It has been 33 years and six weeks since Steve Prefontaine ran his last race on the track at Hayward Field, his blond hair and the light bulbs flashing; the crowd clapping and stomping the old wooden grandstands.

On July 4, I couldn’t help thinking about that as I joined 15,000 people, even getting a spot in the old grandstands, to watch American distance running such as I hadn’t seen in 28 years.

Hayward Field isn’t only historic hallowed ground for track fans new and old; it’s a place that’s kept the embers of public enthusiasm for running alive. The excellent 2008 trials may have sparked it again.

The trials revived an enthusiasm that was missing from the 1980 trials, a brave competition that was more about endings and false starts than impressive beginnings. I was glad to see the officials who organized the ’08 trials made such an effort to honor members of the ’80 team. And I’m optimistic that the 2008 trials have reconciled the past and future of Olympic distance running.

It wasn’t just that you could see “Pre Lives” T-shirts bearing Prefontaine’s image on everything from walls to vans and that famous, sad rock on Skyline Boulevard where his MG flipped over in 1975, and he died at age 24.

Also evident was the fierce passion for the simple act of running. I saw it in the disbelieving joy on the face of UO sophomore Andrew Wheating after he finished second in the 800 meters final with a 1:45.03 personal best. A sophomore, he is the first Duck ever to become an Olympian while still an eligible college competitor.

And even a fifth-place finish in the second heat of the women’s 1,500-meter race was an inspiration: 16-year-old Californian Jordan Hasay’s 4:14:50 time set a new high school record. Although she isn’t going to Beijing, she is going places.

The Hayward Field crowds shout of “U of O” after her race was more of an invitation to the sought-after teen than support for the Ducks.

Inspiration tends to be contagious. Pre knew that. He and UO coach Bill Bowerman sparked the jogging craze that spread via word-of-mouth on the benefits of running — and whether there really is a “runner’s high.”

Trends go in cycles. If it’s time for a return to popularity for distance running, it couldn’t come fast enough.

Theresa Novak is the city editor at the Corvallis Gazette-Times.