Taking the final steps on the road to Moscow!

The road to Moscow is about to end at Luzhniki Stadium, which hosted the 1980 Olympics.

The road to Moscow began on a late night bus ride from Daegu to Incheon International Airport.

It's taken me to places near and far.

The road to Moscow has gone through the Dempsey, Lincoln Park, and the purple track built on what was once a garbage dump.

The road to Moscow has gone through the Richmond Olympic Oval, the streets of New York, the freezing cold of a park in St. Louis, a golf course in Palo Alto, and a blue oval in the middle of the United States.

It's even gone through Pullman, Washington.

The road to Moscow has gone through a freezing cold March day in a country once occupied by the Soviet Union, when six young men hoisted the American flag after winning a team medal in a sport recently dominated by Africans.

The road to Moscow has gone through what's considered the Carnegie Hall of American track & field, Historic Hayward Field.

The road to Moscow has even traveled through cyberspace, as athletes, coaches, officials and fans have shared their stories, statistics, and passion towards the sport.

And now it's here.

In a few hours, I'll board a plane for Moscow to cover my 11th IAAF world track & field championships, where over 2000 of the world's best runners, jumpers, and throwers will compete for world titles.

While my focus on this web site will be on the athletes competing with ties to the state of Washington--decathlete Jeremy Taiwo, pole vaulter Brad Walker, and 5000 meter runner Bernard Lagat, I hope to give you a taste of what it's like to be at a great event like the world track and field championships.

And, if I'm lucky, I might find the guy who opened and closed the service door that allegedly affected the results of the triple jump at the 1980 Moscow Olympics by creating a wind tunnel for the Soviet jumpers at the expense of Washington State University hall of famer Ian Campbell.

I hope you'll follow the blog while we're in Moscow!  Also, don't forget to follow the blog on Twitter and Instagram (paulmerca70601).

By the way, the viewer's guide will be posted Friday from Moscow!