Neither of us have been to Hayward Field, which is considered by many the mecca of track and field. Originally shared with the University of Oregon’s football team, Hayward Field has been a track and field only facility since the 1960s. For decades, the legendary coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman clicked off splits for countless UO distance stars, including Steve Prefontaine, Bill Dellinger, Kenny Moore and Harry Jerome. The facility has hosted many NCAA and USATF Championships and is the site of the annual Nike Prefontaine Classic.

The 2012 USATF National Championship meet will return to Hayward Field. This year, the meet also serves as the selection meet for the US Olympic Track and Field Team. Track and field enthusiasts from across the country will descend on the town of Eugene between June 21 and July 1. The event looks to be a ten day track and field extravaganza.

In addition to watching stars such as Sanya Richards-Ross, Lisa Uhl, Bernard Legat,  Nick Symmonds and Stephanie Brown-Trafton compete for spots on the US Olympic Team, a daily festival will take place just outside the track. The festival includes live music, Nike’s Camp Victory, a brewery, a London-style pub, a place to recharge your electronics using human hamster wheels and a variety of food vendors. On one of the two rest days for the Olympic hopefuls, there is an All-Comers Meet for the more human runner.

I am thrilled to interview various athletes at the meet for Women Talk Sports and to give you a behind the scene take on the meet. I will post those interviews on this site. Additionally, I will use SplitCaster to post 400 meter splits for most middle and long distance running events via my twitter site. Follow me @RnningEconomist to get the splits and other updates.

For those of you not going to Eugene, NBC is scheduled to broadcast 12 hours of live coverage. Check your local listings.

Brandon and I will spend our anniversary surrounded by our mutual passion: track and field. For us this is a symbol of the strength and solidarity of our marriage. Cuff-links, bonsai plants, and furniture have nothing on the wooden seats reserved for us at Hayward Field.

The countdown is on!

US Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field June 22 - July 1, 2012