Running News Daily

This historic track froze into a skating rink

The West Coast of the U.S. and Canada got hit with sub-zero temperatures over the weekend as a cold front swept through the Midwest. Northern California and Southern Oregon reported unusual seasonal lows around -5 and -10 C, resulting in extreme cold that even froze over Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, transforming one of the most well-known tracks in the world into a skating rink.

Instead of wearing spikes for their Monday morning workout, the Oregon Ducks track and field team was seen skating on the track, turning their usual practice into more of a speed-skating session.

The video was posted to Oregon freshman Simeon Birnbaum’s Instagram story on Monday, where he was also seen sporting a Team Canada kit T-shirt. Although Birnbaum is from South Dakota, he has Canadian roots, having spent his early years in Alberta, where he learned to skate, according to Runnerspace. He transitioned from hockey to track in his early teenage years and is now a sub-four-minute miler with the University of Oregon track and field team under coach Jerry Schumacher.

The sight of people skating on Hayward Field has sparked a few ideas. First, envision an epic NHL Winter Classic game in that stadium. With a capacity of up to 25,000 fans and oval-shaped grandstands reminiscent of an NHL arena, the venue could provide an ideal setting and atmosphere for a game.

I know the recent Winter Classic between the Seattle Kraken and Las Vegas Golden Knights at MLB stadium T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Jan. 1 accommodated way more fans than Hayward, but let’s get NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on the phone to arrange a future Winter Classic matchup between the Seattle Kraken and L.A. Kings at Hayward.

The second idea involves Hayward Field hosting a long-track speed skating World Cup event in January or February. This cross-up between two of the most popular summer and winter Olympic events would be unreal. While I am no expert on speed skating, I would only think that having track-meet-style races could be highly entertaining, especially if wind or snow becomes a factor. Though the University of Oregon might not permit either event, it doesn’t hurt to start the buzz.