Osan opens new outdoor track, field

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Stefanie Torres
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Osan's new all-weather outdoor running track behind the Mustang Club gives Airmen an improved place to train and test.

The May 25 opening comes shortly after the running trails outlining the perimeter of the base closed for construction, and is definitely a vast improvement over the old running track in the gym, explained Staff Sgt. Cesar Cuadra, 51st Maintenance Squadron avionics technician.

"It's a lot easier to run on with the curves being a lot larger and it's a lot less strain on your legs," Cuadra said. "It definitely makes running a lot more efficient, and that's really helped out on my run time. I improved by 20 seconds so it had a definite improvement on how I've done before."

The $250,000 track and $700,000 sports field in the middle is also open to the public. Dajoe Construction finished the project after nine months, and the track has eight years of serviceability.

Osan previously held physical fitness testing on the 2-lane, indoor track, which requires running 14 laps for a mile and a half on a tighter curve that may break a runner's stride.

The new 4-lane track makes passing easier and is physically better for runners.

Runners now only have to run 7 and ¾ laps for a mile and a half, cutting down the amount of times the tester and runner have to count significantly.

"Obviously it's easier on the tester because they don't have to run as many laps and it seems like it goes by a lot faster," said Tech. Sgt. Katrina McDonald, 51st Force Support Squadron fitness assessment cell NCO in charge. "Also, we're not out here counting lap after lap. This is the first week we started testing outdoors, and most of the testers we've asked have said they liked it. They said it was really nice because it's easier on their knees and joints."