What Is Track Made Of

Choosing the type of surface is the most important decision to make when constructing a rails. There are many available options and each of them comes with its own advantages and drawbacks. Which ane will be best for your facility depends on a number of critical factors such as your financial resource, location, and maintenance capability, the intended frequency and use of the rail, and many more than.

Vanderbilt University running track The type of surface tin bear upon the speed, technique, and concrete wellness of the runners, then you need to keep safety and performance in listen when making your choice. Cost-effectiveness and ease of maintenance should be among your pinnacle considerations also.

To be able to make an informed determination, you need to exist enlightened of the pros and cons of different types of running runway surfaces and cull the one that best suits your budget and your purposes.

Natural Surfaces

Cinder and dirt – and occasionally grass – are the near normally used natural track surfaces. They are comfortable to run on, relatively inexpensive to construct, and accept a minimal forcefulness impact on runners' joints. These soft surfaces provide splendid cushioning and help reduce injuries. They also create more resistance than other running rail surface materials and make legs piece of work harder, thus strengthening foot muscles and improving running techniques.

Despite their numerous benefits, however, natural track surfaces have two major disadvantages:

Weather oft renders them unusable, as they become soggy afterward a rain;
Natural surfaces require constant and plush maintenance – leveling, improver of filler material, and re-marking the lanes (if the tracks are not well-kept, holes and irregularities in the surface may lead to serious injuries).

In contempo years, natural surface tracks take been congenital with avant-garde applied science, so they can concord water better and don't demand every bit much maintenance. Notwithstanding, the growing toll of transportation of the materials used in these tracks and the cost of incorporating the latest technology has considerably increased the cost of natural surface tracks. Therefore, they are rarely constructed today.

All-Conditions Surfaces

The first modern track surfacing systems – the so called all-weather surfaces – were invented in the belatedly 1960s. They consist of a combination of asphalt with prophylactic or sand and are commonly referred to as "asphalt-bound" surfaces. These tracks are durable and relatively unaffected by the weather. They are very fast and allow runners to proceed up a steady rhythm.

Although many cobblestone-bound tracks are still in use, they are no longer normally built considering of textile cost and surface unpredictability:

Asphalt-leap surfaces are affected by temperature – they become very soft in the summer heat and quite hard in the wintertime cold;
As cobblestone ages, it becomes harder and loses its resilience. Older asphalt-bound tracks tin wreak havoc on runners' joints and muscles, increasing the risks of injuries;
The cost of asphalt-leap tracks is quite high, every bit manufacturing the needed asphalt mix requires shutting the asphalt institute downward, producing the special mix, cleaning the plant equipment, and restarting production of regular asphalt.

Synthetic Surfaces

Faribault High School Today, most running tracks are built with constructed rubber – rubber particles bound with latex or polyurethane. The latex or polyurethane surface is typically installed to a depth of virtually 1/two″ on meridian of an cobblestone or physical base of operations. It is possible to construct the systems in layers and use different textures for the optimal amount of traction and best functioning.

Latex running track surfaces

Latex-bound tracks provide great safety, functioning, and durability. The springy surface is both very fast and very forgiving. What'southward more, it'southward often permeable, enabling water to easily drain from the track.

The bones system is black, but contemporary latex running surfaces come in iii types of colored systems:

Colored binder with black rubber;
Colored rubber and colored binder in the height layers (over black rubber);
Full-depth colour tracks in which the rubber and latex binder are colored throughout the surface.

Needless to say, the apply of colored binder and colored rubber results in higher costs.

Polyurethane running runway surfaces

Polyurethane surfaces come in four different types:

The basic polyurethane-leap arrangement consists of condom particles spring with polyurethane (the then-called base mat);
The porous polyurethane runway consists of a base mat, covered past a porous layer coated in a texture spray. This type of surface is very soft and permeable;
A sandwich surface combines porous and solid polyurethane surfaces. The base mat is sealed and topped with a flood glaze of polyurethane and safety, creating a permeable, textured surface. This is the most commonly used track surface;
A full pour arrangement is where each layer is mixed and poured in place. These surfaces are textured and impermeable.

Benefits of Synthetic Running Rail Surfaces

A prophylactic running track surface has a number of considerable advantages over all other types of track surfaces:

It creates a very fast and high-performing rails that helps improve runners' economy of action by 2-3%. The rubber surface acts like a springboard, giving athletes more free energy in their next stride and increasing their speed;
A synthetic system provides superb shock absorption and cushioning, protecting athletes from injury and trauma. The soft, resilient surface is very forgiving on muscles and joints – it non only absorbs fifty-fifty the most fierce impact, merely besides reduces musculus stress and supports leg exertion;
A synthetic rail is extremely durable, lasting up to xx years or more than. It is near impervious to atmospheric condition and requires very piffling maintenance.

So, which track surface is right for your project? Information technology shouldn't exist as well soft, nor should it be likewise difficult (so runners don't hurt their ankles and knees). Information technology should exist very fast, but also provide proper traction and grip (so users don't stumble and autumn). It should be durable and attractive, but it should be cost-efficient and easy to maintain, every bit well. Long distance running events may require a softer track surface which is easier on the legs and feet – and sprint events volition benefit from a firmer, faster track.

With and then many options available, you demand to give a great bargain of idea to choosing the best runway surface for your installation. Yous demand to consider your item needs and purposes and accept into account the initial price of the rail, its maintenance requirements, life expectancy, safety and performance characteristics, etc. when making your terminal determination.

The assistance of a sports flooring specialist may be extremely valuable in evaluating surfacing systems. If you lot're looking for professional advice, KieferUSA is here for you – we'll be glad to help you sort through the bachelor options and choose the best running track surface for your project. If y'all need assist installing and maintaining the track, you can count on the states as well.