If Liam ever wants to learn about running, he always can consult with his cousin, James Corrigan, an Eagle Rock grad who finished 31st in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Paris Olympics.

Lizzie Bird dug deep to make sure she finished in the first five of her women's 3,000m steeplechase heat and booked her place in the final, which is also on Tuesday.

Anika Schwarze-Chintapatla, a steeplechase runner, studying medicine at Trinity College, Oxford, is looking forward to the new track after training on less forgiving surfaces gave her stress fractures.

The presence of Ryun, the fastest miler in history at the time, Mills, the reigning Olympic champion at 10,000 meters, and Young, the U.S. record-holder in the steeplechase, raised Flagstaff’s profile.

The Kenya-born Jeruto won the 3,000-meter steeplechase title for Kazakhstan at last year’s world championships in Eugene, Ore., but couldn’t defend it at this year’s competition after she was charged with doping in April.