EUGENE -- Probably the most interesting takeaway from last night's TrackTown Tuesday meeting at the Valley River Inn was Prefontaine Classic meet director Tom Jordan's revelation about the men's 10,000 meters on Friday night at Hayward Field.

Jordan said world record-holder Kenenisa Bekele requested a 13-minute, 18-second pace for the first 5,000.

Oh, boy.

It already figured to be a good race, with the Nike Oregon Project's Mo Farah pointing to it as his first, significant outdoor competition of the season. Farah, of course, won gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 at last summer's London Olympics.

Farah, a British citizen, had the London crowd pulling hard for him in the Olympics. Undoubtedly it was a factor in the outcome of both Olympic finals. Farah resides in Portland. Will the Eugene fans get behind him in the same way? It's going to be interesting.

Eight of the runners expected to toe the start line have personal records under 27 minutes.

This should be one monster of a way to get the Pre Classic rolling.

Remember, the Friday action is free. The main portion of the meet begins at noon on Saturday.

Here is

. Jordan said last night that just a few tickets remain for Saturday.

And here is information

.

OK, more links:

Alberto Salazar's

has turned to gold.

The

will clash in the Pre Classic.

This week's

and the NCAA prelims, and ahead to the Pre Classic. It takes a while for the hosts' caffeine to kick in, but you know it will.

The unsponsored

about the U.S. depth in the mid-distances and what to expect at the Pre Classic.

The House of Run guys

on this week's podcast.

Kim Conley

The Daily Relay has

who is returning to Hayward Field this weekend for the first time since her stunning 5,000 at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Eugene television station

about her college career.

The

during next week's NCAA Championships at Hayward Field; the R-G's track notebook.

When the University of Portland's Jared Bassett qualified for the NCAA Championships in the steeplechase, it

to 22 years.

Berny Wagner, the

, dies at 88.

Wagner's

a powerhouse.

USATF release:

the sport.

USTFCCCA release:

in 12 events at OSU.

In the first of a three-part series for Track & Field News, Ben Lindaman writes that

that makes the Drake Relays special at big, championship meets such as the NCAA Championships or USA Championships. As the series continues he promises to outline ways Drake can move out from behind the long shadow cast by Hayward Field.

Track & Field News

for the USA Championships.

BYU

programs.

Julian Heninger,

at the Oregon Class 6A state meet, looks ahead to Dartmouth.

Portland's

its track & field rebirth.

Kevin Sully

for the Daily Relay's Monday Morning Run.

The

from LetsRun.com.

Runner's World's

of racing news.

The

from Track & Field News.

The

roundup.

The

Duck Sports Now.

The

Addicted to Quack.

-- Ken Goe