You don’t have to be an Olympic runner to get some gold-medal coaching at the UO.

In fact, Vin Lananna is giving it away for free. Just show up Sunday mornings at Hayward Field and take Lananna up on his offer of complimentary coaching for runners of all ages and abilities, a kind of homage to the community jogging clinics put on by the legendary Bill Bowerman 50 years ago.

Lananna is approaching legend status himself. He’s an associate athletics director at the UO as well as president of TrackTown USA. He’s been the force behind successful efforts to bring both the country and the world to Eugene for top-level track meets. Oh, and he’s also the coach of the U.S. men’s track and field team for the 2016 Olympics.

But he’s also just a guy who loves running and wants to share that with the community. That’s why he’s inviting folks to jog over to Hayward Field at 8 a.m. Sundays for an hour of tips and training during TrackTown Fitness.

Bowerman did the same kind of thing starting in 1963 after a trip to New Zealand, where people already were hip to the joys of running. One could even argue that Bowerman is the granddaddy of American jogging, a pastime that took off soon after his clinics got going.

Lananna wants to keep that kind of spirit moving, but he also wants to help local folk — the “citizens of TrackTown” — kick their fitness level up a few notches. It’s partly to encourage healthier lifestyles, but Lananna has another goal in mind: making Oregon the fittest state in the country by the time the 2021 IAAF World Championships make their American debut at Hayward Field.

“We want to unify the state to get ready for 2021,” Lananna said. “We want to do our part to help Oregon become the healthiest state in America.”