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Gwen Jorgensen joins elite runners on one of the world’s coolest tracks

Olympic gold-medallist Gwen Jorgensen makes a guest appearance at a Bowerman Track Club workout on the Michael Johnson track in Oregon.

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The Michael Johnson track at Nike’s world headquarters is arguably one of the nicest surfaces in the world.

Located in Beaverton, Ore., just outside of Portland, the track oval is nestled away on the Nike property. Trees fill the inside area of the track making it impossible to see the far corner of the oval. There’s also a statue of Johnson, the former world record holder in the 400m, near the start/finish line.

Recently, Bowerman Track Club, which includes two elite Canadian runners, posted a workout video giving viewers a close-up look of the unique setting. A separate soft-surface running trail surrounds the track and takes runners on a tour of Nike’s headquarters.

On this particular instance, the Portland area was hit with some cold weather forcing team coach Jerry Schumacher and Alistair Cragg, the husband of U.S. Olympian Amy Cragg, to shovel the inner two lanes. Fortunately, Matt Hughes, the Canadian 3,000m steeplechase record holder who hails from Oshawa, Ont. is more than comfortable with snowy conditions.

 

Jorgensen, a star runner in the triathlon world, made her elite running debut at the New York City Marathon last November (where she placed 14th). Though she is still training (and it looks like mostly running) right now, she plans to take a break from triathlon to start a family this year. The Olympic gold-medallist has said she plans to continue racing on the ITU circuit and hopefully qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Jorgensen received advice from top U.S. marathoners Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan (a member of Bowerman Track Club) before her marathon last fall. Flanagan has spent the majority of her distance running career with Schumacher’s group.