Greater Framingham Running Club Summer Track
 

 

                 


The Greater Framingham Running Club and The City of Framingham Parks & Recreation Department are happy to announce the 2024 return of our
Wednesday Night Summer Family Track Meets!


The season begins June 5th and runs through August 14th  (Note: There will be no meet on July 3rd)

Please check www.FraminghamRec.com for specific program dates and weather cancellations.

Registration & Fee
5:30-6:00 at the track each week
The fee is $1.00 per participant per week  
A season pass may be purchased for $8.00 on the first or second week  


The $1 registration fee entitles participants to compete in as many events as they desire that evening.  Parents of competitors under 18 years of age must sign the waiver of liability form that accompanies every registration. Please remember your participant number (Waiver forms only need to be filled out once per season if the participant number is remembered).


The meets begin at 6 p.m

 Order of events & Age Limits

   1.      50 Meter- All ages

   2.   100 Meter- All ages

   3.   1 Mile - 8 minutes or faster only please

   4.   200 Meter- All ages               

   5.      800 Meter- All ages

   6.      400 Meter- All ages

   7.      Relay 4 x 100 (time permitting) – All ages

From 6:15- 7:00 (approx.): Softball Throw and Standing Broad Jump for ages 4 to 13. (Age Groupings for these two events are 4&5, 6&7, 8&9, 10&11 and 12&13).  The holding of the field events may occasionally be impacted by volunteer staff availability.

Awards:

All events, whenever practical, are staged in age-separated and often gender-separated heats. This system facilitates organization of the simplest and often fairest competition among the hundreds of competitors. 

Due to staffing and time constraints, only first place finish times are recorded for each heat.   Blue, red, or yellow ribbons are awarded to the first three finishers in each running heat as well as to the age-division winners in the softball throw and standing broad jump. Ribbons are awarded to all members of winning relay teams.


Inclement Weather: 

Meets may be cancelled due to inclement weather.  Track is still on in drizzle or light rain.  It will be cancelled for heavy rain and especially if there are thunderstorms.

A decision will be made by 4:00 PM.  Check the Framingham Parks and Rec website: www.FraminghamRec.com for updates; cancellations will show as a notification banner by 4 PM.

Weather can still change quickly.  On occasion, we will not cancel by 4 PM, only to need to cancel closer to the start of or during the meet.  As the safety or our participants is our primary concern, the presence of lightning or thunder will end the meet early.


Officials: Volunteers from the Greater Framingham Running Club staff all events. The Framingham Parks and Recreation Department serves as a series co-sponsor - without their support we would not be able to hold the meets.


For more information, please call Arnie Pollinger, series co-director, at 508-517-5818


Basic Rules for Competitors and Spectators

  1. The primary goal is for all athletes to have fun while developing their running skills.  Good sportsmanship is a must.
  2. All runners must run “unassisted”.  Parents or guardians may accompany a toddler down the track, but the child must “run” on their own.
  3. For safety reasons and “track etiquette” only runners are allowed on the track and only during the event which they are competing.  No dogs, bikes or strollers are allowed anywhere in the stadium or on the track.   Failure to adhere to these restrictions could result in the cancellation of the Summer Track Meets.
  4. All runners are responsible for listening to the race officials and following instructions for each event.
  5. The safety of all runners is important.  Please do not allow your children to compete in events that are too long or difficult for them.  Please note the 8-minute time restriction for entering the one mile race.  In the event of injury, a first aid kit is available at the registration table.
  6.  All Race Officials are non-paid volunteers.  The meets could not take place without their assistance.  The decisions of the officials are final.

    Thank you for helping us make this a fun, healthy activity for you and your children.




History:  The GFRC Summer Track series boasts a long history as the premier low-key, high-energy all-comers summer track series in the western suburbs of Boston. The series, which has always been held in Framingham, and most frequently at Bowditch Field, was initially conceived in 1980 as an event to help serious adult road runners and track devotees hone their fast twitch muscle fibers through sprint events and shorter distance runs, over the course of a ten-week series of meets.  

Over the years, the focus of the meets has shifted from serving as an adult athlete challenge to one that provides a weekly summer outlet for sometimes over 200 kids, from ages two and up, to enjoy the excitement of competition without the demands or pressure of a highly structured athletic event. While many participants now are teenage or younger, this all-comers series welcomes participants of all ages and talent including masters track athletes from across New England.