The Eugene trip to Hayward, full story

Most years, the USATF provides the opportunity for masters to be showcased in an exhibition event at the US Championships for one specific event in one specific age group.  It's rare for that event to fall within my age group in an event that I participate in, and even more rare to be held in America's finest track stadium... so the decision to do this was really not a hard one.  It was an opportunity that may not ever repeat.  Unfortunately, it wasn't my best event but fortunately, an event that I chose to participate in at Nationals for the first time just last year, winning Silver.  

I thought it would be great to share this with Roya but spending $1100 for just a weekend flight seemed excessive, but my Dad offered an early birthday gift for me and paid for her flight, a huge help considering the cost of my upcoming trip to Finland.  So, just a week before the event, I bought her a ticket.  I was happy we were able to sit together on every flight.  Nashville-Denver-Eugene, Eugene-Seattle-Nashville.  

When arriving in Eugene, I asked the car rental clerk if he had any Toyotas of any kind.  Reason:  The USATF championships were being sponsored by Toyota and they were offering free and close stadium parking for all Toyota cars.  So, I paid a bit more and rented a Toyota Rav-4.  Good decision.  

Hotels in Eugene were expensive and scarce.  Our motel had just one bed but had a fridge and a microwave and wasn't too bad, although overpriced at $155/ night.  A lot of other track people were staying at the hotel, which was just a few miles from the track.  We went to the local market to buy some food before going to bed Friday night.  

I wasn't racing til Sunday, so Saturday we went to the venue so I could be credentialed and attend the meet.  The checkin was very formal.  ID badges, photos, etc... and unexpectedly the person at the desk asked me if anyone was with me, and I said yes.  This was news to me, because I was told we would not be able to credential a guest or even a coach.  So, I ran out to the car where Roya was waiting and told her to come in so she could be credentialed.   

Check in

After check in, we drove in the direction of the stadium and soon saw the famous Hayward tower.  Driving down a side street, we drove directly into Toyota owners parking, we were welcomed and given a pass, parked, and walked a short distance across the campus toward Hayward.  The campus was beautiful, quiet, flowers and students hanging out, completely oblivious of the event happening a few hundred yards away.  

At the gate, Hayward had very strict entry regulations.  Only transparent bags, no metal bottles, etc... however, as a credentialed athlete, none of that applied to us and we were waved in quickly, bypassing the spectators lined up to be searched.  

The first glimpse of the stadium was unforgettable.  

We then walked down to the athletes' area to checkout the warmup track.  It was already warm, mid 80ºs but comfortable and not humid.  

We saw the athletes for the 200m first round warming up.  The turf warmup area was ringed in tents with trainers and coaches.  Other than the tents, there was very little shade for warmups.  

Warm up track

We had almost an hour before the meet started with the first round of the 200m We were told we could sit anywhere in General admission, but no one ever looked at our tickets which we spent $60 on for the 2 days.  

We noticed the morning crowd was gathered on the shady side of the stadium, so we sat on the upper side of the stadium above the first turn with a view down the home stretch.  Great seats. 

We watched the first round of the 200m, and watched the athletes being interviewed on NBC by Louis Johnson.  

All the world class sprinters were there: Kerley, Lyles, Coleman, Knighton, Bednarik, Bolling...

This was a huge day with finals in the men and women's 1500m, men's 3000m steeple, men and women's 400m, women's 110m and 400m hurdles.

Highlights included:  Evan Jager taking 2nd and get the world standard in the 3000m steeple after a year of not competing due to injury, Allyson Felix running her last open 400m and finishing 6th to qualify for the relay pool on the world team, Michael Norman running a 43.56 world leading time and Florida's Champion Allison running a massive personal best of 43.70 in second, and finally... the only World Record of the meet: Sidney McLaughlin's incredible 400m hurdles in 51.41, which I got a great video of her home stretch run:

Allyson Felix sets her blocks for the last time...

