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World-record holder Ashton Eaton will compete in the heptathlon at the IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, March 9-10.

Eaton, who recently ran a 1:52 800m in training, appears to be fit and ready to make a run at his indoor heptahlon world record.  His current world record  6,568 points was set last February in Estonia.  This past summer at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea the former Duck won a silver medal in the decathlon.

Eaton will be compete against fellow American and 2008 Olympic gold medalist, Bryan Clay and 7 other international multi-sports athletes at the Istanbul meeting.

Other Oregon athletes along with Eaton who have plans to compete this weekend at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque include:  high jump world champion Jesse Williams, Oregon Project’s Galen Rupp in the 3,000, Russell Brown in the 1,500 and Geena Gall in the 800.

Legendary runner and coach Bill Dellinger, 77, underwent surgery last Thursday so that doctors could remove a malignant tumor from his stomach as well as a couple lymph nodes for cancer testing.

The surgery was successful and the good news coming out of the weekend was that tests revealed no further evidence of cancer in Dellinger’s body. He will not have to undergo chemotherapy, as feared.

As of Tuesday he was still in the hospital in Eugene and waiting to continue his recovery at home.

Dellinger, who suffered a stroke in 2000, is the namesake for the University of Oregon’s home cross country invitational. He earned the bronze medal in the 1964 Olympic 5,000 meters and was the head track coach at his alma mater for 25 years – coaching Steve Prefontaine, Alberto Salazar and Rudy Chapa among many other All-Americans.

(A personal note: Best wishes, Bill, on a speedy recovery).

After receiving information from a couple of trusted sources and having them confirmed via Twitter, I posted the Kenyan 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic Trials being held in Eugene.

Curtis Anderson of Eugene’s Register Guard talked directly to Prefontaine Classic meet director, Tom Jordan, who relates, “Nothing has been confirmed yet, but the (Kenyan) men’s and women’s 10K are promising.”

For more information and quotes read the full article here.

Since Jordan is the man who runs the show, we’ll wait for final confirmation of the 10,000m and whether the 5,000m trials will be added to June’s Diamond League meet.

Last fall, we told you about a couple of projects to help tell the story of women’s running in Oregon.  Kim Spir‘s upcoming book, titled “The Women of Oregon“, will explore the roots of women’s track and field in the state of Oregon.

The book will stretch back into the 1950s and 1960s and show how early pioneers of female track and field influenced the exponential growth that happened in the 1970s. . Kim has conducted dozens of interviews, unearthing a treasure trove of material.

You can visit her Kickstarter  page to learn more about the book and what you can do to help make it a reality.

Looks like fans at this year’s Prefontaine Classic will be witness to another Olympic Trials. Athletics Kenya will host their 10,000m Olympic trials at June’s Diamond League event in Eugene. We are still awaiting confirmation about the 5,000m event.

So its decided that the 5.000m and 10.000m trials for #Kenyan Olympic team will be held in #Eugene early June; Men and women. @London2012

— Michel Boeting (@one4onesports) February 17, 2012

Kenya’s olympic trials for 5000m and 10,000m will be held at the Eugene meeting in June #IAAF

— Ian Chaney (@chasechaney) February 17, 2012

Eugene is set to host the 2012 US Olympic Track & Field Trials from June 22-July 1.

Why have the Kenyan Trials in Eugene?

1. Lack of altitude-Hosting their distance trials at a sea level location makes sense.
2. Timing-The early June date of the Prefontaine Classic weekend gives them plenty of time to make the final selections. Generally, top 2 in the Kenyan trials are assured of a spot and the third is decided by their federation.
3. Weather Conditions- With it’s timing and climate, Eugene may be the best environment to simulate the conditions the Kenyan team will face in London.
4. The Swoosh- Nike has long been the sponsor of Athletic Kenya and we all know that money talks.

The Big Winner: Sally Kipyego- No long flight back to Kenya for the world champion silver medalist as she takes her shot at the Olympics. Plus, she gets to race on her home track, Hawyward Field.

Biggest Potential Loser: Lawi Lalang

@wmcraven @spikeduppsyched @trackfocus not if he goes pro first

— Chris Nickinson (@chrisnickinson) February 17, 2012

Galen Rupp broke Bernard Lagat’s American record in the indoor two-mile on Saturday evening at the USATF Classic in Fayetteville, Ark. He broke the record by less than a second, running 8:09.72.

Geoff Hollister, one of the visionary figures in Nike’s spectacular rise from Barbara Bowerman’s waffle iron to global corporate giant, died this morning in Sunriver, Oregon.

