University Set to Build $1 Million Outdoor Track

Harvard will begin constructing a $1 million outdoor track next month which officials say will set new standards for building techniques and surface composition.

The new track, which has been in the planning stages since the fall, will replace two obsolete cinder tracks now in the Soldiers Field complex. Its surface will be designed according to the same innovative principles as the Gordon Indoor Track and Tennis building's circuit.

With eight lanes and a 400 meter oval, the track will give Harvard an NCAA regulation loop for the first time since the metric system became the international track standard.

Director of Athletics John P. Reardon '60 said yesterday that Harvard officials decided about a year ago to build the outdoor facility to complement the recent construction of Blodgett Pool, Bright Hockey Center and the Indoor Track and Tennis Center, along with reconstruction of Briggs Athletic Center and the Stadium.

The facility's budget of $1.035 million will be covered largely through alumni donations. Friends of Harvard Track, an outside booster organization, will be the largest donor with about 10 percent. The Business School, located adjacent to the Soldiers Field athletic complex, will also donate funds.

The new track's outstanding feature is the synthetic composition of its surface. An optimal level of "compliance"--a measure of the track's response to pressure--will minimize the contact time of a runner's foot and simultaneously lengthen his strides.

Finding the best level of compliance also reduces the possibility of runner's injuries.

Harvard's indoor track, hailed at its 1977 opening as the fastest in the world, represented a pioneer effort to create the best running surface possible.

Although the same construction formula--devised by McKay Professor of Applied Mechanics Thomas A. McMahon was not durable enough for outdoor use, the new track will utilize the same principles of optimal compliance, project manager George Oommen said yesterday.

Gold Medal

Oommen predicted the new track will be "without doubt, the best in the world." Varsity Track Coach Frank Haggerty '68 added. "It may turn out to be the most innovative outdoor track in the world."

The men's and women's teams, which traditionally run in a large number of away meets and have hosted matches at MIT, will officially move into the new track at their first meet early next spring, Reardon said.

Oommen said he and architect William Pressley will probably select a construction company from among five bidders by Monday. The Corporation will meet next week to evaluate the project, he said, adding he expects approval.

The track may be named for former Coach Bill McCurdy, who retired last year after 32 years at Harvard, Oommen said. Reardon said no name has been chosen, although "a major donor might have strong feelings about it being named after himself."

Demolition

To make room for the new track, part or all of Harvard's outdoor tennis courts may be torn down during construction, officials said.