The meet was over by mid afternoon and we decided to drive to the coast after a brief stop at Whole Foods, first to Florence then up to Yachats on the Oregon coastal highway, about a 90 min drive.  Great decision.  It was cool and so beautiful...

Some of the signs you don't see in the east, "Elk crossing", "Tsunami warning zone".  

The water was quite cold, probably in the 50ºs.  Didn't see anyone swimming, surfing, or really even any boats.  

It was quite a calm scene, never crowded and on a Saturday.  Can imagine it would be even quieter during the week.

Eugene was really a refreshing change from TN.  Everyone seemed a very courteous and kind, generally more intelligent, easy going.  You don't see confederate flags, Trump signs, and churches on every corner.  (I saw one local bar that had a sign saying "fuck the supreme court.")  I'd drink to that if I were a drinker.     

Race day 

Due to the heat, the schedule was changed, shifting some events to the morning so my race would be in the middle of the meet instead of at the beginning.  My race would be about the same time, 12:26.   

Didn't want to get there too early because of the heat, which compared to Atlanta or Ames last year was nothing, so we left the hotel about 10 am.   For the morning, the crowd was gathered in the shade on the back stretch and we got a seat right about the 100m mark at the beginning of the back stretch.   I saw Tom and Lesley H., who was supposed to race in the women's masters exhibition but sadly, they told me Lesley's knee is shot and will require a knee replacement.  They decided to come anyway to pick up credentials and watch the meet.

As I sat there watching the men and women's 5000m final, then Emma Coburn win the women's 3000m steeple, the anticipation was growing and my heart rate increasing.  I then got up to go to the warmup area and mens room.  I did stick my head out into the stadium to watch the stacked 200m semis.

As I walked to the warmup area, I saw Ajee Wilson, took a photo with her, and she asked me what I was running, I told her the 800m, same event as her.  Later she went on to win a Silver, just hundredths away from Gold, giving Athing Mu the Olympic Gold Medalist, the most competitive race she's had in a year, both running 1:57.   

 

There were very few people at the warmup area besides the masters, but I did see Abby Steiner doing a post race shakeout and Devon Allen hanging out along the fence.  I politely asked them if they had time for a fan photo, both were very nice.  Abby seemed very sweet.  I asked them both as well as Ajee the same question:  "Do you think you'll be doing this when you're my age, 62?"   The ladies said they weren't sure if their knees would hold up.  Devon said, "I don't know, probably."  The older couple there with him, maybe his parents, seemed amused with the question.  

Abby stormed to a then world leading 21.77, fighting off Jenna Prandini for the Gold.  Devon didn't run his best race but qualified by the skin of his teeth, for the Bronze, just .003 ahead of 4th.  

So... I started my warmup about 11:40ish and reported to the tent to get my bib.  

I chatted briefly with some of my competitors, Dan King, David Westenburg, Kevin Paulk and some of the women who were running just before us.  I was telling David that this was only my 4th 800m race ever, and that I had struggled with injuries this season, but he said... "I've read all your disclaimers, I know what you can do."  

I didn't work too hard in warmups, did my standard warmup and ran a little in my spikes.  Felt good.  I never really thought much warmup was really necessary for the 800m since I'm never running faster than a 16 sec 100m.   I just really wanted to keep calm and keep my heart rate down.

We all reported to the tent 15 min before race time.  Lee Bridges, Masters Exhibition chair, met us there and took a group photo.  We all got commemorative medals, kind of nice but meaningless to me because I am generally against 'participation medals'.  (I would have been much happier with a Bronze for finishing third in the race).  There was one scratch so we had essentially 5 racers in M60, and 2 others in higher age groups, ages 69 and 73.  They would be quite aways behind the pack of 5.  

The shear number of officials, staff, and volunteers at this meet was amazing.  It was first class.  Every movement was scheduled to the minute and after the group photo we were escorted through the under-stadium practice facilities to a holding area just outside the track.  This was my first and only glimpse of the inside of the training facility under the stadium.  It was really magnificent.  I paused to take this photo of our walk to the holding area where we had baskets waiting for us for our back packs, and a staff member hustled me back in line to stay on schedule.

