Hayward Field’s Two Mile Tradition Returns at 2026 Prefontaine Classic

Women’s Race Features World Championship Medalists and National Record Holders

In April of 1969, Steve Prefontaine set his first high school national record by running 8:41.5 as a 17-year-old in the two-mile race at the Corvallis Invitational. His time stood as the best by an Oregon high schooler in the distance for more than 50 years. Prefontaine would go on to break American records 14 times and, at one point, owned eight American records from 2000m to 10000m and from two miles to six miles.

For the first time since 2022, the Prefontaine Classic will feature a Women’s Two Mile race on Saturday at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. The last time this race was contested at the Pre Classic, Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba ran 8:59.08 for the second fastest time in history, and just half a second off the world record.

Aleshign Baweke (Ethiopia) won the gold medal in the 3000m at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima. In January, she helped Ethiopia win team gold at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee. Baweke’s personal best in the 3000m is 8:26.29 run in February indoors in Liévin, France.

Asayech Ayichew (Ethiopia) finished second in the women’s U20 race at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships and has since become one of the world's top road runners with personal bests of 29:43 for the 10km road race, 14:26.41 in the 5,000m, and 8:46.98 in the 3,000m.

Hirut Meshesha (Ethiopia) is a two-time global medalist with a bronze in the 1500m from the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade and another bronze as part of the mixed relay team from the 2026 World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee. Her personal best in the 3000m is 8:22.72.

Aynadis Mebratu (Ethiopia) is her country’s U20 record-holder in the 3000m and the 13th fastest woman all-time in the indoor 5000m with a personal best of 14:44.94 in Boston in 2024. She won two medals at the 2023 African U20 Championships in the 3000m (bronze) and 5000m (silver).

Shelby Houlihan (Sioux City, Iowa) is the American record holder in the 1500m with a time of 3:54.99. At the 2025 World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, she won a silver medal in the 3000m in 8:38.26. Houlihan won the 2014 NCAA Championship in the 1500m at Hayward Field.

Margaret Akidor (Kenya) won the 5000m at the 2024 Monaco Diamond League meeting and holds a personal best in the 3000m of 8:29.88. Akidor finished fourth in the world-record setting 5000m race at last year’s Prefontaine Classic.

Marta Alemayo (Ethiopia) is a two-time World U20 Cross Country champion, winning the title in both 2024 and 2026. In April 2026 she ran 14:15 for the third best time ever in a 5km road race.

Lucia Stafford (Canada) is a four-time Canadian national record holder in the 1500m and competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Her 2:33.75 for the indoor 1000m is the Canadian and North American record.

Innes FitzGerald (Great Britain) is a three-time European U20 Cross Country champion and also won gold in the 3000m and 5000m at the 2025 European U20 Championships. FitzGerald holds the British U20 record in the 5000m with a time of 14:39.56.

Gabriela Debues-Stafford (Canada) is a two-time Olympian and holds six Canadian national records across distances from 1500m to 5000m. She reached the 1500m final at the Tokyo Olympic Games and 2019 World Championships in Doha.

Karissa Schweizer (Des Moines, Iowa) won the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championships and five other individual NCAA titles while competing for the University of Missouri. The Tokyo Olympian is part of the world-record-holding 4x1500m relay team.

Margot Appleton (Mattapoisett, Massachusetts) was the runner-up in the 1500m at the 2025 NCAA Championships at Hayward Field. Appleton is a nine-time All-American in track and field and cross country for the University of Virginia.

Elise Stearns (Missoula, Montana) is a graduate of Northern Arizona University, where she won bronze at the Big Sky Indoor Championships in the 5000m. Stearns holds a personal best of 4:46.48 in the mile, 8:41.07 in the 3000m, and 14:55.24 in the 5000m.

Ella Donaghu (Portland, Oregon) is a seven-time All-American at Stanford University and won the 2021 Pac-12 Championship in the 1500m. The graduate of Grant High School was part of Team USA’s mixed relay team at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships in Serbia.

The Prefontaine Classic will take place on Friday, July 3rd, and Saturday, July 4th, 2026.

The Women’s 2-mile race is scheduled for Saturday, July 4th.

The full schedule for the 2026 Prefontaine Classic is available here.