Rekortan Gel. It’s not a hard choice
The track innovation that’s taking the planet by storm.
A hard track is a fast track, right? Well, not exactly. Because an injured runner can’t run fast. As our lead track scientist Frank Lucarelli explains, the ‘fast track formula’ is more complex:
“We are well advanced in the technology for faster tracks. The challenge is in balancing the force reduction which protects the athlete’s joints, with the force that is reflected back into their foot to get the energy return. This must happen when they need it, but not too quickly.”
Gel track technology is Rekortan’s scientists’ answer to this equation. It marks the first time that something completely different has come onto the market and no other track brand has caught up. Its adoption is accelerating and when you take a closer look at the benefits it’s easy to see why.
Run with more PING!
Gel tracks are firm and fast. When force is applied, the gel dissipates the energy. This gives the force reduction needed for training, and the speed required for competition without being so firm that it increases the risk of injury. The Rekortan Gel systems give life back to athletes’ legs with 58% energy return.
Injury prevention for the planet
As well as protecting athlete welfare, Gel tracks are the world’s most environmentally responsible track systems. The gel layer is made from 60-84% bio-based materials, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and eliminating microplastic pollution. By mixing a proprietary blend of plant oils and converting them into a polyurethane using a natural enzyme process, the chemical process that creates the gel is fast, efficient, and natural. And uses very little energy.
“We are well advanced in the technology for faster tracks. The challenge is in balancing the force reduction which protects the athlete’s joints with the force that is reflected back into their foot to get the energy return. This must happen when they need it but not too quickly.”
A good investment
The tracks retain over 95% of their force reduction over 10 years with the option to re-top the track for an extended life. Track longevity provides decades of high performance at a lower environmental and financial cost. Despite the more advanced technology, Gel tracks are price competitive with top-of-the-line PUR systems. Their faster installation timelines compared to traditional systems save time, reduce costs, and minimize site disruption.
The only truly global track surface
Rekortan is the only track brand manufactured across three continents to ISO quality standards you can trust. The Gel tracks meet World Athletics’ Class 1 certification providing further assurance of high-quality, competition-ready performance.
With the world’s biggest expert installation network, Rekortan track systems have a competitive advantage over track providers who do not operate globally or are fragmented in their approach. Our global footprint means our Gel track systems, like all our tracks, are locally made with global expertise, further increasing their performance, cost and environmental efficiencies.
The best Gel tracks around the world
From California to Christchurch, Puerto Rico to Papua New Guinea, Gel tracks have been trending around the globe. Continent by continent, we’ve highlighted 14 of the best.
The Americas
AP Ranch, Fort Worth, Texas
The G13 Gel track at Athletic Performance (AP) Ranch in Fort Worth, Texas, has provided both a teaching ground for community runners and a springboard for Olympic greatness. Allyson Felix, Dalilah Muhammad, Alexis Holmes, Anna Cockrell, Ronnie Baker and Jaheel Hyde are some of the Olympians who have put this track through its paces.
“The new gel surface has been amazing at keeping athletes healthy and giving them the fastest surfaces to train on.” – Greg Sholars, AP Ranch Founder & Coach
Cypress High School, California
California has seen such a boom in Gel track uptake we renamed it Gel-ifornia. Cypress High School is one of the latest schools to join the trend with the installation of a steel blue and orange G10 Gel track in 2024.
The G10 system adopted by Cypress and most of the California high schools has an ultra-thin 10mm layer which enables faster energy return from the sub-base than thicker systems. Despite being 3mm thinner than the criteria set by World Athletics, it still meets World Athletics’ force reduction requirements, which demonstrates the quality of the product and means that performance doesn’t need to come at a greater price.
AP Ranch
Danbury High School, Connecticut
Danbury high school boasts one of the best track and field programs in the Northeast providing the venue for the Connecticut State Track and Field Championships and a host of invitational meets. Its G13 Gel track received the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) Outstanding Track Facility of the Year Award due to its state-of-the-art design and construction. The combination of performance quality and green innovation provided the winning formula.
Delaware State University
Alumni Stadium’s G10 Gel track is part the 7,000+ seat home of the Delaware State University’s acclaimed track and field team that has produced star sprinters like Khalia Smith and the talented long-jumper, Mariah Winfield who recently won the long jump at the Spartan Invitational. Kahlia Smith helped the 4x200m women’s relay team to gold at the same event.
