ROANOKE — Step into Mark Barra’s old backyard, and the entirety of Roanoke-Benson's vintage athletic complex comes into full view.
His boyhood home is located at the corner of N. Church and W. Joseph streets in Roanoke, a small Woodford County village about 25 miles from Peoria. It's a simple walk over to the school grounds, where a relic of track and field's past sits.
“The cinder track,” the current Washington resident said. “They always kept it in pretty good shape.”
Most high schools use "all-weather" tracks, made of rubberized surfaces that provide a consistent surface for competitors in all types of weather. Yet Roanoke's track is still made of cinders, a sand-like surface consisting of partly burnt crushed coal and wood.
Peoria track: Here are the top times, distances for Peoria-area high school track and field in 2024
Roanoke-Benson honored the legacy of its old cinder track on Saturday morning with the inaugural Cinder Classic — the school's first home track meet since 1984, according to Kyle Daubs, the head boys and girls coach for the Lowpoint-Washburn/Roanoke-Benson co-op.
Barra, now 61, knows about competing there. During his senior season in 1980, he was the eighth-place finisher in the 200-meter dash at the Class A state meet. He remembers taking to that cinder track in spikes and running out of the blocks like modern runners do. Back then, he thought maybe only Eureka had an all-weather track. Cinders were in.
Coaches kept Roanoke's cinder track graded, but Barra — the last R-B boys track athlete to bring home a state medal — couldn’t recall if there were actual lane lines drawn onto the track like they were Saturday.
“I think you just ran,” he said.
Meets, though, didn’t come without accidents and usually some blood. “You saw a lot of wipeouts (on) the cinder track,” Barra said, “especially in hurdles. You’d see it sometimes in relays. Kind of brutal.”
How the Cinder Classic came to be
The Cinder Classic is the brainchild of Daubs. The nine-year coach says he sees unique meets around the area such as the El Paso-Gridley Titanomachy or the Morton Distance Gala.
“Everyone’s got the fancy stuff,” Daubs said of the schools with the eight-lane, all-weather tracks. “Why don’t we go with the old-school route? The idea of running on a cinder track; it’s pretty much a unicorn. They’re not really around anymore.”
New school administrators gave Daubs the greenlight to host the meet at Roanoke, which recently added a long jump pit and spaces to throw the discus and shot, allowing field events at the Classic.
“Bring track back to the community,” he said,” because back in the day, that’s what it was — it was cinder tracks. … It’s kind of crazy to think that it’s 2024 and you’re going to have kids in 10 years be like, ‘Yeah, I ran on a cinder track.’
Old-school running and doughnut relays
Athletes went completely "old school," wearing only spike-less running shoes and not utilizing starting blocks. The meet wasn’t a traditional one, either, with events like the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 co-ed relays and a Swedish 100-200-300-meter relay.
Fieldcrest joined L-W/R-B for its senior recognition ceremony before the nine-event spectacle began.
“(Having my last home meet) makes it really special,” R-B senior Lauren Crumrine said, “just because we have all the parents watching and the grandparents, who can’t make it out to the far (meets).
“It makes it special when the whole town can come to see our last time here.”
Peoria track: Here are 16 of the top Peoria-area boys and girls track and field athletes for 2024
Crumrine competed in three events — the shot put and the co-ed 4x100 and 4x200-meter relays. She ran the first leg of the 4x100 but got caught on a false start. Luckily, there were no disqualifications.
“I was like leaning forward,” she said with a laugh, “and I was like, ‘I’m going to fall over.’ … (Running on cinder is) really different, because we don’t use blocks and it just makes it a little trickier because the lanes are like crooked, but I think it’s fun.”
Wyatt Isaacson may have enjoyed himself out of all the competitors. The junior sported a white "LWRB" bandana and sunglasses to win the thrower’s 45-meter doughnut dash. He got down in a three-point stance at the starting line and kept his form the entire race.
“You got to be careful because you can slip out,” said Isaacson, who was greeted at the finish line with a dozen doughnuts. He ate three donuts and gave the rest of the box to his teammates.
Soon after, Isaacson, who normally runs the 4x800-meter relay, ran the open 400-meter dash in a personal-best 1:12.05.
“About to puke,” he said. “Feeling rough. (Doughnuts) didn’t come up though.”
Cinder Classic has a future
Look for the Cinder Classic to hopefully become a staple in the track community for years to come.
“When you start something,” Daubs said, “you want to start small, but like I would love for this to grow. … It works out perfect. We can start with three (teams) this year.
“Maybe next year, get a couple more (teams) and then three years from now, this could be a yearly tradition for some teams.”
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: How a tiny Peoria-area high school created a unique old-school track and field event
Most Popular
Comments / 0