Crowd Gathers To Support Track Athletes And A Community Recovering From Fire At McKenzie Track

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor/Tim Healy Photo

FINN ROCK, Ore. – Eleven months past the Big Friendly 2 and nine months after vast swaths of the forested McKenzie River canyon were incinerated by fire, Charlie Hunter came to the track here and ran 1:44.35 in the 800 meters and probably earned a trip to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

A large group of track and field fans, number perhaps 800, made the hour's drive east from Eugene on the first of two days off from the U.S. Olympic Team Trials to watch an hour's worth of high-caliber racing on the McKenzie Community Track and chip in to the recovery effort in the wake of last September's devastating McKenzie/Holiday Farm Fire. 

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Hunter, who won the NCAA Division 1 Indoor title in the 800 meters for the Oregon Ducks in March and then took third at the NCAA Outdoor Championships two weeks ago, took more than a second off his personal best and made the most of his final opportunity to try and run the standard and impress the panel that will choose the Australian Olympic team. 

"My goal all season was to be the best I can be, as a Duck, as a teammate, but also to represent my country, so I'm at a loss for words how happy I am," Hunter said. 

Six races offered opportunities to achieve the lofty and difficult standards, but Hunter was the one to get it done. The performance elevated him to No. 13 in the world this year and No. 1 among Australians. 

Other Australian runners in attendance were there to obtain results that may impress the national federation, which will select athletes for the Olympic team.

"Athletics Australia want to finalize a couple of things over the next few days," Jessica Hull explained. "They want everyone to get out there and try to get the standards out of the way."

Hull ran and won the women's 1,500 meters in 4:04.01. The former Oregon and Nike-sponored athlete said fires that impacted the area reminded her of home. 

"Australia had some pretty bad brush fires at the start of 2020, too, so this is a cause that's definitely close to my heart," Hull said.  

Mexico's Mariela Luisa Real won the women's 800 but was a bit short of the Olympic standard. She ran 2:00.94, about a second and a half off the standard. 

Amos Bartlesmeyer of the Nike Bowerman Track Club, who competes for Germany, hoped to knock out the standard in the 1,500 (3:35.00) but came up a bit short, winning the race in 3:35.24. Belgian athlete Peter Callahan was second in 3:36.15 and Luis Grijalva of Guatemala (and Northern Arizona) was third in 3:36.53. New Zealand legend Nick Willis of the Very Nice Track Club was fifth in 3:38.77.

Even with Ollie Hoare setting the early pace, it was difficult to keep the tempo up to what was needed for an Olympic standard (13:13.50), but Canadian Ben Flanagan, a former Michigan standout, took a swing at it. 

"The meet and the fans did everything to empower the athletes," Flanagan said. "The athletes before set the bar high. It was a fast track and we went out perfect through 3K. I had a tough time running from the front and you could see I really struggled those last five laps."

Lauren Ryan of Ireland won the women's 5,000 in 15:50.52 as the prescribed pace proved too hot to handle. Recent NCAA 10,000-meter champion Carmela Cardama Baez of Oregon, who competes for Spain, was second in 15:58.86. It was her first pro race since joining the On Athletics Club.

The McKenzie International meet was a joint effort of Portland Track, which put on last summer's Big Friendly meets, and Project OVERCOME, which seeks to bring broadband internet to the area that will benefit the local schools, community and be a permanent working tool in case of future emergencies. 

Proceeds from the meet – the $5 charge to attend the meet in person or a $5.99 charge to watch the livestream – went to McKenzie Track and the Oregon Community Foundation, Community Rebuilding Fund.

"We were delighted by the turnout both in person and for the livestream," said Matt Sayre of the non-profit Onward Eugene, which is part of the wireless infrastructure project in the region and an organizer of Tuesday's meet. "Folks turned in all over the world to see this unique event. We used technology that wasn't possible in this area a year ago."

For those few who were present at the Big Friendly 2, when a meet featuring Donavan Brazier, Craig Engels, Raevyn Rogers and Konstanze Klosterhalfen was held in secret, the contrast in the surrounding hills was stark. 

At the time, the track was a safe harbor for athletes yearning for a competitive opportunity in the midst of a pandemic. 

Two months later, when burning logs blocked the highway in both directions, the track's infield became a protective oasis for people to drive onto while they awaited assistance. 

Derek Holdsworth, representing TrackSmith, ran in the Big Friendly 2 and was one of the only athletes to see the re-birth of elite track along the McKenzie River.

"Seeing all the people in here, proof of vaccination, all that good stuff, that's the first thing that I noticed," Holdsworth said. "The second thing is, when I came here last year I was like 'this place is like magic.' You're confused because it's in the middle of nowhere and there are beautiful trees all around. To see what's burned down and what's left of it is pretty amazing. This was a place of refuge for people, so it's cool to see it, before and after."