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Prefontaine Classic Meet Report
By Ryan Crislip

It was said when Steve Prefontaine would step onto Hayward Field the clouds would part and the sun would shine while he would hammer through twelve and a half laps, more often than not decimating his competition. On May 26th Pre must have been looking down on his battle field as the sun was out for what turned out to be a day filled with intense competition at one of the best track and field venues in the country.

The first running event on the track was the women's 1,500 meters. Nicole Teter of the Nike Farm Team has had a stellar season starting with setting a new American Record for the indoor 800 meters en route to a national title. Last weekend at the adidas Oregon Track Classic, Teter won the 800 in 2:00.52 and came to the Prefontaine meet to test her fitness over the 1,500 meter distance. With the likes of Regina Jacobs, Sarah Schwald, Cheri Kenah, Diane Cummins, and Mary Jayne Harrelson, Teter would have her hands full.

At the gun the field took a pedestrian pace down the backstretch with a traffic jam up front. Jacobs, Teter, and Kenah were all up front as the pack trailed by maybe ten meters. Nothing changed up front as the leaders passed the 400 mark in 72.7. At this point Anna Brzezinska of Poland assumed the lead and pacing duties with the American contingent happy to follow. The pace quickened after they passed 800 in 2:25.4. Bzrezinska maintained the lead with Jacobs matching her every move. Teter was on the inside right off Jacobs' shoulder, Kenah, Schwald, and Harrelson were all within striking distance at that point.

As the bell lap approached in 3:14, Jacobs took command, but Teter refused to let her go sticking right on her heels. They went through 1,200 in 3:29.5 as Jacobs and Teter were finally stringing the pack out a bit. With 200 meters to go Teter made her move and immediately put a couple meters on Jacobs. At that point Schwald was fighting to keep up with the leaders as Janet Trujillo began to put herself in the pack. Down the homestretch Teter unleashed a disturbingly wicked kick that put two seconds between her and Jacobs and brought her the victory in 4:12.93, over Jacobs' 4:14.95. Mardrea Hyman of Jamaica ran well down the homestretch, catching Schwald for a third place finish by .05 of a second. It was an exciting finish as the top 12 places were separated by less than seven seconds, and Teter proving she belongs not only in the shorter 800 meter distance, but also the 1,500.

The women's 3,000 meters was composed of a stacked field, including Americans Marla Runyan, Carrie Tollefson, Collette Liss, Priscilla Hein, and Marie Davis. International stars Sonia O'Sullivan of Ireland, Kathy Butler of Great Britain, Werknesh Kidane and Tirunesh Dibaba, both of Ethiopia, were ready to put the Americans to the test. O'Sullivan owned the field and meet record in the event in a time of 8:39.33 which she set in 1996. Runyan had just come off a 5,000 meter battle with Dibaba at the adidas Oregon Track Classic the previous week where she finished a close second in 15:13.96 to 15:13.78. Running in front of her hometown crowd, Runyan seemed eager to please and make amends with herself for the second place finish a week ago.

The pacesetter took the pack through the first 400 in 68 seconds, on target for the meet record. The lead group included O'Sullivan in second, Dibaba third, and Tollefson fourth. With Davis bringing up the back, the pack was already starting to string out. The leaders maintained the quick pace as they passed 800 in 2:17, 1,000 in 2:52.7 and 1,200 in 3:28. Closing in on the mile mark, O'Sullivan remained in second place, with Kidane, Dibaba and Runyan following. With just three laps to go, O'Sullivan assumed the lead and Kidane, Dibaba, and Runyan all fed off her. The chase pack was led by Courtney Babcock of Canada, Liss, and Tollefson.

At the bell, Runyan made her move and passed the Ethiopians on the outside moving up to 2nd place just off O'Sullivan's shoulder. Down the backstretch and around the last curve Runyan and O'Sullivan fought back and forth for the lead. Finally, down the home straight, Runyan made her decisive move and caught O'Sullivan for a narrow victory in 8:39.36 to 8:39.88, just missing the meet record by .03 of a second. Whether it was the hometown crowd or something else, Runyan proved with her victory that she belongs on the world stage.

