Volume 126 | July 2021 Download a PDF of this newsletter here! OTC All Comers Meets Start in July The Oregon Track Club All Comers Meets kick off in July at Springfield High School. All ages and abilities are welcome to participate in these popular track and field meets. The meets for ages one through 12 are on Wednesday evenings from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m.: July 7, 14, 21, and 28. The meets for ages 13 and older are on Thursday evenings from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m.: July 8, 15, 22, and 29. Due to continuing COVID restrictions, it is important to keep in mind these meets are subject to change. Visit the OTC website link below for the most current meet information. OTC members ages 17 and under can participate for free. There is a $1.00 fee for OTC members ages18 and older. Non-members have a fee of $4.00 for ages 17 and under, or $5.00 for 18 and older. Go here for All Comers Meet information including the start times for the individual events. World Championships Tickets, ​a Special Offer for OTC Members The Oregon Track Club has secured an opportunity for Club members to purchase tickets to the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 before tickets go on sale to the general public. This one-day pre-sale will be available on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. An OTC pre-sale code will be emailed to current Club members. The code is required to purchase tickets online on July 14 only. The World Championships are scheduled at Hayward Field on July 15-24, 2022. Go here to view the competition schedule for the meet. Go here for public ticket information. OTC Members Given Priority for Prefontaine Classic Tickets Oregon Track Club members will be given priority to buy Prefontaine Classic tickets in July before they go on sale to the general public. The 46th Pre Classic will be held August 21 at Hayward Field. Meet management is optimistic that a substantial number of fans will be allowed in the stadium to watch the best athletes in the world compete just two weeks after the Olympic Games in Tokyo. You must be a current Oregon Track Club member to be eligible to purchase tickets early. Go here to renew your OTC membership or join the Club for the first time. Butte to Butte is Next Month! The Aquafina OTC Butte to Butte is on track for a re-scheduled date of Sunday, August 22. Due to permit restrictions, this traditional 4th of July event will be a bit later in the summer this year. The event will again feature a 10K run which starts near Spencer Butte, charges up the Donald Street Hill, goes down Fox Hollow, and then winds through town to the finish at 5th Street Public Market near Skinner Butte. The four-mile Mayor's Fitness Walk will not be held this year, so all walkers are encouraged to participate in the 5K event which starts and finishes downtown at 5th & Pearl. Many of the long-time sponsoring partners of the event have returned, including Bigfoot Beverages, Umpqua Dairy, and Trader Joe’s. This year, the area UPS Stores are playing a larger role as an event sponsor with a variety of media-related items. The 5th Street Public Market continues to serve as a tremendous host in being the site of the packet pickup days and the finish line post-race celebration. Race packets will be distributed through a number of different channels this year, including mailing, local drop-in one-day locations and, as always, at 5th Street Public Market immediately preceding the event. Please watch the event website for further information. The greatest need for volunteers still comes in the form of race-day course marshals. If you are available to assist with the production of the event, please contact the race organizers through the website and click on the Volunteer tab. Hayward Field Awarded Another Prestigious Meet Hayward Field continues its record of hosting the top track and field meets in the world. The Wanda Diamond League recently announced that Eugene would be the site of the 2023 Diamond League Finals. This will mark the first time the concluding league meet will be held outside Europe. The OTC/Nike Prefontaine Classic is the only U.S. meet in the Diamond League Series. The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen one-day, invitational meets. The series is organized by World Athletics. The announcement means another high-profile meet will be added to Hayward’s resume. The historic venue recently hosted the NCAA Outdoor Championships and U.S. Olympic Trials. In 2014, Hayward was the site for the World Junior Outdoor Championships. The stadium will host the World Athletics Championships (Oregon22) in 