Olympic gold medalist finds fast surface at Lewis & Clark
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At the 2012 London Olympics, runner Mo Farah took home the gold in the 10,000-meter race. On June 15, Farah will take his mark on Lewis & Clark’s Fix Track.
Since the early 1990s, organizers of world-class events have singled out Fix Track for its superior performance. In the bowl-shaped Griswold Stadium, runners find some shelter from wind and rain. And, as with some intimate European tracks, the crowd sits close to the action.
“It is easy to focus and draw energy from the fans,” said Keith Woodard, Lewis & Clark’s track and cross country coach. “The overall ambiance helps lower stress levels so that all of the athletes’ energy can be put into their competitive efforts.”
Many world-class runners headquartered in Portland share a preference for Lewis & Clark’s unusually fast surface. For track stars from the University of Oregon in Eugene, it’s a quick and worthwhile commute. It’s also the favorite track of Nike’s Oregon Project, a distance running incubator that includes Galen Rupp, Farah’s training partner and runner-up in the London 10,000-meter race.
Summer activities at Lewis & Clark go far beyond sporting events. The campus recently hosted the Portland Piano International Summer Festival and will welcome several athletic and academic camps in the coming months.
Caleb Diehl ’16 contributed to this story.
