Eugene contains multitude of running trails
Eugene didn’t come become known as the
“Track Capital of the World” based just on the
track meets held at reknowned Hayward Field.
Part of the mystique can be attributed to the
outstanding running trails that criss-cross through
the interior of Eugene.
The “granddaddy” of Eugene running trails is
Pre’s Trail, which has achieved national
recognition. The trail is named after former Oregon
distance star Steve Prefontaine, who died in a car
crash in 1975.
The 6.4 kilometer cedar-chip trail loops
alongside the Willamette River between Alton
Baker Park and the I-5 bridge. There are four
different trails which make up Pre’s Trail, and they
range in length from six-tenths of a kilometer to 2.6
kilometers. The four trails offer enough variety that
you could run 10 miles on Pre’s Trail and still see
new things in the last mile. A small billboard-sized
map of the trail is located just south of Autzen
Stadium next to a small footbridge.
Pre’s Trail was renovated last summer with
$100,000 in donations. Volunteers installed a new
drainage system and poured new cedar chips over
the length of the trail.
The trail also features a “parcourse," a system
of exercise stations along a running path. The idea
originated in Europe, and Pre’s Trail features six
different stations, each offering the runner a
different exercise that will stretch and strengthen a
different muscle group.
The Adidas Oregon Trail, formerly known as
the Amazon Parkway Run, was also recently
renovated. Adidas installed a new drainage system
and then added a wood-chip covering on the trail,
which is a mile-long loop that winds through a
grassy area and skirts a small forest. There is also
a shorter, 1,500 meter loop for those so inclined.
To reach the trail, which is one mile southwest
of campus, take University Street to 24th Avenue,
turn right on 24th Avenue and follow it until you hit
Amazon Street. The trail will be on your left.
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The “granddaddy” of wood-chip covered running trails in Eugene is Pre’s Trait, which offers runners 6.4
kilometers of running trails.
For a more rugged run, try the newly opened
Ridgeline Trail, which winds up the side of
Spencer’s Butte. The butte is located directly south
of Eugene, and its peak reaches nearly 1,000 feet.
The uneven dirt trail skirts the side of Spencer’s
Butte, rollercoasting through densely wooded
forests which occasionally offer a clear spot where
you can glimpse Eugene, the Cascades, or the
Coast range.
There are two cut-off points along the way if
you decide not to run thelengthof the 3.5 mile trail.
One of the cut-offs will take you up to the peak,
which offers a panorama of the southern end of the
Willamette Valley on a clear day.
For more information on local running trails,
contact the Eugene Parks and Recreation
Department at 858 Pearl St. (fourth floor) or call
687-5333. They have a variety of maps, brochures
and guides that offer help for both the novice and
experienced runner.
^\\/K| A Continued from Page 1B
the Washington prep aaa
champion at 100 meters a year
ago. “It’s really a good feeling
to be involved with one of the
best track teams in the
country.”
Heinonen’s record in eight
years is virtually unsurpassed
in collegiate women’s track.
He has amassed a 36-5 dual
meet record in an eight-year
span and has won the Nor
thwest track championships
five years and the NorPac title
once. On the national level,
Oregon has finished fifth,
fourth, third, 10th, and eighth
under Heinonen.
“The last three years we
have been in the top five,”
Heinonen says. “We may or
may not be able to keep doing
that. The face of women’s
athletics has changed the last
few years and we are holding
our own as times change.”
Year in and year out,
Heinonen has been able to
land star athletes. People like
Kathy Hayes, Eryn Forbes,
Leann Warren and Lisa Martin
are and have been intregral
pieces in the Ducks’ surge to
tne top nationally.
Amazingly, a large percen
tage of Heinonen’s teams
have been made up of in-state
athletes. Hayes hails from
Newberg, Warren from Cor
vallis, Forbes from Beaverton,
and Claudette Groenendaal
and Kim Roth are both from
Salem.
“We don’t necessarily limit
ourselves where we will
recruit but there have been a
lot of good athletes from
Oregon the last few years,”
Heinonen says. “Sometimes
it’s up and down in the state
recruiting years but we have
been able to get a large share
of track athletes in state.”
The influx of out-of-state
athletes helps, too, as
Heinonen has had most of his
field event people come from
outside of Oregon.
But when athletes like that
are all molded together, it
makes for one tough track and
field team.
So why are top-flight
athletes continually coming to
Oregon?
It could be the excellent
coacmng or nemonen ariu
sprint coach Mark Stream. It
could be the facilities that
Hayward Field has to offer. It
also could be the mystique
that Eugene possesses when
it comes to running.
“What also helps is that we
have a large budget and we
have continuity in coaching,”
Heinonen says. “I’m in my
eighth year and Mark is in his
seventh year. It always helps a
program when the coaches
have been around for a long
time.”
In the future, Heinonen
can’t really foresee what his
crystal ball will tell him. Could
it be a national championship?
Or maybe it says that the
Ducks will fall from the perch
that they are now on.
“I think we can maintain the
level we have achieved,”
Heinonen says. ‘‘Certainly
there are going to be ups and
downs. Recruiting is tougher
and tougher all the time but at
least we have our own tradi
tion to build on and we don’t
have to rely on the men’s
successes.”
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^EUGENE
Sports Injuries
& Running Clinic
of Eugene, P.C.
Eugene Medical & Professional Center
132 East Broadway, Sui-te 830
Eugene, OR 97401 Tel: (503) 683-4703
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