Many distance runners would disagree with me, but i personally prefer track season over Cross Country season. You get to see a variety of races, you can see entire race just by sitting down, there is more socializing with other teams, and you get to the field events.
Competitive Racing
For Middle school, High school, and Collegiate runners, track season happens in the spring. Running in a CIrcle and running counterclockwise are both done for the benefit of the spectators. With a Spherical track, a person can see the entire race from their seat. The reason for running left to right is because people read from left to right.The standard outdoor track is 400 meters long. Any race over 800 meters is considered to be a Distance race. Although the 800 meter runners and 1500/1600 runners are often considered mid-distance Events The most common DIstance events are the 800 (2 laps), 1500(3 and 3/4), 1600 (4 ), 3000 (7 and 1/2), 3200 (8), 5000 (12 and 1/2), and the 10,000 Meter race (25 laps). There isn't much about the track a Distance runner needs to know besides the starting line, how many laps they are doing and the 100, 200, 300, and 400 meter marks.
People not in a school team
Unfortunately there are not many races that are open to the public. The best opportunity to race on a track is durring the winter season, a.k.a the indoor season. Indoor track races are done as casual preseason races for athletes running track in the summer. You just go, right your name down, and race. These races are usually free and open to the public.