Avondale High School
Running time: 58:12 + 1-lap kick
A cold, windy track run. No stairs. The bleachers were slick and aluminum and not very accessible. It felt good, though, to just stretch out and run laps, like I used to at the junior high track near our home in Oregon.
I tried Pontiac High School first. It was a mile or so closer to the hotel. Beautiful track, all locked up. What is the harm of leaving a single gate open? Is there going to be rampant vandalism? Are we going to have kids smoking pot in the open, fresh air? If you welcome runners to your school track, you are basically employing a fit, vigilant volunteer security crew. Who appreciates the fact that your track is accessible to them and allowing them to generate endorphins and prolong their life, and they will hunt down and kill anyone who endangers that.
Public schools are community facilities. Never mind that I am not a long-term member of the Pontiac community. I am a temporary member, and I will honor my temporary membership with impeccable behavior. School districts should reach out to community organizations and invite them to use public school facilities, without remuneration, and without a registration and application process that deters and obstructs. Near our house in Oregon, there was a elementary school, the gymnasium of which a local church used every Sunday for services. Never mind about separation of church and state – it was a great partnership. You know they left that gym cleaner than they received it. And more blessed.
The good people of Avondale know this, and they welcomed me to their blustery track with open gates. Kids were coming and going to this or that athletic practice, and a group were kicking a soccer ball around on the adjacent pitch, and SUVs were pulling up and idling for half-hours at a time for pickup and dropoff, and no one harangued me for running on the track without permission. Permission is implied. Public schools are public spaces. I can see why we do not want random adults wandering into middle school libraries during the school day, but open up a gym when it’s not in use and invite the locals in for some pickup basketball. Drag the baseball field in July and invite the locals in for sandlot ball. Find local artists and ask them if they will teach community members how to draw or paint or play guitar in one of the empty classrooms on a weekend or in the evening.
Will it go perfectly? No. Will it be worth it? Hell, yes.
Don't Make It a Habit. Make It a Ritual. 