Photo by: GoDucks.com
Ducks Get First Look At Hayward Friday
10/01/20 | Cross Country, Track and Field, @GoDucksMoseley
Team members from UO cross country and track and field will get their first complete look at rebuilt Hayward Field after the two-year construction project.
Imagine, Robert Johnson said Thursday, buying a new luxury sedan, or a turbo-charged sports car.
Then, imagine having it delivered to your house. And then, imagine having it sit there teasing you, day after day after day.
That's what it's been like, the head coach of Oregon's track and field and cross country programs said Thursday, seeing the rebuilt Hayward Field constructed over the past several months without being able to use it.
"Like buying a car (and) having it sit in your driveway and not having the keys to drive it," Johnson said. "It's been very frustrating."
The Ducks were supposed to begin training and competing at the new facility this past spring, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused those plans to be scrapped. The fall cross country season has been moved to 2021, further delaying the unveiling of the new facility to team members.
But that ends Friday, with what Johnson has referred to as "Christmas morning" for the Ducks' runners, jumpers and throwers. On Friday afternoon, team members will get their first full look at Hayward Field, inside and out, with fans encouraged to follow along via social media channels.
"A lot of work went into putting this together for our athletes," Johnson said. "… We're really excited. Our staff are really excited for tomorrow."
Some team members have been using the facility to train for the past month. Since the final day of August, cross country runners have utilized Hayward Field for strength and conditioning workouts. Weights and cardio equipment were moved upstairs to the concourse, both to protect the unveiling of the facility until the full team is in town, and to hold those workouts outdoors for the sake of social distancing.
But until Friday of this week, the only areas accessible to the team have been those already publicly unveiled — essentially the bowl and concourse areas. All the features inside, including locker rooms, offices, lounges and the history recorded in Hayward Hall, have been kept behind closed doors.
"They've been able to see the concourse, and nothing else," Johnson said. "This is going to be new to everyone involved."
Johnson has been to protective of Friday's "Christmas moment" for his student-athletes that even some supporters of the project have waited to tour the facility until after the Ducks do so. Hayward Field was rebuilt thanks to a generous gift from Phil and Penny Knight but also about 50 other donors.
Once Hayward Field is "unboxed" on Friday, the Ducks will turn their attention to the upcoming seasons. The NCAA moved its cross country championships to the winter, overlapping with the indoor track and field schedule.
For distance runners who might usually compete in cross country in the fall, then indoor track and field in the winter, there may be some tough decisions to make given the overlapping schedules.
"I don't know at this point in time what we're going to do," Johnson said. "It's kind of hard to compete in two championships at the same time."
By now, of course, the Ducks are used to dealing with challenges in 2020. Their indoor season was canceled a day before the NCAA Championship meet began, and then over the summer cross country was moved to the spring. The cross country's team's annual training retreat to Central Oregon was canceled as well.
There have been challenges away from athletics as well. Many of Johnson's athletes have had tough questions on social issues, raised by the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. And then in September, wildfires devastated the West Coast, interrupting training yet again.
"There was a lot of bad in their world and in their lives," Johnson said.
Finally, though, on Friday, comes a moment that will uplift everyone associated with Oregon track and field. It's Christmas morning for the Ducks, and they get to unwrap a gift that has teased their imaginations for months, but which is about to become reality.
Then, imagine having it delivered to your house. And then, imagine having it sit there teasing you, day after day after day.
That's what it's been like, the head coach of Oregon's track and field and cross country programs said Thursday, seeing the rebuilt Hayward Field constructed over the past several months without being able to use it.
"Like buying a car (and) having it sit in your driveway and not having the keys to drive it," Johnson said. "It's been very frustrating."
The Ducks were supposed to begin training and competing at the new facility this past spring, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused those plans to be scrapped. The fall cross country season has been moved to 2021, further delaying the unveiling of the new facility to team members.
But that ends Friday, with what Johnson has referred to as "Christmas morning" for the Ducks' runners, jumpers and throwers. On Friday afternoon, team members will get their first full look at Hayward Field, inside and out, with fans encouraged to follow along via social media channels.
"A lot of work went into putting this together for our athletes," Johnson said. "… We're really excited. Our staff are really excited for tomorrow."
Some team members have been using the facility to train for the past month. Since the final day of August, cross country runners have utilized Hayward Field for strength and conditioning workouts. Weights and cardio equipment were moved upstairs to the concourse, both to protect the unveiling of the facility until the full team is in town, and to hold those workouts outdoors for the sake of social distancing.
But until Friday of this week, the only areas accessible to the team have been those already publicly unveiled — essentially the bowl and concourse areas. All the features inside, including locker rooms, offices, lounges and the history recorded in Hayward Hall, have been kept behind closed doors.
"They've been able to see the concourse, and nothing else," Johnson said. "This is going to be new to everyone involved."
Johnson has been to protective of Friday's "Christmas moment" for his student-athletes that even some supporters of the project have waited to tour the facility until after the Ducks do so. Hayward Field was rebuilt thanks to a generous gift from Phil and Penny Knight but also about 50 other donors.
Once Hayward Field is "unboxed" on Friday, the Ducks will turn their attention to the upcoming seasons. The NCAA moved its cross country championships to the winter, overlapping with the indoor track and field schedule.
For distance runners who might usually compete in cross country in the fall, then indoor track and field in the winter, there may be some tough decisions to make given the overlapping schedules.
"I don't know at this point in time what we're going to do," Johnson said. "It's kind of hard to compete in two championships at the same time."
By now, of course, the Ducks are used to dealing with challenges in 2020. Their indoor season was canceled a day before the NCAA Championship meet began, and then over the summer cross country was moved to the spring. The cross country's team's annual training retreat to Central Oregon was canceled as well.
There have been challenges away from athletics as well. Many of Johnson's athletes have had tough questions on social issues, raised by the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. And then in September, wildfires devastated the West Coast, interrupting training yet again.
"There was a lot of bad in their world and in their lives," Johnson said.
Finally, though, on Friday, comes a moment that will uplift everyone associated with Oregon track and field. It's Christmas morning for the Ducks, and they get to unwrap a gift that has teased their imaginations for months, but which is about to become reality.
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