The men's 5,000 meters was billed as a battle against the clock as a group of Kenyans planned to go after Said Aouita's 18-year-old U.S. All-Comers record of 13:05.59. Along with them, three American superstars Meb Keflezighi, the American Record holder at 10,000, Abdi Abdirahman, the reigning national champion at 10,000, and Tim Broe, the top-ranked American in the steeplechase, were all looking to prove themselves.

The pacers, Martin Keino and Brad Hauser, took the group out in 62.4. The Americans were all in the middle of the pack, while the group of Kenyans as well as Ismael Sghyr of France assumed the front-running duties. The group went by 800 in 2:06.7, 1,000 in 2:38.3, and 1,200 in 3:10.1. As they closed in on the first mile, Abdirahman moved up to Keflezighi's shoulder and the two made a move, gaining some ground on the leaders, with Broe a few spots back.

As the mile passed in 4:13.2 the leaders were still on 13:10 pace, while Broe fought to bring the chase pack back into contact with the lead group. With seven laps to go, Keflezighi was in 6th place, Abdirahman 9th, Broe 10th, and Dan Browne of Alberto Salazar's Nike Oregon Project, falling off the pace. Two miles went by in 8:29.9 and Abdirahman passed Keflezighi and continued to grind after the leaders. Keflezighi took over the lead of the chase pack with Broe running between the two packs, almost in no man's land.

Albert Chepkurui led, with Abraham Chebii, Sghyr, and Luke Kipkosgei in tow. At 4,000 (10:41, 13:20 pace) Broe made a move on Abdirahman, while Keflezighi worked on closing the gap between them. Chepkurui, Chebii, and Sghyr continued the lead with Browne completely out of contention. With two laps left, Keflezighi closed the gap on the two other Americans and passed Abdirahman, while Broe led the trio.

At the bell lap it was Chebii, Sghyr, Chepkurui, and Mark Bett of Kenya. Broe and Abdirahman were together, with Keflezighi right behind. With 300 meters to go, Keflezighi passed them both and Broe gave chase. In the final straight, Chebii advanced his lead over Sghyr and his countrymen to win in 13:13.53. Keflezighi and Broe finished within half a second of each other in 13:31.37 (6th) and 13:31.61 (7th), respectively. Abdirahman faded over the last lap and finished in 13:45.19. While no records were broken, the exciting last lap was more than enough to please the crowd.

The most anticipated event at the Prefontaine Classic in recent years has been the Bowerman Mile. This year, world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco was back after vowing last spring to return to Hayward Field and run faster than his meet record 3:49.92, possibly even attempting the world record. As the winds picked up throughout the day, the world record opportunity may have been blown away in the breeze, but the opportunity to watch the two fastest milers ever duke it out was not. Bernard Lagat of Kenya was sure to keep El Guerrouj honest, as well as his countrymen William Chirchir, Benjamin Kipkurui, and Leonard Mucheru. Americans Bryan Berryhill, Adam Goucher, Seneca Lassiter, Matt Lane, Michael Stember, and Jason Lunn were all ready to take advantage of the opportunity and show the world that the Americans can compete.

After a standing ovation for the world record holder, the gun went off and the leaders blasted through the first 200 in 28 seconds. The 400 was passed in 57 seconds flat. El Guerrouj was right on the pacemakers with Lagat, Chirchir, and Mucheru right behind them. Lassiter and Berryhill were together mid pack with Goucher and Lane out back. The leaders passed through 800 meters in 1:54.7, with Lagat leading El Guerrouj. Goucher, Berryhill, and Lassiter were all together in the middle of the pack. The 1,200 split was 2:56.1 and El Guerrouj assumed the lead from Lagat, with Berryhill moving up to fourth. El Guerrouj closed in 54.6 for his last 400, finishing in 3:50.89. Though he did not break his meet record, he pleased both the crowd and himself. He would say later, "I'm very satisfied with the race, it was very easy, but it was windy which made it hard to run very fast." Through his translator El Guerrouj added, "[I] promise to come back every year until the end of [my] career." The American milers finished well with Lassiter leading the way in fourth (3:55.30) to Berryhill's seventh (3:56.30) and David Krummenacker's eighth (3:56.45).