The 3200

The frustrating thing about track that I think many people encounter is how much a race can change from day to day. One day your race can take off slow and then make the last lap an all out sprint. But yet others can take off really fast and stay that way. You can see/feel the change most in the 3200 meter dash. (Or run, whatever you prefer.) It takes skill to be able to adjust on the move. Not knowing what kind of race you are about to start can take its toll in the mental aspect of it all. Of course, if you try and guess how the race take off you could get screwed over! For example, if you think its going to take off fast, and you take off fast you could find yourself alone. In which case the field could easily catch up and pass you. On the other hand though, if you take off too slow you have the potential to find yourself in the back of the race and may struggle to regain position up front. It takes a lot of strain to try and maneuver in a 3200 meter race so this all just adds to it. Being stuck in the middle of a large pack can really kill you mind as you try and guess what the other competitors are thinking and when they are going to make their move. To add on to that there are a lot of thrown elbows that you must try and avoid. O, and I almost forgot, during all these mind battles of guessing and strategy, you are also running pretty fast! So that adds to the strain a little bit.

Picture by Nathan Wiemers

Zac Wiemers

email - zwiemo5@yahoo.com