Running Track in the Broadlands area

Does anyone know of a running track available for public use in the Broadlands area? Maybe one of the high-school's tracks?

Thanks!

 

Do believe there is a small track at Hillside Elem

 

Also one at Mill Run and Eagle Ridge.

 

I coach track and XC at Briar Woods and from what I've gathered (could be wrong) every school track in the county is public use since we all pay the taxes for them, but the difficult part is maintaining them. High Schools have locked fences up around them as a means to deter vandalism of the tracks and stadiums (you know how rivalries get), but I believe if you talk directly to the school principle you can gain access to the tracks during non-school and practice daylight hours.

Broad Run is the closest real 400m track to Broadlands (only about a mile from the Waxpool/Claiborn intersection), with Stone Bridge being a close second. I wouldn't recommend doing much running on the Middle/Elem school tracks - they have very sharp turns and are paved which is a horrible combination on the knees and ankles. I often wonder why they build the tracks like that at all... it isn't good for the kids.

 

it's 1/5th of a mile

 

Just because I do this kind of measurement all the time for my runs and workouts/intervals this might help anyone who regularly runs on those tracks...

I found gmaps pedometer to be accurate to within a meter or two per mile (error of only about 5 feet per 5,000) in routes in the past. Seems like overkill to compare Hillside and Millrun but they are actually different by about 50 feet per lap. That adds up to about 65 meters total difference for 5 laps, or a good 12-20 seconds difference depending on the speed you run at. One is slightly more than 5 laps for a mile and one is slightly less:


Hillside track
1 lap = .195 miles or 314 meters
1 mile = 5.15 laps (or 5 laps and half a straightaway)
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3885745

Millrun track
1 lap = .205 miles or 331 meters
1 mile = 4.85 laps or half a long straightaway short of 5 laps
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3885722

Eagle Ridge track
1 lap = .241 miles or 388 meters
1 mile = 4.15 laps or half a long straight away longer than 4 laps
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3885719

Broad Run, Stone Bridge and Briar Woods all have tracks that are exactly 400 meters, so 4 laps plus 9 meters (about 27 feet) is a full mile. Or you can just run 4 laps and add about 1.5-2 seconds to your time to get your full mile.

 

I'm in training for Marine Corps Marathon and have also been looking for a good place to do intervals. The problem with the high schools is that you really can't get access in the evenings when it's cool out. Instead, I found that the Claiborne trail between ridgeway and stone hollow is almost exactly 400m. It's slightly graded, but I figure it's all the same if I run both directions.

 

If you don't mind the 10-12 minute drive, there are some great trails at Claude Moore (Sterling near Costco) for running intervals. I do interval work anywhere from 400m to 1.5 mile loops there all the time. Tree cover is nice when it is this hot out - also being close to a pond always seems to make the air 5-10 degrees cooler than neighborhoods and asphalt.

If you are interested in checking it out, I recommend driving in the main gate and parking in the back end of the parking lot where the 5 baseball fields are (near where it says drop off area for the fields). There you'll see a bridge heading away from the baseball field area that leads to a very good section of the trails.

 

Thanks CoachCal -- I'm always looking for new trails to run. My current "run through the woods" is the bike trial that goes from Claiborn in Ashburn Farm all the way to Ashburn Village. Do you have any other trails like these that are closer in?

 

I can only speak to the Hillside Elementary school track since I was heading up the PTO when that was built, but no taxpayer money was used for construction...funds were raised by the PTO and some time and materials were donated.

 

I have always preferred gravel, dirt, cinder trails. Maybe I was spoiled growing up in Fairfax where they have a lot of lakes with these kinds of trails around them (like Burke Lake, Reston Lake, Accotink, etc...). Those are all too far of a drive for me on a daily basis just for a run though. Seems Loudoun is still trying to catch up to Fairfax in terms of parks... I think we'll get there in another 10-15 years, hopefully.

Fortunately, we do have some great trails within our neighborhood here. If you haven't explored them I'd recommend starting there as many of them have 50-75% tree cover at most times of the day.

I've noticed over the last 5 years that a trail is starting to emerge around the Beaverdam Reservoir, I am really hoping at some point the county goes in an actually makes a real trail around the lake and lays gravel on it. Right now you can make it from the park that Trurro Parish runs into all the way down to the Brambleton Golf Course, but it takes some bobbing and weaving as you go. Definitely a very rugged run, but one you can get to by running there and not driving since it is so close.

If they ever do make that into a trail around the entire lake, it would be an awesome run - about 5-6 miles total.

 

sorry, I should have been more specific. I meant only the HS tracks when referencing taxpayer money. I guess I could be wrong there, but I know those surfaces are a good $50-75K minimum to resurface every 8-10 years or so. Always assumed that was on the county and not the boosters to redo simply because of the magnitude of the costs involved.