We arrived at the last holding area where there was a monitor so we could watch the women's masters race.  We posed for another group photo, Mike B. was off on his own and not in the photo.  

The clerk came and gave us our hip numbers, and it wasn't seeded, but random.  I got lane 7 and had Dan out in lane 9 (due to 2 scratches).  

 

Mike, being the top seed by far was not happy about being put in lane 1.  

We were finally escorted through the tunnel and out on to the track. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life, and I know everyone there felt the same.  We all felt a great warmth from the officials and staff, everyone was smiling and supportive, giving us total respect.   Unlike Nationals, we weren't given the silly basic instructions on where to break to lane 1 and all that, they assumed we knew that much.  We took our places in our lanes and the camera crews came out to take our image for the big stadium screen.  I really could not keep the smile off my face.  I'm on the greatest track in the world.  It felt perfect, soft yet tight and springy.  Hearing the intros, I was most surprised with Mike's intro.  I had no idea he was an elite all American collegiate runner who ran for the Oregon Ducks back in the 80's, a 3:57 miler back in the day.  I knew Dan was the M60 American record holder in the mile and Kevin and David were both distance runners, Kevin having won Nationals in this event numerous times and this year's National SR. Games Champion.  I had beaten both of them at Nationals last year in the 800 but not by much, so I knew it would be a good race.   Conditions weren't too bad, 88º but it was dry and didn't feel too hot.

The stadium announcer was great.  He mentioned my 7 National Masters Championships, my #1 world ranking last year in the 400m and time of 56.23, and finished the intro with the statement, " he is professor of classical guitar at Middle Tennessee State for 33 years, this is Bill Yelverton."

Eugene, me, Kevin, David, Dan

The Race

I got out and David initially took the lead until Mike weaved his way through traffic and took off.  It would never be close as he stayed comfortably in the lead for the entire race, eventually winning by 4 seconds.  I stayed in third for the first turn then Dan passed me on the home stretch.  It felt really easy and slow.  My biggest fear was to rig up and not finish strong so I was just conserving energy.  I was wearing my pace beeper but could barely hear it.  I had it set for a 68 sec first 400m and noticed I was short of that.  I felt fine at the 400m mark in 4th place behind Mike, Dan, and David.  Then Kevin passed me just before the turn so I ran in 5th down the back stretch staying close behind.  My plan was to try and out sprint Kevin and David on the homestretch, so I was still conserving.  I was a full 2 seconds slower than race plan at the 400m, and about 1:46ish at the 600m, still quite slow.  We hit the home stretch with Mike way out in front by 35m, Dan behind him about 20m, and our pack of three - Dan in front of us by 10m, David ahead of Kevin, and Kevin by 2 steps in front of me.  I knew I was well within striking range of these 2, but Dan was too far ahead to catch.  So, with 80m to go, I turned on the sprint and it was there.  Kevin swung into lane 2 and passed David while I swung into lane 3 and passed them both.  I was able finish ahead of Kevin by about 4 or 5m in third place, about 2 sec behind Dan.

After looking at the splits much later, I was really astonished that I ran almost even splits: 70.02 / 71.51, finishing in 2:21.53.  My last 200m must have been at least 34.5, my last 100m, maybe as fast as 16.5.  That was not at all what I was expecting but it turned out well.  My fastest 800m training run was only 2:30.  Most of my 600s were between 1:43 and 1:46.  I thought I'd be at 1:44 at least in a race.  But, I never thought I could've run 2:21, I was expecting something more like 2:24.  

After the race, I was of course tired, but not falling down exhausted as I should have been.  Makes me think I underperformed slightly.   Maybe I should have tried to stay with Dan.  Anyway, I'm happy with the way it went and we finished as expected according to our seed times.  

After the handshakes and post race fist bumps, we were shepherded into the recovery area where we offered towels on ice, sports drinks and ice water.  Our baskets were waiting there with a water bottle inserted.  I took my time and chatted with people there, wanting to just enjoy the experience as long as possible.  

