One of the challenges with a community college track is its limited budget. The peeps in charge of the track can’t afford some of the advanced features found at the Big University Tracks.

Case in point: the hurdles. Our track is lacking those Fancy Pants Super-Expensive Big City Hurdles. But that doesn’t slow things down here. Haters gonna hate; hurdlers gonna hurdle.

The solution: Construction barricades!!!They’re almost the same color and close enough to the same height, allowing the determined runner to hurdle on a budget. Dan O’Brien, Olympic decathlon gold medalist, has been known to grace this track many times, so it must work.

Downside: The hurdles are a bit less forgiving should you clip one. I assume that’s why the orange cones are between them. The spacing is also off a bit, but what doesn’t kill you will only make you severely injured, right?

Other downside: Getting swallowed up by the potholes in the parking lot now that they’re no longer marked. Oh, well. Nobody said running was easy. Maybe Galloway did, but he makes stuff up.

OK day today. I was a DNF at the Third Friday Art Walk last night, tripping on a sidewalk crack and taking a nasty spill, but today felt better than I thought it would. Bunch of people out for Saturday prime time. Fun.

Everyone has hurdles to overcome on their way to the finish. I just wish mine didn’t cause so many face.