Tuesday Track

Coaching is one of the benefits of being a member of the Wicked Running Club. Our club coach is Fernando Braz of Going the Distance Coaching. Fernando has coached many of the best runners in the region, and is also a stalwart in Peabody High School athletics.

Year-round, Fernando emails weekly workouts to members. Starting in mid-April and going to mid-October, we convene at the track at Beverly High School for an on-site workout. The exact start times depend on when the sun goes down, these are announced through the year over email and posted on our club Facebook page.

These workouts, especially the on-site ones at Beverly High School, are an excellent way to take your training to the next level. Whether you are aiming for a top finish in an upcoming race, looking to qualify for the Boston Marathon, chasing a PR, or just looking to get faster, these workouts are for you.

What to Expect at Track

Getting a warmup in before the workout begins is very important. You can do this at the track start time, but many members find it beneficial to arrive 20-30 minutes ahead of time to warm up. You can do this by jogging slowly around the parking lot at BHS or on the track itself if it is available (see below for how we share the track with Beverly High School athletics). After your body warms up you can do some dynamic stretching or strides. If you don’t know what those are, don’t worry! Coach Braz provides instruction on this during the track program.

Coach Braz comes to track with workout plans broken into pace categories and announces them to the attendees. These pace categories are by 5K time. So, for example, if you are confident in a 21:00 5K, gather with people running that same pace at track. Coach Braz is available to answer questions about the details of the workout. If you don’t know your 5K time, just make a conservative guess. For example if you run an 8 minute mile, start in the 24:00 pace group. You can always go faster next time.

After the workout is complete, it’s important to have a cooldown phase. This is about 10-12 minutes of jogging slowly, similar to what you did in the warmup. Then if you want you can do some static stretching.

Track Courtesy

We share the track and athletic facilities at Beverly High School with the school itself and the Beverly Community. It’s very important that we act courteously to others while on the school property. Here are some rules we ask you to abide by:

  • If you arrive before the scheduled track time, and there is a game going on at the track, do not enter the track area. Running around the track while a game is going on is disruptive to the game and to the spectators.
  • The parking lot at Beverly High School can get very busy during the afternoons. Please watch out for traffic and school buses if you are warming up around the facility.
  • The grounds are full of students, parents, and educators. Please show them the respect and courtesy that you would expect to receive.
  • Please be careful not to leave any personal belongings or trash (i.e., empty water bottles) at track.
  • Sometimes there are portable bathrooms at BHS. Those can be used, but if they are not available, don’t attempt to find alternatives on the school grounds.