BIG Doings in Boston

If you are a track and field fan, this weekend, not next, is your Super Bowl. Friday through Sunday, Boston plays host to three superb meets covering college, high school, amd elite.

First up is the BU Terrier Classic at Boston University's new lightning-fast track facility (100 Ashford St., or building "1" on the BU campus map).

The collegiate and open men run on Friday, and the distance events feature some well-known names, including former Belmont standout and current Michigan runner Victor Gras in the mile, national steeplechase champion Steve Slattery in the 3K, and former Archbishop Williams star Sean Quigley in the 5K. Here is the link to the men's schedule.

On Saturday, the collegiate and open women run. Former Lincoln-Sudbury distance ace Lindsay Donaldson (now at Yale) will run the 3K. Here is the link to the women's schedule.

On Saturday evening, the Boston Indoor Games (BIG) brings world-class athletes and national television coverage to the Reggie Lewis Center. Among the expected highlights, the H.S. boys invitational mile brings together some of the very best young distance runners in the U.S., Canada, and British Isles, including Footlocker national champion A.J. Acosta, Hispanic Games mile winner Dan McManamon, NE Regional winner and runner-up, Ayalew and Sintayehu Taye, and many others. The elite men's 2-mile is completely stacked with Olympians, and an attempt on the world indoor record seems to be in the offing. Favorites include Ethiopia's Gebre Gebremariam (12:52 5K) and Sileshi Sihine (7:29 3K). Don't count on Alistair Cragg, who has won the race over Olympic gold medalists both of the past two years.

On the women's side, the girls H.S. mile is even stronger than the boys' with the start list including the Footlocker 2nd and 3rd place finishers, the nation's top ranked miler (Nicole Blood), and a host of others. Here's the roster as of today:

Aislinn Ryan, US
Marie Lawrence, US
Lindsay Ferguson, US
Samantha Gawrych, US
Nicole Blood, US
Jacqueline Areson, US
Hannah Davidson, US
Jennifer Biewald, CAN
Danelle Woods, CAN
Lindsay Carson, CAN

In the elite events, the 5K will once again be featured. Last year, Tirunesh Dibaba set a world indoor record by 6 seconds, and she is back, along with her sister Ejegayehu. Expect the race to be set up with pacemakers for another record attempt.

On Sunday, the MSTCA retakes Reggie for the McIntyre Elite relays, so if you haven't had your fill of fast running, come see the best of Massachusetts H.S. teams, including Newton North's DMR, which will once again face Xaverian, ranked #2 nationally.

For a track fan, it's a mid-winter feast.