This first weekend of May is jam packed with Track & Field! I can picture all the entrepreneurial meet directors looking at the calendar a year ago and concluding that this is the perfect (and only?) weekend that squeezes between the mega-relay events and the burst of Diamond League events.
That said, soak it all in! Check out our Competition and Viewing Schedule to see what’s happening and how to watch. Below we offer a brief summary and also highlight at least one event that is very likely NOT on your radar.
Sound Running’s The Track Meet
Distance Fans: The Sound Running folks deliver THE TRACK MEET on Friday. They’ve applied their passion and creativity to this event, and is rightfully getting the most attention. The fields they’ve assembled for all the distance races are extraordinary. One of their many innovations is a pay-per-view streaming offering that connects fans to the prize money. The timing is a challenge for east coasters but it feels like a “must see”: https://tracklnd.com/meet/trackmeet
Multis Team USATF World Championships Trials
World Champs Trials for the Decathlon/Heptathlon are also on Friday and Saturday! Arguably this is the most consequential thing that will happen in our sport this weekend. It will be webcast on USATF.TV starting at 3pm ET both days: https://www.usatf.org/news/2022/five-tokyo-olympians-headline-usatf-combined-event
Oregon Twilight Meet
Oregon Twilight Meet is on Friday. Lots of college action and I guess they have bragging rights over the Track Meet location (Hayward Field vs. a High School track), but unless your child is competing your attention belongs with #1 above. It will be streaming on RunnerSpace: https://oregontwilight.runnerspace.com/
American Track League OC Classic
The American Track League found strong partners in PUMA and ESPN to deliver great track meets again this year (though this May 7th meet does not appear to be on ESPN, but the PPV for the Sound Running Track Meet above appears to cover this also). They specialize in condensed, unique, fan-friendly formats. Especially fun to attend in person. This Saturday event, at the same venue as the Sound Running event Friday, centers on the sprints and long jump. https://www.americantrackleague.com/events/san-juan-capistrano
Continental Tour Gold Kip Keino Classic
Looking for the biggest sprint showdowns in the world this weekend? Nairobi Kenya is hosting the Kip Keino Classic which includes Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Marcell Jacobs, Fred Kerley and more. Kenya may be the land of distance runners but this weekend it is delivering the speed! https://kipkeinoclassic.co.ke/
USATF Half Marathon Championship
There’s road racing action too! The USATF Half Marathon Championship are in Indianapolis on Saturday and the field includes heavy hitters like Emily Sisson, Allie Kiefer, Reed Fisher (fresh off his Boston Marathon 2:10), Noah Droddy, Futsum Zienasellassie and more. RunnerSpace and USATF.TV will stream the race starting at 7:25Am ET on May 7th: https://www.usatf.tv/gprofile.php?do=news&mgroup_event_id=2510&mgroup_id=45365&news_id=639087&year=2022
Dogwood Classic
One more! The USA Track & Field Foundation, the best kept secret in our sport, which has delivered extraordinarily important support to our current and aspiring top pro athletes, has made possible an elite women’s 1500m race on Saturday on the University Of Virginia track in the middle of the Dogwood Classic high school meet. Streaming on Milestat Facebook page at 1:35pm ET on Saturday for FREE. https://va.milesplit.com/articles/313928/live-this-weekend-the-dogwood-track-classic
The Dogwood Elite 1500m field will include:
- Michaela Meyer (PRs of 4:04 & 1:58): “I’m excited to have another opportunity to race at my home track! It will be fun to feel the energy from my home track and the high schoolers who are competing. Hopefully it will be a fast pace and I’ll get a new facility record!”
- Mel Zammit: “Breaking my personal bests for the last three races this season is the best kind of streak I could ask for. My plan for this Saturday is to continue on an upward trend and run the 1500m faster than I ever have. I’m looking forward to racing against some highly competitive runners that could push me towards a fast end result!”
- Lauren Berman: “I just want to get out there and have fun. I just started my ‘pro’ career in August so I’m just enjoying going to these meets and getting the opportunity to run among all of these talented women and build a good base for myself.”
- Melissa Lodge; Annika Sisson; Lauren Johnson (veteran star w/ a 4:04 PR); Maddy Berkson; Anna Shields
Track Fans: I hope you don’t have anything else scheduled for this weekend!