Race Video

We were asked not to post race videos to social media because of the high level of control and sponsorship, but I found a fan recorded phone video and I posted it in an unlisted link here.  Some of it is out of focus but, the last homestretch is pretty clear so you can see my final kick at the end. 

Most of the crowd at this point was sitting on the back stretch in the shade from where this video was taken.  So, there were actually more people in the stadium than the video would suggest looking at the homestretch.

 

After our race we watched some awesome races.  The mens 800m was won by Bryce Hoppel but the real race for the world team spot was the race for third between Olympic medalist Clayton Murphy and Brandon Miller.  Miller dove at the finish and beat Murphy by 0.04 sec clinching a spot on the world team.  In the women's 800m, I thrilled to see Ajee Wilson give Athing Mu a race.  it was very close, with Mu winning by just 0.07 sec.   As expected, Rai Benjamin won the 400mH in 47.04, fastest in the world, but the next 3 racers all ran PBs with the 2 other qualifiers under 47.65.  

 

The mens 200m was awesome.  WL Erriyon Knighton was leading off the turn and down the stretch but lost a bit of momentum and Noah Lyles passed him to win by just .02 in 19.67.  It was the race of the meet, with Noah astonishing the crowd with a little finger pointing celebration before crossing the line.  The young Erriyon was not happy about that.

The women's 200m was awesome as well.  Abby Steiner an 21.77, at the time a WL.  Tamara Clark in 21.92, and Prandini ran well and finished third in 22.01.

In the final race of the day, Daniel Roberts won the Gold in the 110mH and Devon Allen didn't have his best race.  It was extremely close for third between he and Jamal Brit.  We watch the screen and it took a while but Devon Allen got the third spot for world team qualification, just 0.003 ahead of Brit.  

After the meet

So, we were out of there just after 2:00 pm.  We stopped for coffee, I called my parents then we headed to the mountains east.  I chose a lookout about 90 min away called Huckleberry lookout.

After a long and beautiful drive past lakes and mountains, into the Willamette National Forest, we climbed up a steep unpaved road toward the summit.  It was quite anti-climactic as the road was unfortunately gated just before the summit, totally unexpected.  But I did get a few nice shots from the road.  I could see snow capped mountains including Mt. Hood which I think was about 100 miles away.  

It was a great trip,  a lifetime memory.

We didn't arrive back in Sewanee until about 8:00 am.  It was a hard way to spend the night, on a redeye flight.  

Final impressions on this event

In elite track and field, there are a huge range of competitors. Everyone from up and coming collegiates (...maybe staying in a cheap motel like me), to the Nike supported Olympic champions on million dollar contracts with a support staff. Doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done, all that matters is what you bring to the track at the moment. I was sad to see elites and former Olympians, and even Olympic medalists not qualify for the team, while some - like Devon Allen made it by just thousands of a second. We saw college athletes running in their first National Championship, while we saw Allyson Felix set her blocks for possibly the last open 400m in her storied career. To be a young pro track athlete in your first few years on the pro circuit, to qualify for the Olympic team last year, and then fail to qualify for the world team by just tenths of a second this year, must be devastating, both emotionally and professionally.  I was particularly thinking of my friend David K. who had a huge breakthrough last year making the Tokyo Olympic team as a 2nd yr pro in the 400mH.   I remember his emotional interview on NBC with Louis Johnson after finishing third and clinching an Olympic spot.  This year, he missed making the final by 0.23 seconds even in running a very good 49.58.   I saw him walk off, right past Louis Johnson who... this time didn't speak with him.  He wasn't the only one.  Clayton Murphy, Cole Hawker,  Gabby Thompson, and others didn't make the team, despite previous Olympic medals.    The pressure on these young athletes and the sacrifices they’ve made are tremendous. However, everyone recognizes that this is the nature of the sport. Perseverance in the face of not meeting goals is one of the hardest paths to take. Happy to be a masters athlete and not have as much at stake.