<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t Trent McFarland\u2019s first run at Ferry Field. He\u2019s ran this storied maroon track at early sunrises where the infield grass is still glistening with morning dew, on late nights when it\u2019s bracketed by the watchful lights of Revelli Hall and Ray Fisher Stadium. He\u2019s ran here alone and with teammates, as a wide-eyed incoming freshman on his official visit and as the fourth-fastest 1500-meter runner in NCAA history.<\/p>\n
In fact, this isn\u2019t even McFarland\u2019s first run of the day, he tells me as he drags his feet across the lane lines with an air of familiarity. He already came earlier this morning \u2014 just in case I wanted our scheduled workout to be relaxing and low-distance. But when I asked where to meet up for our late afternoon jog, he couldn\u2019t think of anywhere else.<\/p>\n
The defining performance of McFarland\u2019s career may have been down in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he ran the 3:33:17 1500 that etched his name<\/a> into the collegiate record books. Or maybe it was in Eugene, where he stood atop the Hayward Field podium with a national silver medal. Maybe he\u2019ll be remembered most for his antics at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, gunning for the breakaway banner on the sport\u2019s ultimate stage, his bedazzled block \u2018M\u2019 chain sparkling under the spotlight.\u00a0<\/p>\n But it\u2019s here \u2014 in the fateful patch of grass that saw the dawn of the Michigan track and field team 120 years ago and everything since \u2014 where McFarland builds the mindset of a champion. This is his center stage.<\/p>\n