Royal High School, Simi Valley
This photo is facing west. With the huge high jump aprons outside of the
track (on the east) and the snack bar (on the west), it is obvious there is
plenty of room on both ends of the stadium. That is significant because this
is a rare broken back track, meaning the turns change in intensity. Unlike Ribet,
this is a competition track and the 200 and 400 runners have to make a sharper
left turn just before entering the straights. The darker spots on the home stretch
(right) are signs of wear. This is apparently due to the soccer lobby overpowering
logic in order to get a wider field. The huge stands on the north side were
built at the time of track construction, so it was all part of a master plan.
This is no optical illusion, the turn sharpens as the runners enter the relay
zone.