Webb ready to go the extra mile.

Byline: Curtis Anderson The Register-Guard

The last time 22-year-old Alan Webb ran a 2-mile race outdoors was his sophomore season at South Lakes High School in Virginia.

`It was the Allen Johnson Invitational and I ran 9:10,' said Webb, mindful of the fact that the 34-year-old Johnson will also be in today's 31st annual Prefontaine Classic track and field meet at Hayward Field. `The 2-mile is a rarely run event, but it's a neat opportunity, and I'm hoping to come out with a PR.'

Webb paused for effect at that point, because if you didn't get the punch line, to be a factor in today's star-studded 2-mile race will likely involve running a time close to the U.S. record of 8 minutes, 11.59 seconds set by Bob Kennedy in 1995. At the very least, Kennedy's 8:14.53 - the Pre Classic meet record and the fastest 2-mile ever run on American soil - will certainly be in jeopardy.

`A lot will depend on the weather, and I never try to put a number on it, but with the history of the guys that have already run, you can almost say, yes, if you're going to win this race, you're going to have to be close to or under that time,' Webb said. `I'm not thinking about that, I just try to compete.'

Webb and 22-year-old Dathan Ritzenhein will battle for the first time on the track at the Pre Classic, which is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. They are two of America's rising young stars in the middle-distance and distance events.

Webb, the U.S. Olympic Trials champion in the 1,500, is a pure miler, while Ritzenhein is better at the longer distances. He earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in the 10,000 and four weeks ago set his 5,000 PR of 13:22.23 at the Oregon Twilight Meet.

Webb, of course, first endeared himself to the Hayward Field crowd at the 2001 Pre Classic when he clocked 3:53.43 in the Bowerman Mile to break Jim Ryun's long-standing national high school record (3:55.3). Last year, Webb returned to win the Bowerman Mile with a PR of 3:50.83.

`I always look forward to running the Pre Classic. It's always circled on my calendar,' Webb said. `I had a lot of success here in high school, and it's always nice to know that when your name is announced people will cheer for you. It gives you a really good feeling.

`The town of Eugene is so into track and they're so supportive of track and field athletes, you know you're going to be appreciated. People will applaud you for anything you do. All that put together gives you a little bit extra oomph at the end.'

Today's 2-mile field also includes 20-year-old Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, the 2003 world champion in the 5,000, who was ranked No. 1 in the world in the 3,000 by Track & Field News last year and was the bronze medalist in the 5K at the Athens Olympics.

Kipchoge ran the fastest time in the world over 3,000 meters last year at 7:27.72, which roughly converts to an 8:03.5 time in the 2-mile. Ethiopia's Mulugeta Wendimu is another 20-year-old phenom who was ranked No. 9 in the world after clocking a 12:57.05 in the 5,000 last season.

Other top runners in the field are Kenya's Luke Kipkosgei, a three-time winner at the Pre Classic, and Kenya's Joseph Koskei, who won the 5,000 at this meet last year. Daniel Lincoln was the Olympic Trials winner in the steeplechase and Jonathan Riley was the runner-up in the 5,000.

While Webb and company represent the new generation of U.S. track and field stars, Johnson is becoming one of the elder statesmen of the sport.

The 1996 Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion in the 110-meter high hurdles appreciates the Pre Classic because it's `the first place you really want to run fast' during the outdoor season.

`It's a big meet every year and there's usually some type of showdown here at Pre,' Johnson said. `It's about a month before nationals and it gives you a pretty good idea of where you are. Once nationals come, then the European season starts.'

Johnson fell in the quarterfinals at the 2004 Olympics last summer. Today, he'll get a shot at the reigning gold medalist, 21-year-old Liu Xiang of China.

The other top performers in the field include two-time Olympic silver medalist Terrence Trammell, 2005 Mount SAC Relays champion Dominique Arnold and two-time NCAA champion Ron Bramlett.

`This is one of the few times at this meet that we've had so many people so closely matched,' Johnson said. `The last time I raced (Liu Xiang) head to head was almost a year ago in Rome. I'm interested to see what tomorrow is going to bring. All of us will be firing on all cylinders for the first time.'

This year's Pre Classic has nine individual gold medalists from the 2004 Olympics, a number that swells to 16 if you add relays. The total number of Olympic and World Championship medals earned by this year's entire field is 101.

`To me, it's mind-boggling when you have 16 events and there are gold medalists in virtually every event,' Pre Classic meet director Tom Jordan said.

Although tickets are still available, Jordan expects an eighth consecutive sellout for the event with a listed capacity of 10,707, and room for 2,000 standing-room-only tickets.

CAPTION(S):

Alan Webb said at Friday's press conference that he's not thinking about breaking the American 2-mile record, which could fall today.