Locals led by Olympic head coach in Eugene

In one the America’s more track-crazed cities, Eugene, Ore., locals are getting the chance to be coached by the country’s head coach for the 2016 Olympic track and field team.

Vin Lananna, former head coach of the University of Oregon Ducks and president of TrackTown USA, is taking time out of his morning each Sunday between now and Dec. 3 to lead a community fitness group at Hayward Field, the iconic track and field facility located on the university’s campus.

The program is called TrackTown Fitness and is open, for free, to anyone in the community who’s interested in getting involved in an active lifestyle and learning about running. It’s based on Bill Bowerman’s jogging clinics in the same city from decades ago. Bowerman, like Linannan, coached the track and field team at the university and later co-founded Nike.

The goal of program is to make Eugene the fittest city in the United States and keep them interested in the sport. Eugene regularly hosts US championships and NCAA championships, as well as major international competitions. In 2014 the world junior championships were held at Hayward Field and the 2021 world championships will be hosted by the city.

Lananna was announced as head coach of the Olympic track team in July.