Pair of pop-up meets Friday night in Oregon...
In what the meet organizers are calling "Revenge of the Friendly", Portland Track is staging the third meet of their Big Friendly series featuring athletes from the Seattle based Brooks Beasts, the Nike Oregon Track Club Elite, Pete Julian's unnamed Portland-based Nike training group, the Bend-based Oiselle Little Wing team, UW coach Andy Powell's pro group, plus a few notable nationally-ranked unattached athletes.
Friday's meet will be live streamed free on the Portland Track YouTube page beginning at 7:50 pm.
The big race the promoters are hyping up according to Tempo Journal is the men's 800 between reigning world champion Donavan Brazier and 2018 world indoor championship medalist Drew Windle (left/photo by Paul Merca) of the Brooks Beasts.
The women's 800 features Nia Akins of the Beasts, Chanelle Price of Eugene-based Oregon Track Club Elite and Olympian Brenda Martinez.
In the men's 1500, a trio of 2019 world championships finalists in former Puyallup native Hassan Mead, along with defending US champ Craig Engels, and the Beasts' Josh Kerr, will do battle. Mead is dropping down in distance from the 5000, the event in which he made the finals at last year's world championships in Doha.
Oregon grad and Washington volunteer coach Sam Prakel, who is part of UW coach Andy Powell's pro group, is entered in the field.
Karisa Nelson of the Brooks Beasts is entered in the women's 1500, where she'll face Olympian Shannon Rowbury, Oiselle's Rebecca Mehra, and Washington grad Eleanor Fulton.
Some of the athletes in the men's and women's 3000 include veteran Garrett Heath of the Brooks Beasts and Japanese marathon record holder Suguru Osako from Pete Julian's group; and world championships steeple qualifier Allie Ostrander of the Brooks Beasts, and Washington alum Mel Lawrence of Oiselle.
All athletes competing in the BF3 completed a pair of negative COVID-19 tests in the week leading up to the event and followed strict social distancing guidelines prior to and during the event. Event staff was also tested for COVID-19 in the week leading up to the meet and followed a specific plan for stationing and movement through the facility while wearing masks, sanitizing and keeping distance from others.
paulmerca.blogspot.com requested a credential to cover the meet, but was denied by meet organizers, citing a limit on the number of people allowed at the facility and social distancing.
Meanwhile, somewhere in another part of Oregon, the Bowerman Track Club will stage an intrasquad time trial featuring an attempt to go after the American records in the 4 x 1500m relays (14:40.8 for the men; 16:55.33 women, with the women's group, which includes Shelby Houlihan, eying the world record of 16:33.58).
The race will be streamed live on USATF.tv ($), and on delay Saturday on the Bowerman TC's YouTube channel.
NOTE: Portland Track contributed to this report.
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