Oregon Preview

So today was the long awaited outdoor track season opener. We had both been looking forward to this meet for weeks. Having been to watch the Ducks compete in a range of sports, we would finally get the opportunity to see them compete at home in what is of course the best sport. We were interested to see how much interest this early season meeting evoked in the general public and if Eugene lives up to it’s name of ‘Track Town USA’ in terms of public interest, not just by the number and quality of athletes.

I was also making my 2010 outdoor season debut, and as preparation for future races in the season over longer distances, we had entered the I500m. This is an event that I have not competed over in many years and a near sprint for someone whose best prospects lies in distances more than 26 times longer. We were excited though for what might be my one and only chance to compete at the historic Hayward Field track – where Steve Prefontaine ran many of his legendary races.

A few laptop associated problems and $200 dollars aside, the day got off to a good start. It was probably the best day yet that we have experienced in Eugene with the sun shining and with it being pretty warm. Chris was also pretty pleased to get a ‘coaches pass’ which not only gave him free entry into the stadium, but also gave him access to the spectator restricted areas such as the warm up track and call up room. He wore that bright pink wristband with pride!!

Fortunately for me, the 1500m was one of the earlier events in the programme, and considering I was very nervous, it was good as we would be able to enjoy watching the later events in the programme stress-free. I was fortunate enough to be placed in the top seeded heat so we were hopeful for a personal best time. The race was not my best by any means – the first lap was swift and, probably having not raced over 1500m for such a long time, I was worried and backed off quite a bit over the next lap and a half. It was only when I got to 400m to go that I realised that I was actually feeling comfortable and had a lot more to give. I picked it up and managed to pull out my quickest ever last lap in any track race and finish in 4:23.49 – a personal best by 7 seconds. I’m happy, I’ve got to be. This time last year I was struggling to string together any training, let alone run PB’s, however I’m still frustrated that I ran a bit of wimpy race and I’m determined to do better next time!!

After a bit of a post race tempo run (always thinking of the bigger picture!) we spent the afternoon basking in the sun and watching the rest of the races. It was such a great atmosphere and the announcer reported an attendance of almost 6000 people. It reminded us a little of the UK National Championships in terms of atmosphere, as they had the big screen working, kit carriers and victory laps – all of which contributed to making it a bit of an occasion (and went down in Chris’s notebook as to how to host a good meeting!). We really enjoyed it, but went away feeling a little gutted that we will miss the big one – the NCAA outdoor Championships which are being held at Hayward Field in June. Now that would be really worth seeing!!


Footage of my race can be found here. Skip to 43 minutes to find my race!