The National Park is the favourite haunting ground for many persons not least of all some of the nation’s finest athletes.
The facility is in use early in the morning by those keep fit enthusiasts as well as the more serious minded athlete.
On Saturdays the circuit is used by national cycling coach Hassan Mohammed for his weekly race programmes.
But while the national cyclists and other persons who jog, run, walk or just use the inner circuit of the National Park for exercise have been singing praises for the recent resurfacing of the inner circuit, a larger community has been unable to express similar sentiments.
The National Park inner circuit was recently resurfaced by the relevant authorities at a cost of around $29m, which has encouraged more persons to use the facility for exercise and other purposes.
Cyclists no longer have to dodge pot holes during their races but can enjoy competing on a smooth new surface.
However, track athletes, football players and referees, rugby player
Unfinished! Athletes would usually run at the side of this circuit rather than run on the actually road which could lead to injury. After the inner circuit has been resurfaced, piles of mud and other debris line the side of the inner circuit at this and another section of the National Park Circuit.
s and even cricketers who play in the fields of the National Park, are waiting the day when they too can rejoice about the work done so that they can all train and play unhindered. Until then, those persons are forced to endure the deplorable conditions at the National Park inner fields, which have worsened with the recent inclement weather.
One area that is most affected is the portion where most of the country’s top athletes train. Running Brave Athletics Club, Royal Youth Movement, Rising Stars Athletic Club, Road Runners, and even the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) track club used that area to train.
Together, those clubs represent about 60 percent of the country’s top athletes and when this newspaper visited the track recently some of Guyana’s elite athletes were training at a venue which was not suitable for even regular athletes to train.
Nevertheless some of the country’s premier athletes were forced to complete their training regimen there since they had no other available venue. One of the coaches of a top club said that he was frustrated with the current state of the venue saying that it is severely hampering the preparation of his athletes for major upcoming track and field competitions.
“We are preparing for Inter-Guiana Games trials, National Youth and National Senior (championships) and we can’t get the proper use of the venue,” said the coach.
Imagine if our national sprint champions twisted his/her ankle in this hole.
He added that his club has had to improvise in many ways but they seem to be running out of options.
“The track soft, soft, soft and the tractor driving on the track cut in and leaving tractor marks. What do you think will happen if an athlete runs in one of those marks or the holes on the track?” the coach asked.“We used to run at the side of the road (inner circuit track) but after they did (resurfaced) the road, the place dig up and we can’t use that either,” the coach added.
The coach thinks that some athletes are at a risk of sustaining injuries every time they step foot on the track. According to some of the National Park users, there is some degree of confusion and near accidents with athletes running in one direction while trying to avoid colliding with either persons from other sports or cricket or footballs heading their way.
Track and field athletes try to minimize the amount of time they spend running on the road since it may lead to injury, which in many cases are injuries to the knees; therefore training on the recently resurfaced circuit is not an option.
