At Mansion Park, the 45th Annual Igloo Invitational Meet occurred on April 2 at 10:30 a.m. 

The Altoona Igloo Meet is a tradition for the Altoona track and field team. It isn’t just a tradition, it’s a time with very strong and cold weather conditions which fits the name “igloo”. The tradition is held at the beginning of the year so many meets have very cold temperatures. The team had snow, rain and sleet when performing in the past.

Running in the rain isn’t theoretical for the team; however, the girls’ team and many others have had to compete in the rain. At the Igloo meet, it was 49 degrees according to AccuWeather. 

“Running in the rain is not ideal, but it’s spring track season, and we run in the rain often.  Adding cold temperatures makes it even more challenging, especially for sprinters and jumpers.  Temperatures don’t affect distance runners as much.  We teach the kids to warm up appropriately and wear appropriate clothing for the temperatures. The key is keeping your body warm and appropriately ready for the weather conditions,” Coach Paula Foreman said. 

Junior Tyson Reid and senior Jake Adams participated in the Igloo meet this year as well. Throughout the meet they had difficulties performing when the temperatures were low and rainfall occurred. 

“I wouldn’t say it really affected it, but it did make me slower. It was pretty cold and rainy. It made it hard to run and that slowed people down,” Reid said. 

“You just have to warm up properly. I wear tights underneath my clothing then when you’re up, you take it all off,” Adams said. 

He offered advice for when they have a chilly meet like the Igloo. 

“I stay in the locker room until the event starts, then I go outside and get warmed up. Right when they are about to call you, you can just take your sweats off,” Adams said.

 Adams’ jumping is strong but even he needed to be prepared to take on the wind at the Igloo meet. 

Foreman tries to get the athletes prepared for anything, even cold temperatures.   

“As coaches you’re always excited and anxious for the days we compete.  We prepare the kids to progress throughout the season, so they are ultimately ready to perform at the district and state level.  Our goal is to help them be successful.  We work together to make sure they are prepared both physically and mentally to compete.  The rest is up to the individual athlete,”  Foreman said.