Out of Place - Part 2

I asked my nephew to inquire of a personal friend of his, the head track coach at a local high school, about use of public school tracks by the public. The coach would have let me use the track at his school, but unfortunately their track is covered with ice at one end. He suggested I contact the head track coach at the high school near me and seemed to think that if I got to the right person, there would be no issues. I figured the best time to call was after 2:30 pm, assuming that classes might be done for the day and the staff would still be at the school. The only problem I was having was that between 2:30 and 5:00 I've been tied up the last couple of days.

And my next track workout is tomorrow. So last night while watching American Idol with my family, I did some googling: "track coach rampart high school". After checking out a few pages, I came across a page that had the full list of Rampart High School track coaches for the 2010 season. What luck. And even better, each name had an email address! So I decided to fire off a quick email to the coach and inquire about using the track.

About 45 minutes after I started writing, Diane asked me, "are you still writing that?" Um, well, yes, I was. I was trying to be careful, knowing that I had never met this person and that written communication can be easily misinterpreted, especially when it comes to tone. I wanted to be respectful, but also communicate that I was pretty serious about my training. Besides, I didn't want to get off on the wrong foot because using the track was pretty important to me. After several iterations, here's what I sent at 8:31 pm last night:

Coach - I'm a local recreational runner who is training for the Napa Valley marathon on March 7th. I'd like to find a track where I can run my weekly speed workouts - I'm training to run a Boston qualifying time (3:35 for my age group).

I wasn't able to tell from the Rampart or D20 websites if public use of the track is allowed. Would it be possible to arrange to use the Rampart track once a week? I'm currently doing my speed work on Thursdays, but I'm flexible on the day.

Thanks for your time,

Steve

I believe that common courtesy and respect can go a long way in communicating with people and as simple as this request was, I really wanted to convey both. Now I know what you're thinking. At least it was what I was thinking: I wonder how my weeks will go by before I hear anything back. If I ever hear anything back.

So you will be as surprised as I was to find a reply this morning at 7:17 am. I was very impressed. The coach (Randy Barringer) let me know that it wasn't in his power to give me permission, but he was pretty sure the track was open to the public. The only caveats being they don't want the public on the track during track practice (he gave the dates and times of schedule track practices) or if a PE class was on the track. For final word on the topic, he copied the Athletic Director (Jeremy Wirtjes).

I headed downstairs for breakfast and let Diane know that I had gotten a reply from the coach, but sadly he couldn't give me permission. He had to send it on to the Athletic Director and who knows how long that would take. How high of a priority can it be for the Athletic Director to respond to the request of a local recreational runner?

When I got back to my home office, I notice I had missed a phone call. Local number, but I didn't recognize it. Then I noticed I had an email reply from Jeremy Wirtjes, Athletic Director and Assistant Principal of Rampart High School. And you probably guessed it. The phone number in his signature matched the missed call on my cell phone.

He said I could absolutely could use the track even during normal school hours, except for the times noted by the coach. I picked up the phone and gave him a quick call. I wanted to personally thank him for replying as well as ask a clarifying question about the track sometimes being locked. He answered on the first ring. We had a nice conversation and he invited me to come in to the office any time I find the track locked and they will gladly unlock it for me.

Why is it that so many of us assume that people associated with public service are going to be difficult to work with? Whether it's because we think they are over worked or uncaring or incompetent. Having this attitude is in spite of having friends and family that work in such positions who are very competent and a pleasure to work with. I know it's not just me. And even though it's not just me, I do need to start with my own attitude. I am very grateful to both Randy and Jeremy for taking time out of their day to respond to the question of a local recreational runner. Yes, it was a simple question, but I'm sure (honestly) that they had more important things to do today.

And for me, the answer was indeed very important. I would have otherwise spent time today trying to figure out where I would be able run my Yasso 800's tomorrow. I really didn't want to do them on the treadmill.

Now all I need to do is find someone who can control the weather - it's supposed to snow tomorrow.