It’s a special kind of fan that can attract the attention — much less the affection — of Olympic-level athletes.
“What’s up, Lynn!” yells former Oregon decathlete Ashton Eaton at the Pepsi Team Invitation April 7 at Hayward Field. He greets Oregon track superfan Lynn Cox with a grin as wide as hers and an enthusiastic high-five. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=655023@@
Cox, 29, stands near the low fence surrounding the track. Her brand-new Bowerman Pack T-shirt (she begged and pleaded for one because as a nonstudent she technically isn’t an official member of the Pack) is safely stowed in her beloved autograph-emblazoned Nike backpack. @@http://www.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=154@@
Cox hasn’t missed a home track meet in three years. She has season tickets to Hayward Field, with a seat eight rows up from the finish line in the west grandstands, but she prefers to be near the track, near the athletes she has formed bonds with.
“A lot of times, I’ll try to catch a few of them as they’re coming off the track and say, ‘Hey, good job,’” she says. “It just has less of an intimate feeling to me when you’re sitting in the bleachers.”
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Cox moved to Eugene from Mississippi with her mom when she was 13 years old, shortly after her parents divorced.
“It was really hard,” she says. “It’s hard enough to know that your parents are splitting up. It’s even harder to deal with that and know that you’re getting ready to move away from one of them.”
After finishing high school she attended Lane Community College and majored in culinary arts.
“Once I got to Lane was when I started getting really into track,” she says. “Their fitness center’s awesome, so I just used that day-in and day-out and I always ended up back out on the track. It always seemed to be when they were doing track practice.”
Her love of track found its obvious destination in Hayward Field and Oregon’s team. In the knowledgeable fans of Track Town USA she found kindred spirits.
“Everyone really loves it,” she says. “Everyone gets into it, and I think that’s what makes it so exciting.”
After her graduation from LCC, Cox dealt with depression, and her passion for track was one of the interests that waned.
“I didn’t know what to do,” she says. “For a year or two I just sort of fell out of everything and did nothing, which is probably a large part of the reason I got so depressed.”
She moved back to Mississippi for a few months in early 2009 to be with her dad, but the depression didn’t lift. She found herself turning to online track forums and news sites to distract herself.
“I was clinging to my love of track that winter,” she says. “I just really, really wanted to see a track meet that spring, just anything to see a track meet at Hayward and get back to a happy place again.”
She returned to Eugene in the spring of 2009 and hasn’t missed a meet at Hayward since, usually showing up well before the gates are open for spectators.
“I’m willing to gamble that there isn’t a single track athlete in the U.S. who doesn’t know who she is or hasn’t seen or heard her name,” says Andrew Wheating, an Oregon Track Club runner and Lynn’s particular favorite. “She’s not afraid to stop you and say ‘hi,’ ask you to sign something or occasionally ask for a bear hug.” @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=653488@@
Cox’s love for Wheating is legendary.
“Wheating is number one, absolutely,” Cox says. “I love Andy Wheating. I can’t say that enough.”
She has also bonded with the middle-distance crew.
“The thing about Lynn is that she is a huge fan, but she also understands when to give us our space,” says Oregon middle-distance runner Jordan Hasay. “She is respectful and kind and I’ve never had a bad conversation with her. Whenever I chat with her I just can’t help but smile.” @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=3759217@@
She uses Facebook and other social media sites to get in touch with athletes and see a side of them that isn’t always apparent on the track.
“She’s our new-age fan,” Wheating says. “Tweeting about Oregon athletes, Facebook posting left and right; she is the updated Oregon track fan.”
Cox, whose Facebook name is “Lynn UOtrackfangirl Cox,” adds all new track recruits as Facebook friends as soon as they’re on the team.
“I think Facebook has deeply shaped me as a track fan,” Cox says. “If it wasn’t for Facebook, these people wouldn’t know I exist.”
The Oregon Relays take place this weekend, drawing collegiate, professional and high school athletes alike. Cox will be there too, soaking up her favorite place in Eugene, Hayward Field, as well as her favorite athletes.
“This is Hayward, this is their training ground,” she says. “This is practically where they eat, breathe, sleep track.”
The same can be said for Cox.