2022. The June Run/Walk Results, No Event Planned in July The NCAA Track and Field Championships and end of school events resulted in a smaller than normal number of participants (56) in the OTC Run/Walk event at Island Park on June 10. The runners and walkers were treated to a fast, flat 5K course along the river and cool, overcast conditions. The Rosling family from Corvallis swept the championships with 12-year-old Ella winning in 20:23 and her father Mike winning in 19:20. Go here for all the results. Todd Bosworth’s pictures can be viewedh ere. There will be no July Run/Walk since many other OTC events typically occur in July. While the OTC/Aquafina Butte to Butte 2021 has been rescheduled to August 22, there will be All Comer Meets every week in July. The next Run/Walk will be on August 12. Details are still being worked out with local officials and will be shared in the August OTC newsletter and on the OTC website and social media. Thanks again to our generous sponsors for making this eleventh annual Run/Walk Series possible: Bigfoot Beverages, Eclectic Edge Racing, Oakshire Brewing, RBC Wealth Management, Run Hub Northwest, and Track Town Pizza. Meet Jill Mestler, OTC Superstar By Don McLean Jill Mestler hails from Enumclaw, Washington, the 15th of 16 children of a medical doctor and the busiest mom in town. Jill first visited Eugene in 1990 to attend the Prefontaine Classic and ran her first Oregon race at an OTC All Comers meet at Hayward Field. Fast forward 14 years, she became the Volunteer Coordinator for the All Comers Meets in 2004 and the Meet Director in 2007, a position she still holds. Learn more about Jill here Jill Mestler In Memory Robert (Bob) Fletcher 1937 - June 8, 2021 ​Oregon Track Club Board member Robert (Bob) Fletcher passed away on June 8 from COVID-19 pneumonia at the age of 84. Bob and his family moved to Eugene in 1972. Bob took a position at the University of Oregon Geology Department where he ran the department's Microprobe and taught graduate students how to use it. Bob became an avid runner, actively involved in the Oregon Track Club, and he volunteered with the Eugene Active 20-30 Club. Bob also enjoyed road biking and participated in several Cycle Oregon trips. He enjoyed mountain climbing and scaled most of the Oregon Cascade peaks. He is survived by his brother Lance Fletcher, Jr (Cherlyn), his five children and their spouses, Jeff (Christine Ritschel), Noel (Mary), Lance (Laura), Lori Fletcher (Steve Sickler, former husband Tim Lighty), and Alice Zeissler (Paul Wyrzykowski), 14 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and many beloved close friends. Masters Can Compete in All the OTC All Comers Meets A reminder that Masters level athletes can compete in the OTC All Comers Meets this summer. A variety of track events and field events are available. Masters athletes would enter in the age 13 and older group. The meets for this group are on Thursday evenings from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m., July 8, 15, 22, and 29 at Springfield High School. The entry fee is $1.00. See the All Comers article in this newsletter and visit the OTC website for more information. Oregon Track Club Masters Are You Participating in These Masters Events? If you are a Masters athlete and are competing in either the Worldwide Virtual Masters Challenge or the Oregon Senior Games, please let us know. The OTC Masters would like to recognize your achievements in the newsletter! The Worldwide Virtual Masters Challenge Championships are happening June 26 – July 11. The Hemisphere II competition will be September 11 – October 10. Go here for details. The Oregon Senior Games track and field events will be held in Corvallis. The Hammer event will be on August 13 at the OSU Whyte Track and Field Center. All other events will be on August 14 at Crescent Valley High School. Go here for more information and to register. Please contact Bettina Huber at [email protected] if you are participating in these events. Out of the Blocks: Commencement, Commence, Commencing by Kevin Marbury, OTC President Happy July! As I look ahead to what promises to be a great summer, I want to take a quick look back at how amazing June 2021 was for so many of us. The month began with what for all intents and purposes was the commencement of the next chapter of the illustrious history of track and field at the newly renovated Hayward Field. At the NCAA Championships, four UO athletes earned the title of national champion and helped reignite “the Hayward Magic.” I also had the honor to be a part of two commencement ceremonies, one at the UO and the other at one of our local high schools.