One FLRC Challenge course that's kind of an outlier is the Sweet 1600 — 1600 meters (rounded to one mile) on any track with a verified distance. This allows Challenge precipitants to log Challenge runs when they are away from the Ithaca area, i.e. on vacation.
After making more travel plans for the summer of '25 than I normally do, one of my Challenge sub-goals was to see how many different tracks I could log a Sweet 1600. I'm not much of a track runner and have never run track competitively, but this mission would make it a little more fun to run in quarter-mile circles from time to time.
Most notably is the three-laps-per-mile track on the level 4 deck of the Disney Wonder cruise ship, which I ran many times during vacation in August. I logged my lifetime furthest-from-Ithaca run (Challenge effort or otherwise) on that track while docked in Skagway, Alaska. Google says this was 2711.7 miles from Ithaca as the crow flies. I also logged runs several other times over international waters, but none were further away than Skagway. That includes four 10-mile track deck solo runs, plus another two miles with the kids (age 5) so they could complete their personal FLRC Challenge by finishing their third of the shortest three courses.
I’m only counting that track as one venue even though the GPS coordinates were different on each run. Sadly, I didn’t have time to get to a track on land while in Vancouver, Juneau, Seattle, or Rochester during the same trip.
Other venues included three in Groton — one in Groton, New York, and two in Groton, Connecticut — and two in Middletown, Rhode Island. I also ran on several local ones, including Trumansburg High School, Ithaca High School, and Schoellkopf Field at Cornell, plus three dirt tracks — the Sweetgum 1600 trail at Harry Green's private farm in Trumansburg, the Trumansburg Fairgrounds, and the Cornell Horse Track. I didn’t make the time to get to Newfield High School, Dryden High School, or even Barton Hall at Cornell, and couldn’t figure out when the indoor and outdoor ones at Ithaca College are open, if ever. The track closest to home — Lansing High School — was closed for construction during the duration of the Challenge.
In the beginning I was hoping for more but ran out of time. For a non-track runner, 12 different venues in four states was the best I could do, and I had fun with it. The full detailed list.
Other venues included three in Groton — one in Groton, New York, and two in Groton, Connecticut — and two in Middletown, Rhode Island. I also ran on several local ones, including Trumansburg High School, Ithaca High School, and Schoellkopf Field at Cornell, plus three dirt tracks — the Sweetgum 1600 trail at Harry Green's private farm in Trumansburg, the Trumansburg Fairgrounds, and the Cornell Horse Track. I didn’t make the time to get to Newfield High School, Dryden High School, or even Barton Hall at Cornell, and couldn’t figure out when the indoor and outdoor ones at Ithaca College are open, if ever. The track closest to home — Lansing High School — was closed for construction during the duration of the Challenge.
In the beginning I was hoping for more but ran out of time. For a non-track runner, 12 different venues in four states was the best I could do, and I had fun with it. The full detailed list.
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| The boys finishing their 2025 FLRC Challenge on the cruise ship track. |
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| Sky blue track in Middletown, RI |
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| Asphalt track in Groton, CT |
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| The Disney Wonder deck track |
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