New Track in the Works at JFK High School

There are a lot of downsides to running on a concrete track, according to the track teams at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School.

Shin splints and injuries come more easily. Different shoes have to be used. And perhaps the most frustrating part is that a runner's actual time is harder to measure, as they are slowed by the hard surface.

The battered, concrete track at the high school is on its way to being replaced by a brand new, eight lane rubber track, a modern model used by schools throughout the state.

The township and school district held a joint press conference at the high school on Thursday morning to announce the new $1.2 million track, which is expected to be completed before the end of the school year. 

Township councilman James Major said the track at JFK high school is unusable for track meets. The school's track teams have gone to the township's other high schools to host "home" meets on the tracks there, but visiting schools do not come to JFK high school to run. 

They do use it for practice, and the track is also used for gym class exercise, Mayor John McCormac said.

Track team captain Christine Belbey, 17, a senior at JFK high school, said the team has been looking forward to a new track for a long time.

"A little bit of comfort can go a long way when doing hard workouts," she said. 

McCormac credited the project to Christian Sylvester, a June 2013 graduate of the school who came to the mayor in 2011 to discuss the need for a new track. 

Sylvester has since enlisted in the Marines, and could not be at Thursday's press conference. But, he continues to live in town and plans to arrange alumni track meets and other events once the new track surface is in place, McCormac said.

"(He's an) outstanding young man," McCormac said. 

Township spokesman John Hagerty said that the removal of the concrete track and prep work to lay the rubber will take place this fall.

The rubber track cannot be laid in cold winter weather, so the second phase of the project will take place in the spring, he said.

The school aims to have the track teams running on the rubber track by mid-spring.