Track Town, USA

Most people don't know exactly where the town of Eugene (you-JEEN), Oregon is. But for America's runners, jumpers and sprinters, Eugene is the center of the world. This week, thousands of fans from around the country have journeyed west to see the track and field trials for the summer Olympics. As a runner myself, I really can't think of a better place for the center of the world to be.

For most of the kids I grew up running track and cross country with (and some of the adults), Eugene is the place where really fast American running started. Our idol: Steve Prefontaine (in the picture), a legendary distance runner who ran track for the University of Oregon (which is in Eugene) and set several American records for best times on the track. This week I watched one of the many movies about Steve and remembered why we runners look up to him and to this place.

The movie was called Without Limits. That title really says what Steve thought about himself when he was running. Steve knew that he would never be beaten because he stayed positive all the way through his races. He never wasted energy thinking about how he wanted to give up or being scared that he couldn't pull down a win. He just concentrated on what he could do: run hard.

That's the lesson that a lot of people admire Steve for. He showed us the power of just looking at what we can do and putting aside any fears about things we don't think we can. People can use this for a lot more than just running; they can think about the difficult parts of their lives this way. As Steve's coach, Bill Bowerman, once said: “Running, one might say, is a crazy thing upon which to be exhausting ourselves. If you can find meaning in running, perhaps you’ll find meaning in another crazy pastime: life.”