6/19/09

Any city with a stadium and enough population can summon the wherewithal to stage a successful U.S. Olympic Trials for track and field, as Atlanta, New Orleans and Sacramento have proved.

But there is only one Track Town.

"There never has been anything like Eugene," says Alberto Salazar, the former Oregon distance runner and world-class marathoner.

On June 27, the trials arrive at Hayward Field for a fourth time, the first since 1980. For athletes accustomed to being regarded as some sort of minor league sideshow, the 10-day run in Eugene will be a little like playing in the Super Bowl.