Rain On Tartan - An Olympian, architect and filmmakers ode to what a running track feels like.

"Rain on Tartan A film by Ben Clement and Catriona Bisset
tartan - a colloquial term for a polyurethane all-weather track surface.
You are invited into what a track feels like: to witness its tides of movement from dawn to dusk, to hear the birds, footsteps, breathing, traffic, spitting, rain.
The film features George Knott Reserve, a local public athletics track, home to the Collingwood Harriers. Non- linear, shot over several days, it captures the track’s unique atmosphere, ecology and function as public space.
Our collaboration was spurred by Catriona’s architecture master’s thesis, which examined how sport relates to urban space. Athletics tracks are host to diverse yet conflicting activities and interests: the training of recreational & professional athletes, schools & clubs, and private ownership & public access. Catriona explored how to navigate these needs using a variety of methods- interviews, design testing, photography, filmmaking and autoethnography (i.e. her double life as a professional track athlete).
Rain on Tartan helped transcend the dominant visual mode of architecture by expressing spatiotemporal concepts of atmosphere and sensory connection to space. Making the film was also an opportunity to talk to the club president, observe track use and consider what elements produce inclusive and valuable public spaces that still meet the needs of athletes.
Tracks can seem like intimidating and specialist places, but we hope that our film shows their lively, playful, sometimes disgusting, beautiful personalities, and how publicly accessible tracks can be public squares and gathering places."