Fire on the Track

Temperatures are not the only measures soaring during this summer’s sweltering heat. Across the globe, world-class track meets are in full swing and the best in the world are busy blasting scorching-fast times. As a fan of the sport, you can’t help but be drawn to events such as the IAAF Golden League series, Europe’s premier racing circuit which offers a million dollar jackpot for any athlete who goes undefeated. Cities such as Paris, Berlin, Zurich, and London host these prestigious meets inside Olympic-size stadiums, the stands brimming to capacity. To lure elite athletes such as Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and Ethiopian distance star Kenenisa Bekele, meet directors pay out hefty appearance fees and hire rabbits for smooth pacing. The atmosphere at these venues is electric, tantamount to World Cup standards, as knowledgeable track fans gleefully sport their nation’s colors.

Beginning in 2010, the series will be renamed the IAAF Diamond League and will extend to 14 cities in places such as Shanghai, China and even the United States. The closest American-born spectacle is the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon which is held every year at legendary Hayward Field. We are talking, of course, about the home of former American record-holder Steve Prefontaine and some might say the birthplace of our nation’s running boom. Pre, as he is most affectionately remembered, was a running legend and remains a formidable marketing icon to this day. The climax of his career came about in the finals of the 1972 Olympic 5000 meters, in which he just barely missed out on a medal coming down the final straightaway. But perhaps what elevated him to such mythic status was the way in which he approached and in fact, defined, the “art” of racing. The heroics he displayed with a semblance of “pure guts” revealed the artistry of his true ambition. After all, this is the same guy who said: “Somebody may beat me, but they’re going to have to bleed to do it.”

So now back to the matter at hand. What is to be said for the rest of us on the normal bell curve who will most likely never be invited to a Diamond League Series meet or find ourselves running off the shoulder of Lasse Viren with 200 meters to go in the Olympic Final? Is there anything that we can learn from watching genetic phenoms compete on the world’s most illustrious stage? Can we ever approximate the likes of a Steve Prefontaine in terms of the intangible? The point was made expressly clear to me just the other day during a scheduled track workout. All of a sudden it dawned on me that I was working just as hard as those I strive to emulate, despite the fact I was only running 2:25’s for 800 meter repeats ( 4:50/mile pace). Speed is a relative term when viewed through the lens of perceived effort. The question is not how fast you run, but how hard you run. So long as I’m extending my energy output to its fullest degree and squeezing as much juice out of the lemon as possible, my accomplishment is just as noteworthy as those making international headlines. The legacy of Pre consists in the very fact that he would rather collapse at the end of a hellishly paced run than cruise to an easy victory over a sub-par field. In so doing, we can train like the elites and race like champions ( in the middle of summer if need be), whether or not we stand to win a 1 million dollar jackpot.

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” – Steve Prefontaine