Sacred Sites

Every culture has places that are essential to the construction of the group's identity - sacred sites.   Some sites are consecrated through trauma, suffering, and struggle, such as Gettysburg battlefield or the Lincoln Memorial.  Others are places of origin in a group's folklore, where a movement started or a people emerged.

I hadn't considered that runners also have sacred sites before my visit to Boston in April for the marathon's festivities.  I witnessed how Hopkinton and Copley Square have attained a profound cultural significance in American distance running. For tens of thousands of runners, qualifying to compete in the Boston Marathon and crossing its finish line is the sport's pinnacle. Another storied site is Iffley Road Track in Oxford, England, which Roger Bannister sanctified by running the first sub-4:00 mile. Franklin Field, a historic venue at the University of Pennsylvania, is home to the Penn Relays, a marquee event in American track and field.

Over the next nine weeks, I'm preparing for a pilgrimage to one such place: the University of Oregon's Hayward Field, which serves as the finish for the Eugene Marathon. Since the early 1960s, Eugene has been home to many of the nation's finest collegiate and professional distance runners, earning the moniker Track Town U.S.A. I lack the space to explain the historical significance of the community and its influence on American distance running. So, I recommend Kenny Moore's Bowerman and the Men of Oregon, a captivating narrative that explores six decades of running of history through the life of Bill Bowerman and generations of his athletes.  Over 400 pages of small font, finishing it is like a good long run - a satisfying act of endurance.

My interest in the sport's history and yen to explore the culture and natural environments of Portland and Eugene are why I chose to train for a summer marathon in the Chesapeake Furnace. I'm not ready to discuss specific goals for the race, which will solidify as my training progresses in the hot, humid weeks ahead. The preparation will be physically and intellectually challenging. An adventure.