I was fortunate to meet Geoff and spend a little time with him when his book “Out of Nowhere” came out in 2008. I was amazed to learn how much influence and involvement he had at pivotal moments for Nike, the University of Oregon, the sport of track and field and much more — and so much of it happened behind the scenes.

Here is an email sent by Gonzaga University of track and cross country coach Pat Tyson, who has known Hollister for about 40 years:

“MAY YOU HAVE AIR IN YOUR LUNGS, LIFE IN YOUR LEGS, HAVE THE WIND AT YOUR BACK, AND WINGS ON YOUR FEET – I AM HONORED AND HUMBLED” — GEOFF HOLLISTER

Geoff’s last e-mail sent out Sunday January 29^th, 2012 to Nike employee Amy Frazer in regards to his amazement in  her trying to find something to do for his birthday (February 3^rd this past Friday) and that “something” was “A Fun Run” – The Word spread.  To quote Geoff; “It would become viral, even global.”

 Geoff passed away this morning Monday February  6, 2012 at 2:47 am  … He was surrounded by his family and he left peacefully …  It is tough stuff when you lose a very close friend …  It is tough stuff when you lose an icon of our great sport … It is tough stuff that you lose someone who cared more about others than himself … He will be missed but his legacy for eternity is in place … Like Bowerman and Like Prefontaine, Hollister’s spirit will carry on as coaches and  athletes from the present generation pass on Geoff’s message of excellence in all we do.  Hollister demanded perfection!  Geoff demanded a strong work ethic mixed with some  ”quality fun time” which he learned from Pre.   Geoff loved “grass roots running”!  He was an artist that took risks and certainly “thought outside of the box” in his shoe designs, color schemes, connecting with youth running and in particular the native American group “Wings of America”.  He was a creator and inspired new grass roots thinkers like young  Nike employees John Truax and Josh Rowe who would create “Border Clash” and “Nike Team Nationals” which have exploded the youth running  movement.

Geoff will be missed at summer running camps throughout the USA.  He lives on through his book Out of Nowhere and movie documentaries such as Pre’s“Fire On The Track”, Bowerman’s “Builderman”, and his latest creation on Joan Benoit Samuelson “There Is No Finishline”.  I personally will keep the Fire of Geoff Hollister Alive in my personal life and my professional life.  I will demand from my athletes total commitment in the classroom and in athletics.  I will share these values in the running camps I work at and any opportunities I have when speaking with young distance runners and coaches.  In closing, I will continually be inspired by his last quote shared above.  There will be no “short cuts”!  There will be no “slacking”!  I will have  some “quality fun time with my friends” … Cheers to the Hollister Family! Cheers to his Nike Family!  Cheers to all of the running world including all of the Men of Oregon and South Eugene Axemen!  Cheers to The Gonzaga Distance runners (He was our guest speaker in the Spring of 2010) … Tyson

Instead of sitting back and watching the NB Grand Prix today, I missed the meet to participate in Startup Weekend Montreal.

The task we’ve undertaken is build a fantasy sports site for Track & Field in 54 hours.  It’s a big task, but one I am very passionate about.

The name of the project is MedalPick and if you like the idea, please share and spread the word about us on Twitter, Facebook and go sign up at MedalPick.com.

If get a lot of signups and prove that this is a viable business, we could receive the funding to make MedalPick a reality.

Thanks for your support.  I’ll let you know things go after Startup Weekend Montreal ends on Sunday evening.

Though the full list won’t be out until Friday, we have learned that the Oregon Women’s Track and Field squad has signed a talented pair of recruits.

Talented jumper and sprinter Jasmine Todd from Chandler, Arizona has committed to wear the yellow and green.  Todd is no stranger to Hayward FIeld having participated at Nike Track Nationals.

She will be joined by Footlocker finalist Abbey Leonardi.  Though she grew up closer to the Portland in Maine than Oregon, Leonardi is another East Coast talent who has decided to take her talents to Eugene.

Stay tuned for more later this week.

Oregon senior Brianne Theisen got her 2012 season off to a big start by scoring 4,555 points in the indoor pentathlon on Friday at Texas A&M. Theisen surpassed her own NCAA record from 2011 and took down the 30-year-old Canadian national record by five points. It was her first competition in 10 months after recovering from a stress fracture in her back.

If Theisen stays healthy this year and plays her cards right she should sew up a spot on Canada’s Olympic team … easily.

Oregon SID Greg Walker has all the details here from Friday’s performance. Her score included a huge 6-2 clearance in the high jump.

In other news, Trevor Dunbar made his debut in a Ducks uniform. He anchored the DMR for Oregon, splitting 4:00.86 for 1,600 meters.