Long distance runaround.

Byline: Chris Hansen The Register-Guard

Jordan McNamara smiled wide when asked about a phone call from Vin Lananna last October.

"I was awestruck," said McNamara, the record-setting distance runner and cross-country champion from Lane Community College, of his conversation with the director of the track program at Oregon.

"I definitely chose my words carefully when talking to him," McNamara recalled. "He's such a great ambassador for the sport and a real businessman. He's done great things for Eugene and for the UO program. Kids just want to be coached by him, and it shows in the type of talent and firepower they've got on that team. Talking to him was definitely a privilege."

And a huge relief as well.

McNamara transferred to Lane in September after an injury-riddled freshman year at Washington with the hope that it would increase his chances of getting to Oregon.

The strategy paid off quickly, as it took only one cross-country season for him to get noticed.

"After a few races Vin Lananna called me and gave me a scholarship offer," said McNamara, who is from Auburn, Wash. "I jumped at it as soon as he offered."

With his future secure, McNamara has spent the track season putting his talent on display week after week while attempting to avoid the injuries that have plagued his career.

On March 30, in his first race of the outdoor season in a Titan uniform, McNamara set the school record in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:09.01 at the Stanford Invitational. The previous mark, set by Ken Martin in 1978 and tied by Dave Magness in 1979, was 14:22.44.

A week later at the Distance Carnival at Willamette University in Salem, McNamara ran 3:48.45 in the 1,500 to move into second all-time at Lane. The following weekend, at the Willamette University Mini-Meet, he set a personal record of 1:52.29 in the 800.

Then at the Oregon Invitational at Hayward Field on April 20, McNamara set the school 10K record with a time of 29:36.33. The previous mark of 29:40.44 was also set in 1978 by Martin, who eventually went on to star at Oregon, where he still holds the school record in the steeplechase.

"Ken's records were really strong records," Lane track coach Grady O'Connor said. "To have a young man like Jordan, who is just a redshirt freshman, break them, is very, very significant. The longevity of those records speak for themselves."

McNamara's best times this season in the four middle distance and distance races lead the NWAACC.

"He's definitely got quite a bit of natural talent," said Lane assistant Ross Krempley, the former UO runner, Team XO president and Oregon Track Club Elite assistant who coaches McNamara. "I work with a lot of talented athletes and he still amazes me every day in practice."

McNamara, whose mom is a world-class body builder and whose dad is a Marine, had a decent start to the cross country season as a freshman at Washington before becoming anemic halfway through the season. He developed a stress fracture in his right femur in the winter and was lost for the track season.

"I had a pretty bad year," said McNamara, who will be a junior in cross country but a sophomore in track next year at Oregon. "I was riddled with injuries. I just wasn't happy with the way things were going runningwise at the University of Washington. I had visited Eugene a few times and loved the city, loved the way people were running everywhere or on bikes. It's just an active community that really embraced track and field as a whole."

He called Krempley, who encouraged McNamara to come to Lane since he would have to sit out due to the Pac-10 rule that won't allow transferring within the conference without losing a season of eligibility.

"When I came here, there were no guarantees that I'd end up at Oregon or that they'd even recruit me," McNamara said. "It was kind of a leap of faith."

Of course, it would have all been for nothing if McNamara didn't stay healthy.

"He has the work ethic, now he has to work on the way he works," Krempley said. "He doesn't need to work harder, he needs to work smarter. He's so aggressive with what he does. He tries to go from 30 to 60 miles per hour. He just gets real antsy."

"So the only goal was to have one full cross country season followed by one full track season staying healthy. Everything else has been icing on the cake."