Drill Sergeant Army Training Field, South Carolina
A G13 Gel track sits at the heart of this unique facility designed to turn ordinary soldiers into leaders. The grueling physical training geared towards shaping the best of the best required the best kind of track that would withstand the test of time and protect recruits from injury.
Inter American University of Puerto Rico
The hot red G13 Gel track at the University of Puerto Rico was built to withstand the hot, tropical climate. As the gel layer is more temperature stable than standard polyurethanes, it is able to offer consistent force reduction across a wide range of temperatures including the extreme temperatures of Puerto Rico. As it is less susceptible to any form of moisture damage during installation it was also ideally suited to the humid tropical conditions.
Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub, Christchurch, New Zealand
Oceania
Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub, Christchurch, New Zealand
The Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub in Christchurch was a massive $10 million project—two hockey fields, a G13 Gel track, and 12 tennis courts. After the Earthquake in 2011, athletics had been without a home in Christchurch for seven years, and Rekortan’s World Athletics Class 1 certified Gel track brought world-class athletics facilities home to that community.
SA Stadium, Adelaide, Australia
The Rekortan Gel G13 track that sits at the heart of the recently reimagined SA Stadium in Adelaide, is Australia’s first Gel track. The impressive installation is helping to transform athlete performance, welfare, speed, consistency and impact on the planet.
“There has been a massive reduction in hamstring injuries. My guys are running PBs and jumping really well. They are pulling up less sore which means we get more training out of them. It must have something to do with the track.”
— Debbie Meich, Coach, Impact Squad, Western Athletics Club
SA Stadium, Adelaide, Australia
AUT Millennium, Auckland, New Zealand
AUT Millennium, home of Athletics New Zealand and High-Performance Sport NZ is a key athletics hub. Polytan NZ carried out major construction work including excavation, reinforcement, drainage and a new asphalt layer. A Rekortan G13 Gel track was then installed, achieving World Athletics Class II certification.
Sir John Guise Stadium, Papua New Guinea
The G13 Gel track at this 15,000+ seater muti-sport and athletics stadium in the capital of Papua New Guinea is part of a renovation and expansion project that upgraded the facility to World Class level.
“There has been a massive reduction in hamstring injuries. My guys are running PBs and jumping really well. They are pulling up less sore which means we get more training out of them. It must have something to do with the track.”
Europe
Leopoldshöhe, Germany
Leopoldshöhe, Bielefeld in Germany is the birthplace of Europe’s first circular Gel track. The 4,600 m² bright red school track delivers exceptional running comfort and optimal cushioning. Students and athletes who train there regularly are thrilled with the noticeable benefits and eco-friendly technology.
Melsungen, Germany
Melsungen, Germany
Modernization meets sustainability at the new track at Waldstadion, Melsungen. Covering nearly 6,000m², the new gel surface is perfectly suited for the impermeable asphalt and replaces a 35-year-old track system with a sustainable, high-performance upgrade. The new track now provides optimal conditions for ambitious athletes in the Schwalm-Eder district (Hesse) to continue the tradition of producing top German athletes.
Portsmouth, UK
2024 saw Gel tracks enter the UK market with the first installation at Portsmouth’s Ministry of Defence site and training center for the British Army. As their old track has gone hard, force reduction longevity was critical, as was the Gel system’s reduced installation time where prolonged contractor presence was a concern for this secure military site. The Gel track measured up on both fronts.
Portsmouth, UK
Regensburg, Germany
This indoor elite training venue in Bavaria is World Athletics’ Indoor Certified and includes a Rekortan PUR system because of the inclined curves and approximately 6000m² of Rekortan Gel for the jump, throwing, sprint lanes and warm up zones. The amazing project also includes embedded SMART athlete performance diagnostic technology in the track, and the Gel layer includes recycled EPDM rubber from old synthetic turf repurposed by Sport Group’s recycling arm FormaTurf.
No signs of deceleration
Gel technology delivers a major upgrade in track quality, addressing customer needs for performance, sustainability, and efficiency. With Gel track projects currently underway at prestigious institutions including Texas Christian University, the University of Hawaii and four US High Schools, there is no sign of the Gel track trend slowing.
Rekortan is part of the world’s biggest installation network. Rekortan is available in North America and globally through our network of expert installation partners, and via Polytan in EMEA and Asia Pacific.