The Secret Truth Moms Won’t Admit About a Track Meet
Hey friend! It’s almost March here in southwest Georgia, which means it rains all the time, and we can’t tell whether to wear our swimsuit or our parka. Clearly, the best time ever for track season to start!
We had our first meet of the season a couple days ago, and let me tell you—it was something. We woke up at 5 am on a Saturday and headed to their meet, which was 2.5 hours away north of us. North is important, because I’m using that as my excuse as to why I was totally blindsided by the weather. To make a long story short, we stood in the rain in 58 degree weather ALL. DAY. When we got in the car to leave—at least 13 hours after we started on this track trek—I was soaking wet all the way to my socks and underwear.
Our first track meet of the season…cold, slippery, and dreary.
Which leads me to the scandalous truth about track meets that sports moms hate to admit:
They’re the absolute worst.
There—I said it because somebody has to tell you the truth, sweet friend! The only thing harder than a track meet might be an indoor swim meet with toddlers…but we’ll save that for another day.
What, pray tell, is so hard about track meets? Well for starters, they last forever. For. Ever. You’ll watch 25 races, each with one lone straggler in the back that makes you cry, and then finally…it will be your own kid’s turn.
And then, here’s what happens. You hop up out of your seat in the bleachers, iphone in hand on video mode, and you scoot down the stands to try to find a place to be where you can still see him/her well and not block everyone’s view.
And then…they stand at the starting line. It seems like it’s Murphy’s Law that they always just stand there forever, having to reset themselves on the starting blocks over and over due to some technical difficulty. Then finally, the gunshot pops, and they’re off. You’re screaming in a tone your voice almost never reaches, everyone around you seems to be yelling and involved, and then it’s over. And sad to say, half the time you can’t even tell who’s won.
So this is a track meet. These short bursts of excitement happen maybe every four hours, and the rest of your time is spent just sitting in the stands doing nothing. And this leads me to my next point, which is that every track mom needs a track meet survival kit. Now, this list is certainly not exhaustive. Think of this list as your starter kit, and then let me know what you add to yours!
Comfortable stadium seats
Umbrella (this one will clip to your seat!)
A good book
Phone charging bank
Sunscreen
Folding rain poncho
Sunglasses
Snacks/snack bag
Backpack cooler w/ water, gatorade, and ice pack (this is the one we have)
Bandaids/blister pack
These 10 items can get you through most meets, no matter what weather or delays come your way.
If you’re like me and always have a spare kid with you in the stands, make sure he or she has plenty to stay occupied. I brought my youngest son with us, thinking that surely he’d want to cheer on his oldest sister at her big meet. When we left, he summed up his feelings about that: “Mom, I know one thing. I hate a track meet.” Ha! He’s not the only one! Parents across the US will be struggling in a love/hate relationship with track season until the championships in May.
What about you? Are you also committed to the bad boyfriends of kids’ sports, a.k.a. track season? What would you add to this list, so we can be even more prepared for the next meet? Hope to see you there in the bleachers!
