A new tartan all weather running track has opened at the Belfield campus of University College Dublin.
The brand new running track at University College Dublin (UCD) meets international athletics standards.
Olympic athlete Eamonn Coghlan, who will compete on the new UCD track later today describes the composition of the running surface. The tartan track is a combination of rubber, glues and other substances that are mixed together.
It's a rubber surface and as a result there's a greater bounce on the track.
A tartan track enables the runner to get into a rhythm a lot easier than on a cinders surface where the rhythm is broken throughout the race. Eamonn Coghlan believes that the new tartan track will mean faster times for runners. While welcoming this new facility, he says that the track alone is not the answer for improving Irish athletics. He says there is no replacement for hard training to get the best performance out of Irish athletes.
The introduction of a tartan track means that foreign competitions can now come to Ireland. Eamonn Coghlan believes that athletes who want to improve will still need to travel abroad as there is a lack of competition in Ireland. Many athletes travel on scholarships to the United States.
The new UCD track will allow for more technical work and training especially for hurdlers and long jumpers. But for middle and long distance runners, most of the training takes place on grass or road.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 14 June 1977. The reporter is Derek Davis.
