Jamaine Punzalan

People run around the Philippine Sports Arena in Pasig on July 31, 2025. The Philippine Sports Commission opened its track and field facilities in Pasig, Manila, and Baguio following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive in his fourth State of the Nation Address, aiming to promote healthy lifestyles among Filipinos. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

People run around the Philippine Sports Arena in Pasig on July 31, 2025. The Philippine Sports Commission opened its track and field facilities in Pasig, Manila, and Baguio following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive in his fourth State of the Nation Address, aiming to promote healthy lifestyles among Filipinos.

Article (news)

Do's and don'ts in using track ovals

Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175403171592720250731-psc-arena-pasig-JC2636.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="People run around the Philippine Sports Arena in Pasig on July 31, 2025. The Philippine Sports Commission opened its track and field facilities in Pasig, Manila, and Baguio following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive in his fourth State of the Nation Address, aiming to promote healthy lifestyles among Filipinos. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News"/>People run around the Philippine Sports Arena in Pasig on July 31, 2025. The Philippine Sports Commission opened its track and field facilities in Pasig, Manila, and Baguio following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive in his fourth State of the Nation Address, aiming to promote healthy lifestyles among Filipinos. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</div>MANILA – As the Philippine Sports Commission opens its running facilities to the public, a running coach hopes to spread the word on track etiquette.Miguel Aldeguer, who is also the co-founder of EZ Run Club and a triathlete, told ABS-CBN News there are rules to be followed on track and field ovals. &quot;Just in case not everyone knows, lanes one to four are for fast runners. Or yung mga ginagawa yung main set nila sa workout. And then lanes five to eight, ito yung mga warm-up, cool down or jogging lanes,&quot; he said on Thursday. Aldeguer said people who will walk in the oval should be on the outer lanes, not in the first four lanes where they might collide with fast runners. &quot;If you notice na there are people who run fast or they are doing their main set, best na naka-reserve sila sa inner lane. Kasi kadalasan tina-track nila time nila. Siyempre if may tao na naglalakad sa lanes one to four, lalo na kapag naka-earphones, baka ma-aksidente pa o mabunggo,&quot; he said. Aldeguer said these rules are posted in track ovals to make people aware of where to work out. At the Philippine Sports Complex in Pasig, these rules are posted right outside the entrance of the track and field oval. &quot;Nabigyan tayo ulit ng privilege to use the facilities ng libre. Might as well maging disiplinado sa paggamit ng facilities. Kasi need din tayo maging mindful na hindi lang tayo gumagamit ng track. Meron din iba&#x27;t ibang tao gumagamit,&quot; he said. &quot;Sana maging disiplinado yung mga tao para hindi ma-takeaway yung privilege natin,&quot; Aldeguer added. The running coach hopes these rules will be applied in all track and field ovals to ensure safe, orderly and equitable use of the facilities for all. TIPS FOR FIRST-TIMERS, BEGINNERS Aldeguer urged individuals who want to start their &quot;running era&quot; to &quot;be open to joining communities.&quot; &quot;You&#x27;ll never know, if you want to join a group, you can join a regular thing. And you&#x27;re doing it for yourself then, so you might as well do it right. I think that&#x27;s good,&quot; he said. As someone who leads a running community, he said they are very supportive to those starting out, while also teaching them to do things the right way. &quot;We&#x27;re all doing our part to make running accessible. And siyempre, there are many communities that we try to guide runners on how to do it properly, how to do it safely, so we&#x27;re just really helping one another. So, at the end of the day, we want their journey to be long-term for running,&quot; Aldeguer said. One of the usual considerations for those choosing running communities is the proximity to their home or work place. This is why Aldeguer believes improving the accessibility of facilities will help encourage more Filipinos to exercise. The track and field ovals at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, PhilSports in Pasig and Teachers Camp in Baguio are open to the public for free from 3  p.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

As the Philippine Sports Commission opens its running facilities to the public, a running coach hopes to spread the word on track etiquette.

As the Philippine Sports Commission opens its running facilities to the public, a running coach hopes to spread the word on track etiquette.