

Track Rating: B+

Facility Notes: URI is more than capable of hosting pretty big meets as the facility is large and accommodating. The track level itself has a decent amount of room outside the track for setting up check-in, information or awards as well as several sets of bleachers for spectators or teams. Watching from the track level is nice and likely won't be too crowded and in addition, there's a overhead area that provides a great viewpoint although there's no seating up there. Since the track is connected to some other athletic facilities, there's plenty of room to move around or even go find somewhere else to sit/warm-up. It's the kind of facility that many nice banked tracks should have, but don't.

Facility Rating: A

6. Dartmouth College (Leverone Field House)

Hanover, NH

200m- flat

# of Races Run: 1

Current PRs at this track: 1

5K- 15:28.60 (12/8/2018)

Last flat track on the list. While still having problems of flat tracks mentioned earlier, Dartmouth is the only flat track I've run on with turns wider than the straightaways. This seriously alleviates the tight turn problem and nearly removes the disadvantage of a flat track. I've always liked wider curves as opposed to longer straightaways as the straightaways are boring but a wider turn is less awkward to go around. This is absolutely the case here and the makes races here actually pretty enjoyable. It's still slower than a banked track, but is hands-on one of the best (200m) flat tracks you can run on.

Track Rating: B

Facility Notes: The facility feels pretty new and while it has more room than UNH, it's not by a lot. The meet I went to was just a regular quad meet so it was okay but with only several bleachers available and no additional seating areas, I imagine it must be extremely crowded and unpleasant during larger meets. Unlike URI, it's not connected to any additional facilities.

Facility Rating: C-

5. Yale University (Coxe Cage)

New Haven, CT

200m- banked

# of Races Run: 3

-Yale Track Classic (HS)

Current PRs at this track: 1

3K- 8:44.64 (1/21/2017)

01/21/2017 Yale Track Classic (3K)

Yale is a banked 200m track, my least favorite but still far better than any flat track. I like that it is elevated (track is higher than surrounding floor and infield) but the bank has always felt a little too steep, even in lane 1 and it's a major problem that it's only 4 lanes as big races can get bunched up. Overall, it's a very solid and certainly fast track but very far from the best.

Track Rating: B+

Facility Notes: While the track is nice, the facility is an absolute abomination. There's a small amount of room outside the track, one side where athletes usually wait and another with seating. While there's a decent amount of seating, there's nowhere near enough to accommodate the massive meets it holds and it's a very real possibility that a spectator will be unable to find a seat or have a position where they can even the view the track. The athletes don't fare any better as they're cramped into an incredibly small area behind the track. The bathrooms are dirty and often have long lines. The warm-up areas outside are nice with the surrounding facility, but the actual coxe cage is congested to a disgusting point and it provides a lot of relief to escape.

Facility Rating: F

4. Reggie Lewis Athletic Center

Boston, MA

200m- banked

# of Races Run: 4

-New Englands (HS)

-New Englands (College)

Current PRs at this track: 1

2 Mile- 9:45.34 (3/04/2017)

02/28/2016 New England Championships (2 Mile)

Reggie Lewis is a very nice track that many people accordingly run pretty fast times on. For whatever reason, I don't seem to like it as much as BU or Harvard despite being fairly similar, the only valid complaint I have is that the bank could be a little steeper. I've never really raced well here but it's a great track.

Track Rating: A-

Facility Notes: The Reggie Lewis facility is decently sized with several hallways, bathrooms and a gym that athletes usually hang out in. The track area itself isn't that big (although it's certainly not small either) and in large meets can feel crowded. The seating is pretty old and not very comfortable. In the larger meets, there's usually long lines for the bathroom.

Facility Rating: B

3. Boston University (BU Track and Tennis Center)

Boston, MA

200m- banked

# of Races Run: 2

-BU Mini Meet (College)

-America East Championships (College)

Current PRs at this track: 0

02/22/2019 America East Championships (5K)

Many people rightfully love this track as it has a steep bank and has a bouncier surface than many other indoor surfaces, making it very fast. I agree with all of the following, but the track feels a little old and could use a resurfacing. Still, it's an excellent track that's fast and fun to race on.

Track Rating: A

Facility Notes: BU outdoes many other facilities. Everything feels very new and while there's not a lot of room outside the track area, the track area is quite large and has more than enough seats to accommodate large events. Unlike other seats at other facilities, however these seats are stadium style not bleachers and are comfortable to sit in which provides a much nicer experience. Despite all this, the bathrooms are small and there are usually long lines which drops it down a point.

Facility Rating: A

2. Harvard University (Gordon Indoor Track)

Boston, MA

200m- banked

# of Races Run: 1

-USATF-NE Championships (College)

Current PRs at this track: 0

2/24/2020 USATF-NE Championships (3K)

Track Rating: When racing at Harvard recently, I was shocked how nice the track was, especially considering it's the least well-known and least frequented track of the 3 banked ones in Boston. While the surface is harder (and less bouncy) than BU's, it felt a lot newer and fresher to me, which I slightly perfected. I would additionally add that the colors were really nice, although that doesn't mean a whole lot. Like the BU, the bank is very steep but it feels perfect in lane 1. Really liked the atmosphere in here (BU is very bright and this was notably darker which I preferred).

Track Rating: A

Facility: The surrounding area was completely owned by Harvard as their entire athletic facilities are located off campus. This made for the best surrounding/warm-up area of any indoor track by far as most other tracks are adjacent to busy city streets. It was nice to be able to warm up on the outdoor track, around the other facilities and on the famous charles bike paths instead of venturing into sketchy areas (PCTA, BU, Reggie). I realize this isn't part of the indoor facility but it definitely bumps it up a point. The indoor facility was okay. There's some room but not a ton and the seating is very poor (old, wooden bleachers) and limited. It was hard to get around on the track level as it was just so crowded.

Facility Rating: B

1. The Armory

New York, NY

200m- banked

# of Races Run: 1

-New Balance Nationals (HS)

Current PRs at this track: 0

03/10/2017 New Balance Nationals Indoor (5K)

It's hard to find something that is truly perfect but for indoor tracks, I can't imagine anything outdoing the armory. I've only raced there once but the track impressed me like no other. It's elevated, the surface feels new and fresh and the bank is at a perfect angle. That alone makes it the best track, but the atmosphere around the races is incredible. In three directions, the track is surrounding by stadium style seating that goes up several floors, the music/commentating is loud/vibrant and there's a even a jumbo screen in the center where you see yourself. Racing at the armory is an awesome experience that you can't find anywhere else. New Balance Nationals Indoor is certainly my favorite meet that I've been to in my track career.

Track Rating: A+

Facility: The facility is absolutely outstanding and compliments the excellent track perfectly. It doesn't face the seating problems many other tracks do as there are several levels of comfortable seats, most with a good view of the track. The place is absolutely massive and many floors often have different event-related items set up. I remember the indoor warm-up area was disgustingly crowded but that doesn't impact my rating as warming up outside was always an option.

Facility Rating: A+

Well, there it is. I've raced on 9 indoor tracks and they range from pretty mediocre to absolutely outstanding. I've thoroughly enjoyed at racing a different venues and look forward to future indoor meets. The one local facility missing from this list is the Ocean Breeze track (banked) in Staten Island that I've heard great things about but will likely never race at. I'll be back with a ranking of outdoor tracks, likely when my outdoor season wraps up as I should be racing as several new tracks.